Feb 27, 2024 By Bill Hughes 2 min read

MONESSEN – It wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing performance, but Monessen pulled away late from Carlynton to clinch a PIAA tournament berth with its 62-47 win Tuesday night.

“I thought we battled it out and kept our composure,” said Monessen coach Dan Bosnic. “It was a physical, tough game and we were able to do a lot of little things defensively that allowed us to get out of there with the win.”

The game saw 56 combined free throw attempts, 54 fouls called, 46 combined turnovers, and four technical fouls.

Lorenzo Gardner led Monessen with 31 points while Devontae Robinson had 11 points, five rebounds, four assists, and four steals to pace Monessen while Jake Moldoven led Carlynton with 22 points.

The Greyhounds (20-5) took control early and led 8-0 before the Cougars (9-16) finally scored with 3:20 to go in the first quarter, and Monessen took a commanding 15-4 lead into the second.

Up 23-9 halfway through the second, it appeared Monessen was ready to pull away. However, Carlynton closed the half on a 12-2 run to trim the Monessen lead to four points, 25-21, at the half.

The Greyhounds only trailed the Cougars once all game long, 31-29 with 5:17 to go in the third, although it didn’t last long.

The deficit, which lasted a little more than 30 seconds, ignited Monessen as the Greyhounds went on a 14-2 run to close the third, and the Cougars would get no closer than five points the rest of the way.

“I thought at the end of the first half, we had to take Lorenzo out going into halftime,” Bosnic said of not wanting Gardner to pick up his third foul. “We talked about responding and it took us a couple of minutes, but we were able to take control right after (Carlynton) took the lead.”

Rodney Johnson grabbed 10 rebounds for Monessen.

Next up for Monessen will be the winner of the District 9 championship which is being played Saturday.