Mar 20, 2017 4 min read

SLIPPERY ROCK – There are worse places for the Monessen High School boys basketball team to visit than Slippery Rock University. There’s a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit and a five-minute shooting abyss.

The Greyhounds toured all three Monday and the end result was what you might expect.

Defending state champion Kennedy Catholic broke open a close game in the fourth quarter by holding Monessen without a field goal for five minutes and pulled away for a 73-59 victory in the PIAA Class A semifinals.

It’s the second year in a row that Monessen’s season has ended on the court at Slippery Rock’s Morrow Field House. But for 25 minutes the Greyhounds (21-8) played with confidence, aggressiveness and precision against the talented Golden Eagles (25-2), who have been ranked No. 1 in the state all season. Monessen led 33-32 at halftime, and when the Greyhounds’ Jaden Altomore banked in a three-pointer from the top of the key early in the fourth quarter, Monessen trailed by only 53-52.

“Monessen’s kids are tough. They controlled the entire first half,” Kennedy Catholic coach Rick Mancino said.

The key stretch, however, was the next five minutes in the fourth quarter. That’s when Monessen went without a field goal and was outscored 14-5 as Kennedy Catholic built a 67-57 lead.

“That’s basketball,” Monessen coach Joe Salvino said outside his team’s quiet locker room. “You go on runs. They went on one in the fourth quarter and we couldn’t match it.”

For the first 25 minutes, Monessen matched everything Kennedy Catholic offered. And the Greyhounds did so without the services of 6-1 Lyndon Henderson, a starter who had to sit out the game because he was ejected in the quarterfinals Saturday on a controversial foul call during a deadball situation.

“Not having Lyndon really hurt us,” Salvino said. “He’s a key ballplayer, but it is what it is. … He gives us that athleticism we didn’t have. I feel badly that the kid doesn’t get to play in the West Region final because an official made a call on a play he didn’t see. We tried to get the decision reversed, but …”

Those players who filled in for Henderson delivered for three quarters. Monessen fell behind by eight points in the first quarter but used a lightning-quick 9-0 run in the second quarter to take a 30-28 lead. Altomore started the spurt with a three-pointer and Cory Fleming followed with two from behind the arc. Altomore scored 16 points and Fleming finished with 14.

A spinning layup by Jaron Youngblood gave Monessen a 33-32 lead at halftime.

Monessen’s offense gave Kennedy Catholic all kinds of trouble. The Golden Eagles started in a man-to-man defense, switched to a 1-3-1 half-court trap, then to a 2-3 zone before going back to the man-to-man. Monessen had only three turnovers in the first half and four through three quarters.

Kennedy Catholic forged a five-point lead in the third quarter, but a three-point play by guard Justice Rice pulled Monessen to within 51-49 after three quarters.

Altomore’s three-pointer got Monessen to within one point with just under seven minutes left, but then the Greyhounds, who had played so well to that point, went cold from the field. They didn’t make a shot again until Rice followed up his own miss and scored with less than two minutes remaining.

“We rushed some shots because (Kennedy Catholic) got that lead,” Salvino said. “I think we didn’t have our legs under us. We had some guys out there who had to play the entire 32 minutes.”

Kennedy Catholic, which made 17 of 21 free throws, converted 10 times from the line in the fourth quarter to pull away.

“We played a tough schedule and put ourselves in difficult situations to prepare us for games like this,” Mancino said.

Maceo Austin, a 6-5 sophomore guard, led the Golden Eagles with 19 points and eight rebounds. Drew Magestro followed with 15 and Marcin Wiszomirski, a 6-8 center from Poland, had 14 points before fouling out.

Rice led Monessen with 18 points. He is one of four seniors on the WPIAL-champion Greyhounds.

“I told the players I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Salvino said. “They gave all they had, and that’s all a coach can ask for. I can’t say enough about the seniors. They gave us everything they possibly could and we’re going to miss ’em.”