Monessen too much for St. Joseph
IMPERIAL – Monessen’s Devin Whitlock is a freshman … who doesn’t play like a freshman.
Teammate Dishon Howell is a senior and he didn’t want his final game of his career with the Greyhounds to be Thursday night.
The duo combined for 48 points and Monessen used a strong, defensive effort in the third quarter to pull out a 79-72 victory over St. Joseph in the quarterfinals of the Class A playoffs at West Allegheny High School.
“We started the game slow and was out of sync early on,” Howell said. “We settled down in the second half and got after it. Our defense really led the charge and that led to some good offense. I didn’t want my season to be over. Hopefully this is a good learning lesson for the younger guys that you need to play a complete game to win in the playoffs.”
With the win, the Greyhounds are 15-8 and improved to 8-3 in the round of eight since 2008. Monessen will play top-seed Vincentian Academy on Monday in the semifinals, looking for the school’s ninth WPIAL championship.
“I really wasn’t concerned with the layoff (of 11 days),” Monessen coach Dan Bosnic said. “We had a scrimmage and the kids were really attentive in practice all week. We really wanted this win. We moved the ball really well on offense and got the open shot. A lot of people contributed on offense. We kept them guessing the whole game.”
Besides Whitlock and Howell, Elijahwa Payne struggled with foul trouble for the whole game, but was the other player for Monessen in double-figures with 10 points.
Andrew Sullivan poured in 30 points for the Spartans (18-6) in the loss. Daniel Fabregas (16) and Matthew Arvay (11) also were in double-figures.
After St. Joe’s tied it, 40-40, with a three by Arvay in the opening seconds of the third quarter, the No. 5 seed took a 43-42 lead minutes later.
The Greyhounds answered back with 10 consecutive points and held a 55-45 lead going into the fourth quarter. Whitlock garnered 10 points in the period for Monessen, while St. Joe’s was limited to 11 points in the frame.
“Driving to the hole really got my offense going in the game,” Whitlock said. “I’m really quick with the ball in my hands and I just look for lanes to drive. I just trusted in our system and in my teammates. On defense, we had to stay in front of them and help each other out down low. We pinched inside and slowed their offense down.”
The Spartans stormed back into the game with the opening seven points of the fourth, but Monessen again had a response and made an 11-6 run that was capped by a three-point play by Payne that made it 68-58 with 2:49 left in regulation.
St. Joe’s was able to cut the deficit down to a two-possession game later in the contest, but Howell and Whitlock combined to shoot 6-for-8 at the free throw line to solidify the postseason win and to avenge last year’s quarterfinal loss to Imani Christian.
“We had a lot of kids step up tonight,” Bosnic said. “Our kids showed great resiliency in the second half. We didn’t play our best basketball, but we did enough to win. We struggled to stay in front of them, but we picked things up defensively in the second half. It was a gritty win.”
Trailing 6-4 in the early moments of the contest, Monessen took an 8-4 lead as Whitlock and Howell hit treys sandwiched around a basket by St. Joe’s.
After the Spartans quickly grabbed five straight points, Monessen ended the opening quarter with a 9-1 spree that was capped off by a buzzer-beating three-pointer by DaWayne Howell.
Both teams were again clicking on offense to start the second quarter, but St. Joe’s was able to take a 32-31 lead after a 7-2 rally near the end of the period.
The Greyhounds countered the spurt with a 6-2 run to end the first half with a 37-34 lead.
“Vincentian is a No. 1 seed for a reason,” Bosnic said. “They are a complete team and we have to play our very best to win. We have to play to our strengths. We have to cover their guards and keep them in front of us. They have a lot of quality players, and it will come down to defense.”