Avella rides late surge to win over West Greene
Rob Burchianti/For the Observer-Reporter
Avella’s Camden Georgetti (22) defends West Greene’s Caleb Rice during Monday afternoon’s game at Avella.
Avella’s Brandon Samol scores while being fouled by West Greene’s Caleb Rice during Monday afternoon’s game at Avella.
Rob Burchianti/ For the Observer- Reporter
Rob Burchianti | Herald-Standard
Rob Burchianti/For the Observer-Reporter
West Greene coach Jim Romanus (kneeling) talks to his players during a timeout in Monday afternoon’s game at Avella.
Rob Burchianti/For the Observer-Reporter
West Greene’s Chase Blake takes a 3-point shot in Monday afternoon’s game at Avella. Blake scored 16 points but the Eagles won, 58-46.
Rob Burchianti/For the Observer-Reporter
West Greene’s Caleb Rice throws a bounce pass during Monday afternoon’s game at Avella.
Rob Burchianti/For the Observer-Reporter
West Greene’s Casey Miller scores inside during Monday afternoon’s game at Avella.
Rob Burchianti/For the Observer-Reporter
Avella's Westley Burchianti (3) sends the ball to Gabe Lis (11) after intercepting a long West Greene inbounds pass during Monday afternoon's game at Avella.
Rob Burchianti/For the Observer-Reporter
Avella's Gabe Lis gets ready to launch a 3-pointer as West Greene's Ian VanDyne defends during Monday afternoon's game at Avella. Lis scored a game-high 22 points in the Eagles' 58-46 win.
AVELLA – Avella rode a late push to a 58-46 win over visiting West Greene in a Section 2-A boys basketball battle Monday afternoon.
The game was tight throughout with no team holding more than a five-point lead until the Eagles reeled off the final 12 points, including six by Gabe Lis, to claim their fourth win in five games.
Lis scored a game-high 22 points and Donovan Avolio added 13 points for Avella (4-4, 5-9), which sits in third place in the section.
“We started playing a little bit better defense towards the end of the game,” Eagles coach Mike Maltony said. “We had little lapses throughout the game where we weren’t necessarily having our hands up, playing on our toes. We were pretty flatfooted today.
“But we put it together and had nice a little run there at the end.”
Avella held a 39-37 lead heading into the fourth quarter and went up by four on a short jumper by Brandon Samol.
The Pioneers (1-7, 1-10) pulled within one, 41-40, after a three-point play by Casey Miller before the Eagles answered with a basket by Avolio and two free throws by Camden Georgetti.
Rice hit a 3-pointer to make it 45-43 and after Avolio made one of two free throws to increase the lead to three, Blake hit a 3-pointer from the corner to tie it at 46-46 with 2:50 remaining.
Lis helped Avella take charge from there.
The senior guard followed his own missed shot with a rebound and basket to put the hosts ahead to stay. After Avolio again made one of two from the foul line, Lis scored on a tip-in and a layup, both following West Greene turnovers, and suddenly the Eagles had a 53-46 advantage and were on their way.
Tanner Terensky hit a free throw with 55 seconds left for Avella and Avolio tossed in the final two baskets.
“Turnovers are what really hurt us,” Pioneers coach Jim Romanus said. “We tried various types of pressure and when we had to sub our young guys in when our starters got a bit gassed, that’s when we fell apart.
“Right at the end Avella just wanted it more than we did. They really went after the ball and we didn’t block out. Kudos to them.”
Blake led West Greene with 16 points and Rice followed with 12 points.
“I thought our two seniors, Caleb and Chase, played really good,” Romanus said. “They play hard and they’re effective, too.
“They don’t turn the ball over. They know what to do, where they’re supposed to be, what kind of pass to make. They know how to play the game. That makes sense because they’re the only two from the entire team that played varsity last year.”
Miller added seven points for the Pioneers and Wes Whipkey chipped in with five points.
“I thought our bigs, Casey and Wes, showed some improvement this game,” said Romanus, who admitted a lack of practice time has hurt his team.
“We’ve had several COVID issues. We’ve only had three five-on-five practices this entire year, and it shows. You can go over things ghost-wise, with nobody guarding you, but when you go out there in a game it’s a lot different.”
West Greene started strong and took a 17-12 lead after one quarter with Blake scoring eight points, including two 3-pointers.
Avella fought back in a second quarter that had five ties before Avolio sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Eagles a 32-29 halftime lead.