A year ago when Monessen beat Vincentian 110-99 in a record-setting WPIAL Class A semifinal, Lavalle Rush didn't play.
Tuesday night, in a rematch under similar circumstances, Rush looked like he wanted to make up for lost time.
The junior guard scored 19 points in the first half and fueled a furious comeback with 12 points in the fourth quarter as the Greyhounds overcame a nine-point deficit to beat the Royals, 85-73, before a packed house at Baldwin High School.
Monessen advances to the WPIAL championship game for the second straight year, where the Greyhounds (19-6) will take on Jeannette, a 52-40 winner over Eden Christian. The title game will be 7 p.m. Friday at Pitt's Petersen Events Center.
“I think it bothered Lavalle to miss that game last year,” said Monessen coach Joe Salvino. “But thank God he played tonight. He was phenomenal.
“I wasn't surprised at all that he took over the game. That's how he played all year for us.”
Rush, the Greyhounds' leading scorer, had 11 points in the second quarter, and even though he had 19 at the break, the Greyhounds trailed, 42-40.
Vincentian (16-9) upped the lead to 64-56 after three quarters and led by as many as nine points twice in the fourth quarter before Monessen mounted its comeback.
Rush scored five straight points to bring Monessen within 68-65 with 4:04 to play.
Then Justice Rice drilled a 3-pointer to tie the score at 68-68.
The Greyhounds kept scoring as they closed out a 13-0 run to grab a 77-68 lead on two free throws by Luke Beveridge with 1:48 to play.
The Royals, the WPIAL's top scoring team at 84 points per game, were stymied in the fourth quarter. Once it got up by nine points, Vincentian tried to take some time off the clock. But the move backfired as the Greyhounds forced nine of the 25 turnovers Vincentian committed in the final quarter and seized momentum.
“We missed foul shots and then we couldn't score a basket,” said Vincentian coach George Yokitis. The Royals, who made 15 of 19 foul shots going into the fourth quarter, missed eight of their first 12 shots from the foul line. And they managed just one basket — a trey by Connor Kreutzer — in the entire quarter.
“Give Monessen credit,” said Yokitis. “Their speed created a lot of turnovers and once they got on top, we couldn't answer.”
Salvino felt the Royals may have tried to take the air out of the ball a little too early.
“We didn't do anything different. The momentum got on our side when they started stalling the ball and we created some turnovers,” Salvino said. “Then I think they had a hard time getting back into it. If you're going to stall the ball for that length of time, it takes its toll.
“Once they started slowing the ball down, I think in their hearts they thought the game was over. Then when we came back, they didn't have an answer for that.”
The Greyhounds made 19 of 24 free throws in the fourth quarter, a display that had Salvino shaking his head.
“We only average about 62 percent from the line. But tonight we did what we had to do shooting fouls and that was great,” he said.
Especially Rush. Not only did he have a game-high 31 points, but he also had 13 rebounds and four steals.
“I felt bad missing last year, but tonight I came through for my teammates,” said Rush. “That's all that matters. Even when we were down, I tried to stay positive for my teammates. Now we're going back to the championship. I can't wait.”
Rice had 21 points, six blocked shots and four steals for Monessen, while Noah Rullo had 10 points.
Vincentian was led by Jamison Nee with 22 points, while Ryan Wolf, Jay Cortese and Jack Monahan had 11 each.
The Greyhounds will turn their attention to Jeannette (16-7), a team they defeated 70-58 on Dec. 12.
“Jeannette has a nice team,” said Salvino. “But right now, I'm going to let the players enjoy this. It's not every team that gets to go to the championship game, and this is our second trip in two years.
“I always told the kids if we play the way we are capable of playing we could get to the championship. And here we are.”
NOTES: Monessen made 28 of 41 free throws, compared to 21 of 43 for the Royals ... Rush made 12 of 14 free throws, while Rice made seven of nine ... Monessen's Jaden Altomore fouled out with 3:51 to play, finishing with eight points ... Monessen Athletic Director Gina Naccarato said tickets for the title game will be sold Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon and 1-3 p.m. in the high school office and 5-7 p.m. in the athletic office. Tickets will also be sold from 9 a.m. to noon at the high school office. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students.
Jeff Oliver is a sports editor for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-684-2666 or joliver@tribweb.com.
