Monessen downs Jeannette to win WPIAL Class A championship
The second-seeded Monessen boys basketball team pulled away from No. 5 Jeannette in the fourth quarter to win the WPIAL Class A title 73-57 on Friday at Petersen Events Center, claiming a seventh WPIAL title, its fourth in Class A.
Leading 52-46 going into the fourth quarter, Monessen expanded its lead to 12 points with five minutes to go. Junior Lavelle Rush scored four points and sophomore Justice Rice added five to help the Greyhounds build the lead. Monessen continued to add on while limiting Jeannette (16-7) to just three points over a stretch of four minutes.
Monessen (19-6), which won Class AAA titles in 1919 and 1923 and a Class AA title in 2011, lost to Lincoln Park in the championship game last season in an 85-41 blowout that was the largest margin of victory in WPIAL Class A history. Lincoln Park moved up to Class AA this season.
“I don't know if we played a high school team when we played Lincoln Park, but guess what? We're here and we won this year,” Monessen coach Joe Salvino said. “Two public schools. I think it's very important because, again, we do things by the rules.”
Rice led the team with 22 points. Rush had 18 points, and senior Noah Rullo had 11. Senior Julian Batts and junior Anthony Schmidt scored 15 points each for Jeannette, which out-rebounded Monessen, 42-36.
Both teams had to come from behind during the playoffs in order to reach the final, and in the third quarter, it appeared Jeannette was ready to do it again.
Trailing 34-24 at halftime, Batts scored seven of the Jayhawks' first 11 points to slice Monessen's lead to 38-35 with just less than five minutes remaining in the quarter. Monessen answered with a 10-4 run that included a 3-pointer by Noah Yartin and a three-point play from Brandon Lenhart.
When the teams played each other earlier this season, Salvino said, his team was up by 20 points but Batts controlled the third quarter and cut the lead to 12.
“Jeannette's a good team, and I knew they had some runs in them, but we just had to limit how far they could go with their runs,” Salvino said. “Batts scored those two quick buckets, and I called a timeout because I was worried about them getting another one and cutting into that lead, but we stepped up to the task and did what we had to do.”
A pair of 3-point attempts by Jeannette bounced out late in the quarter. Seth Spino made a layup in the final minutes to cut the deficit to 49-46, but a free throw and a buzzer-beater by Rice gave the Greyhounds a 52-46 lead going into the fourth quarter.
“Coach always tells me I need to shoot the ball more and when I get the chance, take it,” Rice said. “I thought I had a mismatch coming down late in the third quarter, and I just did what I do best.”
Jeannette led after the first quarter 14-13, but Monessen took over in the second. Dwight Moore hit a pair of free throws for Monessen, and Luke Beveridge took the ball inside for a layup and gave the Greyhounds a 30-24 lead with a minute and a half remaining. Mike Pompei hit a late 3-pointer for Jeannette, but a basket from Rice and a steal and layup by Beveridge put Monessen ahead by double figures going into the break.
Karen Price is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach her at kprice@tribweb.com or via Twitter @KarenPrice_Trib.
