No. 1 Vincentian finishes strong to take down No. 4 Monessen in Class A semifinals

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Monday, February 25, 2019 | 10:18 PM

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Vincentian is going from Peters to the Pete.

The top-seeded and defending WPIAL Class A champion Royals took care of business in the semifinals Monday night to punch their ticket to the title game with a 61-49 victory over No. 4 Monessen at Peters Township.

Vincentian Academy (16-7), coached by Monessen grad Tim Tyree, will play No. 3 Nazareth Prep (18-3) at 7 p.m. Thursday at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center.

Things were close for most of the night, as might be expected when a couple of perennial powers meet up in the final four.

Monessen trimmed Vincentian’s lead to 50-49 on a layup by Darnell Howell, who took a feed from Whitlock off a steal.

But the Greyhounds did not score again as sophomore Angelo Reeves scored inside and the Royals put it away with free throws.

“It’s a surreal feeling because I know what it’s like to be in those Monessen-Vincentian games,” said Tyree, 28. “I know how Monessen kids are. They’re resilient and they battle you. Our kids stayed poised because they have been in big games.”

Monessen (15-9) will look ahead now to the PIAA playoffs. The Greyhounds tried to speed up the game, and the game plan worked for much of the night.

“We ran out of gas,” Monessen coach Dan Bosnic said. “Our kids gave a great effort with their pressure. … Vincentian is a great team and showed why they’re the No. 1 seed.”

After scoring just four points in the third quarter, the Royals held Monessen to that many in the fourth, outscoring them, 18-4.

The Royals negotiated Monessen’s pressure, and the tough play of freshman Devin Whitlock, to advance.

Whitlock scored a team-high 14 points but was held scoreless in the fourth.

The second half, in general, saw a slower pace.

“I think our ability to execute in the half court was important,” Tyree said. “And we handled their half-court pressure. There were some tough situations, but that says a lot about our guys.”

Monessen, in the semifinals for the fifth time in six years, came in averaging 71.9 points.

But the Greyhounds could not find their offense late.

“We had opportunities to make shots,” Bosnic said. “We rely on our defense because we’re not going to make a ton of shots (from the outside).”

Griggs led all scorers with 18 points for the Royals, who have no seniors.

Reeves added 14 points.

Junior Ethan Embleton had nine points and freshman Matt McDoungh had eight.

Monessen erased a 10-point halftime deficit to take a 45-43 lead heading to the fourth quarter.

Whitlock dropped in a layup from high off the backboard to beat the third-quarter buzzer.

The Greyhounds outscored Vincentian in the third, 16-4.

They closed the quarter with a 13-2 surge.

Monessen went ahead briefly early in the fourth, at 47-45, on a layup from Elijahwa Payne. But the Greyhounds could only muster one more field goal after that as the Royals finished the game with a 16-2 run to seal it.

Griggs scored 10 in the fourth, including 6 of 6 free throws.

Vincentian gained some spacing in the second quarter after a back-and-forth first.

“Our kids battled, but we couldn’t keep it going for four quarters,” Bosnic said.

Whitlock’s driving layup tied it 21-21 but the Royals scored nine straight points to take a 30-21 lead in the second.

Griggs threw a pinpoint, no-look pass to Angelo Reeves for a dunk later to give the Royals a 36-25 advantage.

Two free throws by Griggs made it a 13-point lead.

Monessen made a run to close the half on consecutive hoops by Zairik Anderson and Jalen Brice to cut it to 38-29.

Embleton’s halfcourt heave swished through the rim but it was waved off and the Royals took a 39-29 lead into the half.

Dishon Howell fouled out with 4:14 to play.

Tags: Monessen, Vincentian Academy