Feb 17, 2005 By Jim Downey 3 min read

If the WPIAL basketball playoffs are a scaled down version of the NCAA’s “Big Dance,” then the Geibel boys basketball team stepped out with one of the less-than-attractive stepsisters Wednesday night, advancing to the Class A quarterfinals with a unattractive 61-48 victory over Monessen at Penn State-Fayette, The Eberly Campus. Cinderella didn’t even get into the shower for this one with the Gators making a paltry 12-of-35 free throw attempts, including 7-of-16 down the stretch in the fourth quarter. The Greyhounds weren’t much better, making just 6-of-15 foul shot attempts while committing 28 fouls with three players fouling out.

“That was ugly,” understated Geibel Catholic head coach Ken Misiak. “We’ll take the win. There’s nothing so great to talk about (this game).”

The Gators will face St. Joseph in the quarterfinals, a 77-56 winner over California at Southmoreland High School.

“We better play a lot better than we did tonight (against St. Joseph),” added Misiak.

Monessen head coach Joe Salvino wanted a low-scoring affair, and he got his wish in the first half with the Gators (18-4) leading 22-21 at the break. Monessen received additional help when the Gators’ Kellen Holmes picked up his third foul at 1:37 of the first quarter, forcing him to sit out the second quarter.

“We were in the flow in the first half, pushing the ball up the floor. We had the lead,” said Salvino. The Greyhounds (8-14) actually ran off to their biggest lead of the game in the second quarter when Sheldon Davis’ putback gave Monessen a 17-10 advantage at 5:36 of the quarter.

The game seesawed in the third quarter with Geibel’s biggest lead at 26-21 (after a Mitch Erdely lay-up from a Mario Fragello feed) and the Greyhounds chipping away until Vince Campbell’s 3-pointer with 36 seconds left in the quarter pushed Monessen ahead 38-33.

Fragello answered with a 3-pointer with eight seconds to go to make the score 38-36 in favor of Monessen after three quarters.

Geibel scored more points in the fourth quarter than it had in the first half despite a woeful performance at the line. Holmes’ only 3-pointer of the game 35 seconds into the fourth quarter gave the Gators a 39-38 advantage and the lead for good, although it wasn’t without some tense moments for both sides.

Mike Speelman’s lone 3-pointer of the game with 3:31 left was, according to Misiak, the turning point of the game.

“When Mike hit that 3-pointer, you could sense a momentum swing there. It picked the kids up,” said Misiak.

As for his only long-range make, Misiak added, “Speelman was hitting (3-pointers) wild in practice, but he made it when we needed it tonight.”

Both coaches had a frustrating night with players missing makeable layups to go along with a tough night at the foul line.

“We played a good game, at times,” said Salvino. “We couldn’t get over the hump. We had opportunities at the foul line to tie or take the lead. You only have so many times you can do that in a game.”

Williams played a hard game for the Greyhounds, finishing with a team-high 14 points with many coming from offensive rebounds.

Misiak pressed the Greyhounds, and expects to do the same against St. Joseph.

“I like the press to try to ignite something,” said Misiak. “Their guards were a little jittery and turned the ball over.

“It’s the playoffs. Kids freeze up. We’ll need to play a lot better than we did tonight.”

Despite his foul troubles, Holmes led Geibel with 17 points. Rob Ramsey, who faced a box-and-one or triangle-and-2 for most of the game, finished with 15 points.