Pioneers ride defense, Burns’ 20 points to playoff win over Avella
ROGERSVILLE – West Greene made the most of its first WPIAL boys basketball home playoff game on Friday night.
Playing in front of a loud home crowd, the Pioneers rode a strong defensive effort and a game-high 20 points from Parker Burns to a 58-47 win over Avella in a Class A first-round battle.
West Greene (16-7) advances to Wednesday’s quarterfinals against top-seeded and defending district and PIAA champion Imani Christian with the site and time to be determined.
The Pioneers notched the program’s first playoff victory since 1991 – also over Avella – and only the second in school history, and recorded their first 16-win season since 1992 which was the last time they reached the quarterfinals.
West Greene coach Jim Romanus, who has guided West Greene into the postseason in eight of the last nine years, was relieved to see his team finally advance.
“We went to the playoffs seven years in a row until last year but we had lost in the first round every time,” Romanus said. “Not winning in the playoffs was bothersome to me, so this win was a great relief because we at least cleared that hurdle.”
The eighth-seeded Pioneers held the ninth-seeded Eagles scoreless in taking an 8-0 lead in the first quarter and stayed in control the rest of the way.
“The first quarter was really, really important,” said Romanus. “To jump on them like that, our kids did an outstanding job, especially on their two best players, (Westley) Burchianti and (Bryce) Wright.”
Avella (9-14) finally got its offense untracked in the second quarter with 17 points, but West Greene matched that and led 25-17 at halftime and pushed the gap up to 42-29 after three quarters. The Eagles held an 18-16 edge in the final frame but it wasn’t enough.
“We’ve had some bad starts the first three, four, five minutes but we’ve never been shut out in the first quarter,” said Avella coach Mike Macik. “We tried to make it up the rest of the game and that made it tough. We missed a lot of easy shots in the first quarter.
“It got better as the game went on. We just fell short. Our goal was to be a playoff team and win a game. That didn’t happen.”
The contest featured a pair of 1,000-point scorers in Burchianti and West Greene’s Lane Allison, but it was Burns who stole the show by hitting nine of 13 shots while also grabbing six rebounds.
“Parker is like an old-fashioned kid. He works so hard,” Romanus said. “He doesn’t get the recognition but without him we wouldn’t be anywhere. He stepped up tonight big time.”
Burchianti totaled 14 points with one 3-pointer, eight rebounds, four steals and two assists. Nate Cilia led the Eagles with 15 points, including four 3-pointers, and Wright followed with 11 points with a trio of treys.
Allison, who scored his 1,000th point in a home win over Bentworth on Feb. 12, was hampered by foul trouble against the Eagles and wound up with seven points all from 10 trips to the free throw line.
“Honestly, if you’d told me before the game that Lane would only score seven points, I would’ve thought we lost,” Romanus said. “But that’s what a team’s all about. Everyone else picked up the slack.”
Burns is one of the Pioneers’ three junior leaders along with Allison and Patrick Durbin.
“We have three captains,” Romanus said. “Lane Allison is our offensive threat. Patrick Durbin is our defensive specialist. And Parker Burns is our floor general. He stabilizes everything out there. He makes sure everyone is in the right spot.
“I’ve got really really good kids. The three started nine games as freshmen and every game last year. So even though they are juniors, they have a lot of experience.”
West Greene also got a needed a boost from the rest of its supporting cast with Allison, who ended up with four fouls, relegated to the bench for a couple long stretches.
“I want to commend our sophomores, Matt Wassil and Darren Knight, and then also Will Shipman, who gave us a lot of valuable minutes off the bench with Lane with those fouls.
“I was really proud of our effort.”
Knight made four of six shots from the field, including his team’s lone 3-pointer, in scoring 13 points to go along with five assists and two steals. The 6-foot-7 Wassil converted all three of his attempts for six points and added eight rebounds and four blocked shots. Shipman chipped in with six points on two-of-three shooting while also hitting both his free throws and grabbing six boards. Durbin had six points and nine boards.
The two teams’ offensive approaches couldn’t have been more different.
West Greene, running a deliberate offense, worked for high-percentage shots and made plenty of them with a shooting percentage of 54.5%. The Pioneers took only six 3-pointers.
Avella attempted 37 3-pointers, making eight, against West Greene’s zone, and misfired on 25 of 34 two-point attempts, ending the game shooting just 23.9% from the field.
The Eagles attempted 71 shots to only 33 for West Greene.
“Throughout the year we have been pretty efficient,” Romanus said of his team’s offense. “We drill them to pass up a good shot for a better shot for the best shot.
“Another thing when you get short shots, you limit the other team’s chances for fast breaks. Missed threes lead to breakouts and Burchianti is extremely dangerous in the open court.”
Burchianti, the only senior on the floor for either team, ended his career with 1,040 points.
“I could tell he was disappointed in the outcome, as was everyone, but I’m never disappointed in his effort or leadership,” Macik said. “The work he puts in can only be a lesson to the rest of his teammates.
“Our young team can only learn from his desire to be the best and that will help Avella in the future. A great player, and just a great kid. I wish him the best.”
The Eagles’ starting lineup included four sophomores.
Romanus lauded West Greene’s fans.
“Our community supports our kids,” Romanus said. “We had a great crowd tonight. It was really rewarding to see that.”