Roaring Lions, Greyhounds in big games
Monessen's Dwight Moore goes up for two against Leechburg's Wyatt Libitzer in Wednesday's WPIAL Class A first-round playoff game at Charleroi High School. The Greyhounds begin PIAA play Friday with a first-round game against Farrell at Slippery Rock University.
Penn State Fayette guard Marvin Sidon puts up a shot as Penn State Schuylkill guard Nick Jacoby defends in first-half action of their game on Jan. 30. The Roaring Lions play Central Maine today at 6 p.m. in the USCAA tournament.
One team has been there, done that. The other is reaching new heights it hopes will lead to bigger and better things in the immediate future.
Together, they form a solid one-two punch of Herald-Standard Games of the Week.
The first of this week’s duo games of the week will begin at 6 p.m. Wednesday, when the men’s basketball team from Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, take on Central Maine Community College in the opening game of the Division II men’s championship bracket at the USCAA National Championship Tournament.
Game Two is a Class A first round PIAA game featuring two state-wide heavyweights. The Monessen Greyhounds (21-4) travel to Slippery Rock University to take on the Farrell Steelers (19-6). Tip-off will be at 7 p.m. Friday.
Monessen stumbled to a third-place finish in the WPIAL, while Farrell lost the District 10 championship game to Kennedy Catholic.
The men’s team at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, already has achieved a few first during this 15-11 season. The Roaring Lions made it to the Bryce Jordan Center on Penn State’s Main Campus for the PSUAC championship game.
Even though Fayette lost to Mont Alto, 68-66, the Roaring Lions earned a seven-seed into the USCAA Tournament. So, for the first time in this, the eighth installment of small college’s March Madness at Fayette, the host team did not settle for the automatic seeding and lowest possible seed in the event.
“This is the first time we didn’t have to use the automatic bid to get into the tournament,” said coach Mookie John. “We earned our way in like all of the other teams.”
Even three years ago, when the Roaring Lions lost in the USCAA Championship game to Warren Wilson, they did so as the No. 10 seed. Warren Wilson was the nine-seed.
Which gets to the point that any team in this field can win it all, including the Roaring Lions.
“We’re planning on doing what we do and doing more of it,” John said of his team’s plans for the tournament. “This team has already achieved a few things that have never been achieved here.
“We’re an up-tempo team that relies on our defensive pressure to get turnovers and get our offense rolling. We’re hoping to just play our brand of basketball and playe it better than our opponents.”
Central Maine (21-9) lost the YSCC Championship game to fellow USCAA Tournament entrant Maine-Machias. The Mustangs are an outside-in team that loves to post up its big man, 6-4 junior Carrington Miller, who averages about 19 points and about 10 rebounds per game.
“He’s the guy they like to go to, but they all like to play with their back to the hoop,” John said. “They have nice size and a lot of thir players like to score from the post. But like all team in this tournament, thy have good outside shooters, too.”
John, conversely, will count on his three seniors — guards Brandon Cunningham, Luke Williams and Brownsville’s C.J. Gaddis — to play great basketball.
All three were honored at the USCAA banquet tuesday night at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort. Cunningham was named first-team All-American, Williams was named second-team All-Ameircan and Gaddis was named to the National All-Academic team.
As usual, the Roaring Lions will play to a tremendous height disadvantage. While CMCC has six players who stand at least 6-3, the Roaring Lions have only only three that tall and only Cunningham, a guard, is in the starting lineup.
Spencer Perieff, a 6-1 junior forward, and Dominick Jackson, a 5-10 junior guard, round out Fayette’s starting five. Also expected to see playing time are London Hoxie, Charleroi’s Tony Bristol and Marvin Sidon.
A win by Fayette would send the Roaring Lions into a 2 p.m. Thursday game against Central Penn. A Fayette loss would send them into a consolation game at 1:15 p.m. Thursday against the loser of the St. Joseph (Vt.)-Maine-Presque Isle.
Monessen, meanwhile, prepares for a pretty tough first-round PIAA match-up.
“Farrell is very athletic and they get up and down the floor pretty quickly and efficiently,” said Greyhounds coach Joe Salvino. “They are very similar to us in that regard, but they have a big kid who is 6-6 or 6-8, so we have to match-up with their height.”
Monessen’s tallest starters are 6-2 junior guard Justice Rich and Jaden Altomore. The rest of Salvino’s all-guard starting lineup consists of seniors Dwight Moore and Lavelle Rush and junior Jaron Youngblood. None is taller than 6-0, so the Greyhounds will depend, as usual, on their speed and quickness.
This may be the best first-round match-up the PIAA came up with, regardless of classification.
“I guess so,” Salvino said. “District 10 is probably the other district, besides the WPIAL, that is very good in basketball. Farrell just lost to Kennedy Catholic who has been No. 1 in the state all season.
“But regardless of when you play these teams, you’re gonna have to play them sooner or later. There are no pushovers in the state playoffs. We know we can’t slack off at any time. In my 32 years of coaching, I know you have to have your ‘A’ game with you at all times.
“When we won it all, George Junior Republic was No. 1 in the state all year and we beat them.”
A Monessen win would send the Greyhounds into the second round next Tuesday against the winner of Friday’s Elk County Catholic (25-0) vs. Eden Christian (22-4) game.