Falcons top Pioneers, 52-43
Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard
Brownsville’s Shandon Marshall drives to the basket while being guarded by West Greene’s Joey Reed during Tuesday’s non-section game at Brownsville Area High School.
Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard
West Greene’s Austin Crouse drives to the basket while being guarded by Brownsville’s Javon Dove during a non-section game at Brownsville Area High School on Dec. 19 last season.
West Greene's Austin Crouse makes a pass while being watched by Brownsville's Javon Dove during Tuesday's non-section game at Brownsville Area High School.
West Greene's Gavin Scott (11), Austin Crouse (14) and Garret Ross (33) defend as Brownsville's Phil Pace puts up a shot during a non-section game at Brownsville Area High School on Dec. 19.
Brownsville's Shandon Marshall pulls down a rebound during Tuesday's non-section game against West Greene at Brownsville Area High School.
Brownsville's Shandon Marshall passes to a teammate during Tuesday's non-section game against West Greene at Brownsville Area High School.
Brownsville's Shandon Marshall battles for position under the basket during Tuesday's non-section game against West Greene at Brownsville Area High School.
Brownsville's Phil Pace pulls down a rebound during a non-section game against West Greene in a game last season at Brownsville Area High School.
Brownsville's Phil Pace and West Greene's Garret Ross (33) battle for rebounding position during Tuesday's non-section game at Brownsville Area High School.
Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard
West Greene’s Gavin Scott puts up a shot over Brownsville’s Brad Koval during Tuesday’s non-section game at Brownsville Area High School.
West Greene's Gavin Scott passes to a teammate after pulling down a rebound in front of Brownsville's Javon Dove during Tuesday's non-section game at Brownsville Area High School.
Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard
Brownsville head coach Mark Marino shouts instructions to his team during a non-section game against West Greene last year at Brownsville Area High School.
HILLER — Brownsville used a strong second quarter to build a big lead before a late West Greene rally cut the deficit to single digits in the Falcons’ 52-43 non-section victory on Tuesday night at Brownsville Area High School.
Brownsville (0-1, 4-1) outscored the Pioneers, 17-4, in the second for a 29-11 halftime advantage. It pushed its advantage to 46-22 heading into the fourth, but with the Falcons’ starters on the bench, West Greene (0-3) held a 21-6 edge in the fourth.
“They have some really good athletes, and they run some good stuff, so we had a hard time matching up with that,” West Greene coach Jim Romanus said. “The other thing is we have to make shots against a team like this. We played a pretty solid first quarter, then it kind of unraveled.
“We had one senior playing, and the rest of these kids are really young. We also had a few kids out. We started to play better towards the other end, but that is when he put his other kids in, and that shows he is a class act.”
Brownsville’s Shandon Marshall, who went over 1,000 career points on Dec. 13 against Geibel Catholic, led the Falcons in scoring with 19 points on eight field goals, including one 3-pointer, and was 2 for 5 at the foul line in three quarters.
“I have been in that situation on the other side,” Brownsville coach Mark Marino said referring on taking his starters out with the game in hand. “Jimmy (Romanus) is a good coach, and he lost two great players last year to graduation. You have to respect the fact that he came in tonight down three players as a Single A school, and those kids played hard from the beginning to end.
“I thought our energy was off and on tonight. We were just playing hard in spurts. That is not what good teams do. We play two or three good possessions, then we lapse. It does matter to me that we allowed them to get back in the game because I expect anyone we put on the court to meet our expectations. It might have been because we had six guys that played in the JV game and had to come back in the varsity game. We have high expectations for all our guys, but they are young guys.”
The Pioneers’ Austin Crouse led all scorers with 22 points on seven field goals, including two 3-pointers, and was 6 of 10 at the foul line.
“Austin (Crouse) is a sophomore, and his play tonight is encouraging,” Romanus said. “I was really proud of how our guys battled back.”
Brownsville’s Phil Pace was also in double figures with 13 points on four field goals, and was 5 of 6 at the foul line. Pace gave the Falcons a strong presence inside that caused problems for West Greene.
“Phil (Pace) did a good job inside,” Marino said. “I thought all of our bigs, Phil, Leonard Harris, Eli Eicher and Nick Seto all did a really good job of posting up tonight.”
The Pioneers’ Joey Reed and Drew Wise each added seven points.
Brownsville plays at Carrick (6-0) tonight in non-section play before hosting South Side Beaver (1-1, 1-4) on Friday in Section 4-AAA play. Both games are scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
“I thought we had a pretty good challenge to start our section play at Washington,” Marino said. “We never try to get too high or too low. I don’t know yet how we stake up in our section. We will just have to take it game by game. I believe Carrick is undefeated and South Side Beaver is off to a good start.”
West Greene looks to win its first game of the season when it opens Section 2-A play on Friday against visiting Geibel Catholic (1-3). The tip-off is set for 7 p.m.