Monessen ousted by Farrell
SLIPPERY ROCK – Many expected a track meet with suffocating press defenses and points in transition Friday night at Morrow Fieldhouse, but that’s exactly what Farrell High School boys basketball coach Roland Shannonhouse wanted to avoid.
So, he thought a change of strategy was worth the risk. Instead of pressure man-to-man defense, he went with a defense the Steelers used for only one half of basketball all season.
Like North Catholic, Monessen’s opponent in the WPIAL semifinals, the Steelers tightly blocked every driving lane, challenging Monessen to shoot from beyond the arc.
It was a strategy Monessen head coach Joe Salvino expected. What he didn’t expect was his players not making shots, again.
The Greyhounds made only 4 of 27 shots from three-point range, and Farrell used a methodical fourth-quarter offense to pull away for a 44-37 win in a PIAA Class A first-round game at Slippery Rock University.
“When you don’t score in basketball, it just makes it too difficult, regardless if it’s off your defense or off your offense,” Salvino said. “If you don’t score, you ain’t winning.”
The Greyhounds averaged 92 points per game, had not scored less than 69 points in a game all season and eclipsed 37 points in one quarter on multiple occasions, but saw their season end with a 21-5 record. The offensive struggles came after shooting just 3 of 19 from three-point range in the loss to North Catholic.
The Steelers (20-6) advanced to the second round to play Elk County Catholic (26-0) Tuesday at a site and time to be determined.
Despite poor shooting and an inability to drive to the basket, Monessen took a two-point lead early in the fourth quarter on a short jumper by senior Dwight Moore, who scored a team-high 16 points. The Steelers, however, quickly regained the lead on a three-point play by freshman forward Kyi Wright with less than five minutes remaining.
After a empty possession by Monessen, Farrell drained more than 90 seconds off the clock before Wright, who had a game-high 20 points, made a twisting layup from the right block for a three-point lead.
On the ensuing possession, the Greyhounds missed a three-pointer and Wright answered with two more points.
“That’s what happens when you’re not scoring and you’re so used to scoring,” Salvino said. “You stop playing defense. We did that a couple times. We didn’t score and … we didn’t play defense. We let them get an easy bucket here or there.”
Farrell’s leading scorer, senior Malik Miller, who was held to eight points, blocked Jaden Altomore’s layup attempt with just over a minute remaining and made two of the Steelers’ four free throws in the final 30 seconds.
Shannonhouse didn’t watch any video of Monessen, but he was confident after using the 2-3 zone in the first half of the District 10 title game against Kennedy Catholic, holding the state’s top-ranked team to 24 points.
“We knew what those guys were capable of, so we wanted to try to go into a strategic move, switching things up and slow things down a little bit; hopefully confuse them,” Shannonhouse said. “It changed their style of play and that sort of worked out for us tonight.”
Monessen was held to just seven points in the first quarter and trailed by seven points midway through the second quarter before Rice’s three-pointer sparked a 7-0 run, helping the Greyhounds take a three-point lead into the half.
They effectively drove through the lane to draw fouls or create open looks, but it came at a cost. Both teams were called for a combined eight offensive charges, including four in the first half for Monessen.
With Altomore and Rush in foul trouble, the Greyhounds grew more tentative and started rushing three-point shots. The Steelers started the third quarter on a 9-2 run to grab a seven-point lead, but Rush, who was held to 10 points, sparked a run to help tie the score 31-31 entering the fourth quarter, despite committing five turnovers – mostly driving into difficult areas below the basket – during that span.
“When you don’t hit your perimeter shots, that’s what they’re going to do; they’re going to keep sinking in, sinking in and sinking in,” Salvino said. “That’s what happens. It makes it hard to penetrate five people. Sometimes we penetrated too much and got ourselves in an area where we didn’t know what to do with the basketball.”
After making its first shot of the fourth quarter, Monessen went 0-for-6 from the field the rest of the game. The Greyhounds’ big four – Justice Rice, Rush, Moore and Altomore – were held to a combined 33 points.
“When you don’t score, pressure starts to get to you because you don’t feel confident in yourself,” Salvino said. “When they shut down the penetration, you don’t know what to do with the basketball, so you get frustrated.”