Dec 27, 2023 By Bill Hughes 3 min read

MONESSEN – Washington and Monessen picked up double-digit wins, in albeit different ways, in the Delvin Miller Christmas Tournament Wednesday in Monessen.

In the opener, the Prexies trailed by as many as seven points early before waking up and pulling away from Winchester Thurston, 61-46.

“It was extremely sloppy, and it was probably the worst we have looked execution-wise all season,” said Washington coach Ryan Bunting. “To have 20-plus turnovers in the game is uncharacteristic, and unacceptable, to be honest. We played maybe five minutes of what I thought was decent basketball in the entire game.”

De’Ondre Daugherty paced a quartet of Prexies with 18 points while Ruben Gordon scored 15, Zxavian Willis finished with 14 and Braiden Wise tallied 11.

Down 15-11 after the first quarter, the Prexies (3-5) used a 14-8 advantage in the second quarter to take a 25-23 lead into the half.

A 14-8 advantage in the third extended the Washington lead to 39-31 heading into the fourth, and the Bears (4-3) would get no closer than six points the rest of the game.

Bunting gave the Bears credit for sticking to their strategy early, but said the Prexies have to be ready to go from the jump.

“Winchester Thurston came with a game plan and executed it early, and I am not taking anything away from them,” Bunting said. “It was a very slow start for us, and it is something we better remedy quickly. They finally woke up. I can’t tell you why it took so long.

“We came in early for a shoot-around and to go over the game plan, and it still took time to wake up. It makes the job fun but frustrating at the same time.”

The win is Washington’s third in a row after starting 0-5, and it has still only had its full lineup for one game this season.

The host Greyhounds (5-1) raced out to a 49-14 halftime lead en route to a 58-34 win over Propel Braddock Hills (3-5).

Monessen coach Dan Bosnic began subbing freely in the second quarter and limited his starters to only a few minutes in the second half to get his role players and subs quality time.

“We were able to get everyone good minutes today,” he said. “We rotated well defensively in the first half, and it resulted in us getting a lot of takeaways.

“I am pleased with how Rodney Johnson and Devontae Robinson played in the first half, as this is a step forward for Rodney while Devontae was disruptive defensively.”

Lorenzo Garder (27) and Tim Kershaw (13) combined for 40 points, including 36 in the first half, to pace Monessen.

Micah Kirkland and Elijah Toole-Fowler each scored eight points to lead Propel.