West Greene rides strong finish to 45-39 win at J-M
JEFFERSON 无毛视频� Jim Romanus makes it a point to talk with his West Greene players about how quickly momentum can change in the sport of basketball.
无毛视频淏efore the game we went over our matchups and what kids can do what on their team, what offense they like to run,无毛视频� Romanus said following the Pioneers无毛视频� Section 2-A game at Jefferson-Morgan last Friday night.
无毛视频淔inally, the last part I put down is that every basketball team has runs. They无毛视频檙e going to have a run, we无毛视频檙e going to have a run. The most important thing is don无毛视频檛 blink. Just keep focused on what you have to do.无毛视频�
West Greene didn无毛视频檛 blink when it fell down by nine points early in the third quarter or when it found itself behind by eight early in the fourth quarter and the result was a come-from-behind 45-39 victory over the Rockets.
Lane Allison scored a game-high 14 points and Parker Burns followed with 11 points as the Pioneers (2-1, 7-5) moved into third place in the section behind Monessen and California. Jefferson-Morgan (2-2, 9-5) fell into fourth place.
West Greene trailed 35-27 after a basket by J-M无毛视频檚 Deyton Marion with around six minutes left in the game when it reeled off 15 consecutive points over a span of 4:20 to forge a 42-35 lead with 1:36 left and hung on from there.
Patrick Durbin scored seven of his nine points in the run, including the tying basket with 4:01 left. Allison followed with a three-point play a minute later to put the Pioneers ahead to stay.
One of the keys to the game-changing run was Romanus无毛视频檚 willingness to listen to his players.
无毛视频淭hese kids are extremely coachable,无毛视频� Romanus said. 无毛视频淟ane, Parker and Patrick started some games when they were freshmen, then they started every game last year, so they basically know what I want.
无毛视频淏ut also, I take feedback from them. They无毛视频檙e the ones on the court. So we ended up changing my favorite offense to something they wanted to do, we mixed that in. We were trying to save our traps and press for the second half because we don无毛视频檛 go very deep, and it all worked. We got numerous turnovers which got us going.无毛视频�
Max Ivanusic scored 11 points to lead the way for the Rockets, who also got nine points from Jase Bedilion and seven points from Marion, who fouled out with 5:29 left which helped turn the tide West Greene无毛视频檚 way, according to J-M coach Brandon Lawless.
无毛视频淒eyton fouled out and there were a few other calls, questionable or not, we ended up having a couple others get in foul trouble, too,无毛视频� Lawless said 无毛视频淭hen they caught momentum at the right time in the fourth quarter and we got cold, and that was it.
无毛视频淒ayten is the best shot blocker we have and one of the best rebounders we have so losing him was important. He无毛视频檚 a crucial part of our program.无毛视频�
Neither team had a senior in its starting lineup and Lawless feels his team is still finding its way while looking for a consistent leader.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 a ship we无毛视频檙e all on together and we无毛视频檙e just trying to find that captain,无毛视频� Lawless said. 无毛视频淚t seems like we have different ones on different days, and we had leaders at different times during tonight无毛视频檚 game but when it got late in the fourth quarter, crunch time, we didn无毛视频檛 have anybody step up.
无毛视频淢aybe part of that is we无毛视频檙e still young and fighting through those little things we need to do, trying to find our identity, trying to find our leaders in the room.无毛视频�
The game was close throughout the first half with neither team leading by more than three points. West Greene held an 8-5 advantage after the first quarter and Jefferson-Morgan took a 17-16 halftime lead thanks to a short jump shot by Collin Bisceglia.
The Rockets also scored the first eight points of the third quarter in a 10-point run capped by Houston Guesman无毛视频檚 3-pointer which made it 25-16.
Two baskets by Burns and a three-point play by Allison got the Pioneers within one but Ivanusic answered with a three-point play of his own and Jefferson-Morgan went on to hold a 28-24 lead after three quarters.
Will Shipman无毛视频檚 3-pointer at the beginning of the fourth quarter whittled the margin to one point before a 3-pointer by Bedilion and two straight buckets by Marion pushed the gap up to eight.
That just set the stage for the Pioneers无毛视频� rally.
The game was a homecoming for Romanus, a former J-M coach who took the Rockets to great heights, including a PIAA playoff appearance, in his time there.
无毛视频淚 was here for 20 years,无毛视频� Romanus said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 always a big game for me because I have a lot of fond memories from here. I don无毛视频檛 sleep for a couple days prior to this one.无毛视频�
Romanus praised the current Rockets squad.
无毛视频淭his was a major challenge because Jeff-Morgan is good,无毛视频� Romanus said. 无毛视频淭heir big kids are tough and they无毛视频檝e got good guard play. They really are a very good team. For us to come in here and take a win, I am really proud of our kids. It无毛视频檚 a huge section win for us.无毛视频�
Lawless pointed out there are still plenty of section games remaining.
无毛视频淭he season is still early,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淚 told my guys we have to get better today. The past is the past and the future is the future but we control our now, and our now is we have to get better.
无毛视频淭his is a very competitive section. My dad, who lives in South Carolina, live streams the games, and I tell him all the time we can win on any night or we can lose on any night in our section.
无毛视频淭onight we were on the wrong end of it, but we just have to learn from this and move on.无毛视频�