By JOSE NEGRON
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Monessen can stake claim to bragging rights in the cross-river rivalry with Charleroi after the Greyhounds captured a 54-51 victory over the Cougars in a nonsection contest Saturday afternoon.
The Hounds (4-1) used a strong second-half effort to come away with the win, outscoring the Cougars, 33-24, in the final 16 minutes.
“The guys kept working and I feel like we made them earn everything,” Monessen head coach Dan Bosnic said. “We made adjustments, we were able to stay in front of the basketball as the game went along and we stayed attached to their shooters. Most of the time we gave them one shot and were able to get the ball out on a fast break off of that. Those are things we know we need to do to be successful.”
Monessen trailed 27-21 at halftime and saw its deficit grow to as many as nine points midway through the third quarter.
Then, the momentum shifted.
After James Thomas converted on a shot inside with 3:51 to go, Monessen went on a 10-0 run over the span of three minutes to take a 37-36 advantage. Kiantae Robinson scored his first points of the game during the spurt before Kody Kuhns, Mechi Cook and Chas Mrlack each added buckets to put the Hounds ahead.
“I think our kids needed that,” Bosnic said. “We talked about coming out in the third quarter and grabbing hold of the game, and they did just that. I thought our energy picked up defensively and that allowed us to get out a couple of times.”
Charleroi (2-2) scored five of the final seven points in the third, all of which came in the final minute, to maintain a 41-39 edge heading into the fourth.
Zach Usher scored four of the first six points in the final frame to push Charleroi’s lead to four, but an 8-0 run by the Hounds gave them the lead back at 49-45 with just over 4:30 left.
Mechi Cook took over during the run, scoring five of his 13 points. He had seven total points in the second half.
“Their inside presence made the difference,” Charleroi head coach Bill Wiltz said. “They kept feeding (Cook) and if he didn’t get fed, he got the offensive rebound. I told our kids rebounding is about desire, it’s not necessarily about height. We have to make up for our lack of height with rebounding and desire. It’ll come, we’re just young.”
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