Hounds play tough, fall to Neighborhood Academy

The Monessen boys basketball program has been one of the winningest and most successful programs in the WPIAL alltime.

Not too often are the Greyhounds fine with a loss. That might have changed Friday night, just for one night.

Monessen went toe-to-toe with the head of the table and one of the top teams in the state in Neighborhood Academy in Section 2-1A action.

But the Greyhounds couldn’t get over the hump in the second half as the Bulldogs size, strength and quickness were too much to handle in a 71-55 loss.

“The effort was there for our kids,” Monessen coach Dan Bosnic said. “They battled for 32 minutes with one of the best teams in the state. They competed the whole game. We played with a lot of energy and intensity. This is Monessen basketball, so you are never ok with the result when you do not win. But this is something to build from.”

The Greyhounds (9-5, 3-3) put together a solid outing compared to the last time they faced the Bulldogs (17-1, 6-0) on the road, a 72-46 setback.

Courtney Wallace and Kedron Gilmore poured in 20 points apiece for Neighborhood Academy, as Syncer Nicholson was also in double-figures with 12. The Bulldogs extended their winning streak to seven games after their first and only loss of the season to Class 4A Beaver Area.

“We knew it was going to be a tough environment tonight,” NA coach Jordan Marks said. “We just knew it was not going to be easy and we were going to have to grind out a win. We had to slow it down at times and try to avoid rushing into our offense. Monessen is a tough squad, but our kids are just battle-tested and they know how to execution our game plan.” Rodney Johnson led the Greyhounds with 13 points, 11 of which were in the first half. Tyvaughn Kershaw and Jae’kwon Craggette tallied 11 points apiece, while Devontae Robinson chipped in with 10.

The visitors jumped out to an early 9-2 lead, but the home team rebounded with the next four points, all of which were at the free throw line.

Wallace, who scored eight points in the first frame, grabbed a transition hoop that started a 10-0 run for the Bulldogs. The Greyhounds had trouble keeping up in the opening period, as they had nine turnovers in the opening eight minutes.

After Monessen collected the final three points of the first quarter to make it a 19-9 deficit, the Greyhounds quickly found their footing in the contest and tighten things up with a 9-4 spree that trimmed the Bulldogs’ advantage to 23-18 with 5:31 left before halftime.

“We wanted to spread their defense out and be aggressive with our drives,” Bosnic said. “They have a lot of size and are a physical bunch. But our guys showed no intimidation or trepidation with their drives to the basket. Our game plan was to attack them downhill.”

The squads exchanged points for the next couple of minutes before NA closed out the first half with a 7-4 spurt and carried a 34-26 lead into intermission. Monessen was hanging in their after playing sound, halfcourt defense and going 10-for-13 at the foul line in the first half.

The Bulldogs went up by 12 points after registering the first two baskets of the third quarter, but the Greyhounds responded with seven unanswered points, including a trey by Robinson, to make it 38-33.

NA’s defense woke up the remainder of the period, as they ended the third with a 12-5 scoring edge. Monessen had a couple of starters that got into some foul trouble, and struggled at the foul line with a 1-for-11 performance at the stripe in the quarter.

“We take pride in our defense,” Marks said. “Defense will always be a huge point of emphasis for our coaching staff. We always stress defense and we practice different types of defensive scenarios. That helps our guys out a lot in games. We have a lot of size and quickness, and our goal every game is to speed up the other teams and make them uncomfortable.” The Bulldogs carried a 50-40 lead into the fourth quarter, and then made an emphatic statement to start the final frame with seven straight points. The spree was started with a three-pointer by Gilmore and then Nicholson went 4-for-4 at the free throw line.

The Greyhounds showed no quit, however, fighting back into the game with a 7-2 rally. Despite the run, NA made another impactful play, a three-point play by Gilmore, to push its lead to 62-47 with 4:17 left in regulation.

Monessen went on a 7-2 spree, on the strength of an interior hoop by Johnson, a trey by Craggette and a pair of free throws by Kershaw, that made it 64-54.

But just like before, NA had an answered as a corner three by Junior Onqubiko gave the visitors the momentum right back. The Bulldogs ended the game with four of the final five points. For the game, they shot 12for-20 at the charity stripe, but went 9-for-13 in the fourth.

The Greyhounds shot the ball at a 16-for-31 clip from the free throw line, but struggled at the foul line in the second half with a 6-for-19 effort.

“If we made some more easy baskets in the first half and hit more of our foul shots in the second half, who knows this game could have been closer,” Bosnic said. “You have to finish against a good team like this. They have a lot of good players with a solid supporting cast. They can rebound and play defense. There is a reason why they are number one in the state.”

Monessen will continue section play Tuesday at Serra Catholic.

“We are not ok with the loss, but this is a game where you look at the bigger picture and know we can take a step forward with the effort our kids showed tonight,” Bosnic said. “We have a lot of important, section games left. We are getting better, especially with our halfcourt offense. There is a lot of basketball left to play. We need to continue to play with the same energy.”