Pioneers rout Mapletown, 72-11
ROGERSVILLE — West Greene scored the game’s first 21 points and never looked back for a 72-11 rout of Mapletown Friday night.
With the victory and Avella’s loss to Clairton, the Pioneers (12-6, 5-4) clinched the third playoff spot out of Section 2-A behind Monessen and Clairton.
After not making the postseason for two decades, this is West Greene’s second straight trip to the playoffs. The Pioneers have won seven of their last nine games.
“Obviously going back to the playoffs was a huge goal of ours,” West Greene coach Jim Romanus said. “The kids have been much improved from last year and I think overall we are a better team.
“But, with that being said, we are not where we want to be. We are not just happy to get to the playoffs. We want to compete with the Monessens and the Clairtons of the world.
“We have played some good halves against those teams, but we can’t put together four full quarters against them. Their depth and speed hurts us, and we can’t keep up with them. Those are the two best teams in Class A, and we are going to face some stiff competition in the playoffs.”
Kolton Rush led all scorers in the game with 27 points and the senior forward needs just 77 points to reach 1,000 points in his career.
Nathan Brudnock scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, while Craig Weaver registered a solid game in the post with 12 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks.
Weaver, who reached the 1,000-point plateau earlier in the season, is now nine rebounds away from 1,000 boards in his career with the Pioneers.
The losing skid for the Maples (0-20, 0-9) has reached 43 games. The last win for Mapletown was Jan. 28, 2015, against Carmichaels.
Richard Cacurak collected seven points for the Maples.
West Greene caught fire immediately to start the game, shutting out the visitors, 14-0, in the opening quarter. Weaver tallied eight points in the frame.
The Pioneers started the second quarter with seven straight points before Cacurak broke the Maples’ scoreless streak with a free throw at the 5:53 mark of the quarter.
West Greene ended the second period on a 25-3 run, which included the final 12 points of the quarter, to stretch its lead to 46-4 at halftime.
Rush compiled 17 of West Greene’s 32 points in the second quarter.
“Kolton has really taken off this last half of the season,” Romanus said. “He has been averaging mid-20s for us and his shot has been on. Like most seniors, Kolton has come to that realization that this is his senior year and he has to leave it all on the floor. He has brought the right energy.”
With the mercy rule and running clock in effect to start the second half, the Pioneers held a 10-3 scoring edge in the third quarter and a 16-4 scoring advantage in the fourth period.
“Our conditioning has really improved,” Romanus said. “We have a good rotation of kids and we have been mixing up our lineups. I feel like we have three really strong scorers, and if we could get a fourth that would be huge for us. Of course, it always comes down to defense and rebounding in the playoffs. You have to do the little things to be successful.”
Both teams will end their Section 2-A schedules on Tuesday, as Mapletown hosts Geibel Catholic and West Greene welcomes in Avella.
At halftime of the West Greene game, the Pioneers will induct basketball stars Dave Goodwin and Rachel Phillips into the school’s Hall of Fame. Both are the top two scorers in West Greene’s basketball history.
Section 2-A
Mapletown 聽 聽 聽0-4-3-4 — 11
West Greene 14-32-10-16 — 72
Mapletown: Richard Cacurak 7. West Greene: Kolton Rush 27, Nathan Brudnock 19, Craig Weaver 12. Records: Mapletown (0-20, 0-9), West Greene (12-6, 5-4).