Pioneers fall to Imani Christian, 46-39
Darnell Graham
West Greene蘑菇视频 Austin Crouse (14) dribbles past Imani Christian蘑菇视频 Joshua Davis (35) during Friday蘑菇视频 WPIAL Class A first-round playoff game at Charleroi High School.
Imani Christian's Joshua West (35) flies above West Greene's Garrett Ross (33) as Ross attempts to put up a shot under the basket during Friday's WPIAL Class A first round playoff game at Charleroi High School.
West Greene's Nathan Brudnock goes up for a lay-up as Imani Christian's Asante Watkins (2) attempts to block the shot during their WPIAL Class A first round playoff game at Charleroi High School on Feb. 16.
CHARLEROI 鈥� Early jitters in the first quarter and untimely turnovers in the final minutes of the fourth quarter were the downfall for the West Greene boys basketball team, as they fell to Imani Christian, 46-39, in the first round of the WPIAL Class A playoffs last Friday night at Charleroi High School.
The 10th-ranked Pioneers (8-15) were the underdogs to the seventh-ranked Section 3-A tri-champion, but found their feet in the second half by outscoring Imani, 27-23.
鈥淥ur kids have come a long way this season,鈥� West Greene coach Jim Romanus said. 鈥淣ear the end of this game we had three juniors and two sophomores on the court, so we have a lot coming back. I liked the way we ended the regular season and I thought tonight蘑菇视频 match-up would be tight. They have a lot of athletes, but we were able play at our pace and we were right there.鈥�
Trailing 23-12 at halftime, West Greene opened the third quarter with an 11-4 spurt to cut the deficit down to 27-23.
The Saints (12-9) responded with a 7-2 rally and after a late 3-pointer by West Greene蘑菇视频 Gavin Scott, held a 34-28 lead heading into the final eight minutes of play.
West Greene cut Imani蘑菇视频 lead down to 39-35 after an inside hoop by Nathan Brudnock that capped off a 7-5 spree to start the fourth.
Scott had a mid-range jumper go down in between a pair of buckets by Imani蘑菇视频 Deshawn Hubbard, but the Pioneers once again made it a four-point game, 43-39, after another interior basket by Brudnock.
鈥淚 challenged Nathan at halftime,鈥� Romanus said. 鈥淚 told him he was the best player on the court for both teams and had to step up his game. He did that and we fed him the ball in the post. It was more of a spread offense for us. We were more aggressive on offense in the second half.鈥�
After the teams traded emptied possessions, the Saints were able to hold off a late rally and secure the postseason win with 3-of-5 shooting at the foul line in the final minute.
Scott led West Greene with 18 points and nailed four 3-pointers, while Brudnock tallied 13 of his 15 points in the final 16 minutes of action.
Hubbard led Imani with 23 points, while Marc Peters added 10.
The Saints played No. 2 Monessen in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Last season, the Greyhounds defeated Imani in the Class A finals.
West Greene was out of sorts in the opening quarter, as the Saints opened up with a 13-2 lead before consecutive 3-pointers by Scott made it 13-8 at the end of one.
Imani started the second quarter with 10 unanswered points, before baskets by Brudnock and Scott made the score 23-12 going into halftime.
West Greene, who has made the playoffs for the last three years, remains relatively young and will have most of its team except for seniors Garrett Ross and Christian Fox.
鈥淭urnovers killed us tonight, and our skill level has to improve over the offseason,鈥� Romanus said. 鈥淚 think we proved to ourselves that we could play with a team like that and if we play to our strengths, we can be competitive with anybody in Class A. Our program is on the upswing and we just have to bring the right approach in the off-season.鈥�