Changing tides: West Greene swings momentum with late run in 45-39 win at J-M
JEFFERSON 鈥� Jim Romanus makes it a point to talk with his West Greene players about how quickly momentum can change in the sport of basketball.
鈥淏efore the game we went over our matchups and what kids can do what on their team, what offense they like to run,鈥� Romanus said following the Pioneers鈥� Section 2-A game at Jefferson-Morgan.
鈥淔inally, the last part I put down is that every basketball team has runs. They鈥檙e going to have a run, we鈥檙e going to have a run. The most important thing is don鈥檛 blink. Just keep focused on what you have to do.鈥�
West Greene didn鈥檛 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 willingness to listen to his players.
鈥淭hese kids are extremely coachable,鈥� Romanus said. 鈥淟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.
鈥淏ut also, I take feedback from them. They鈥檙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鈥檛 go very deep, and it all worked. We got numerous turnovers which got us going.鈥�
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鈥檚 way, according to J-M coach Brandon Lawless.
鈥淒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,鈥� Lawless said 鈥淭hen they caught momentum at the right time in the fourth quarter and we got cold, and that was it.
鈥淒ayten is the best shot blocker we have and one of the best rebounders we have so losing him was important. He鈥檚 a crucial part of our program.鈥�
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.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a ship we鈥檙e all on together and we鈥檙e just trying to find that captain,鈥� Lawless said. 鈥淚t seems like we have different ones on different days, and we had leaders at different times during tonight鈥檚 game but when it got late in the fourth quarter, crunch time, we didn鈥檛 have anybody step up.
鈥淢aybe part of that is we鈥檙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.鈥�
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鈥檚 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鈥檚 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鈥� 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.
鈥淚 was here for 20 years,鈥� Romanus said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 always a big game for me because I have a lot of fond memories from here. I don鈥檛 sleep for a couple days prior to this one.鈥�
Romanus praised the current Rockets squad.
鈥淭his was a major challenge because Jeff-Morgan is good,鈥� Romanus said. 鈥淭heir big kids are tough and they鈥檝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鈥檚 a huge section win for us.鈥�
Lawless pointed out there are still plenty of section games remaining.
鈥淭he season is still early,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 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.
鈥淭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.
鈥淭onight we were on the wrong end of it, but we just have to learn from this and move on.鈥�