Whitock leads balanced attack as Leopards roll past Monessen
Darnell Graham
Belle Vernon鈥檚 Devin Whitlock (4) skies over Monessen鈥檚 Ronza Ford (1) to score during Saturday afternoon鈥檚 game at Monessen.
Belle Vernon's Jared Hartman (0) and Monessen's Carleton Jones (4) attempt to gain control of a loose ball during Saturday afternoon's game at Monessen.
Monessen's Marquell Smith (3) puts up a shot as Belle Vernon's Jared Hartman and Mitch Pohlot (32) defend during Saturday afternoon's game at Monessen.
MONESSEN 鈥� Joe Salvino won 639 games as the head coach of the Monessen boys basketball team.
Saturday afternoon, he won yet another game in Monessen鈥檚 gym, but this time as the visiting coach as his Belle Vernon Area Leopards (12-4) cruised to a 78-50 non-section win over the Greyhounds (5-9).
鈥淚t is good to win but I didn鈥檛 look at it this year like I looked at it last year,鈥� Salvino said of facing his alma mater. 鈥淢onessen, to me, was just another team we had to play.
鈥淚t was just another game.鈥�
Also returning to Monessen was BVA sophomore point guard Devin Whitlock, who was an all-state guard a year ago for the Greyhounds.
鈥淚t was exciting and fun coming back to face my old teammates,鈥� said Whitlock, who finished with a game-high 23 points. 鈥淚 take every game one at a time, but I was looking forward to this and excited.鈥�
Salvino said he did not notice anything different about Whitlock heading into this game.
鈥淒ev plays every game like he wants to win, and every game is the same to him,鈥� said Salvino, who is in his second year as the BVA head coach. 鈥淗e doesn鈥檛 do anything different.鈥�
Belle Vernon placed all five starters in double figures and Salvino was happy with the balanced attack.
鈥淭hat is impressive, and I like that,鈥� said Salvino, who now has a 659-275 record as a head coach in 36 seasons. 鈥淚t is good to have that and a plus.
鈥淩ight now, everyone is doing what they are supposed to do, and I hope it continues heading into a big week.鈥�
Cam Nusser played a solid all-around game for the Leopards with 14 points and 10 assists while Mitch Pohlot (12), Ruokonen (10) and Jared Hartman (10) also hit double figures.
Pohlot and Hartman both grabbed eight rebounds and Ruokonen tallied five.
The Belle Vernon full-court pressure caused havoc for Monessen as it finished with 27 turnovers.
The Greyhounds turned the ball over 11 times in the first quarter alone and the Leopards raced out to a 24-9 lead heading into the second.
Belle Vernon extended its lead to 33-11 after a 9-0 run to start the second, and it closed the half on a 10-2 run to take a 43-18 lead into halftime.
鈥淚 am very happy with how we played the first two quarters,鈥� Salvino said. 鈥淚 thought we had good pressure and rebounded well, ran the offense well and hit shots.
鈥淭ransition points got us moving.鈥�
Monessen coach Dan Bosnic spoke about BVA鈥檚 defense.
鈥淭he pressure was the difference and we turned the ball over a lot,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e were bothered by their trap and they made us play faster than we wanted to.鈥�
Both teams scored at will in the third quarter and both head coaches emptied their benches midway through the fourth.
Marquell Smith led the Greyhounds with 19 points while DaWayne Howell (16) and Carleton Jones (10) also hit double figures.
Belle Vernon leads the all-time series against Monessen, 31-29.
Both teams return to section play Tuesday as the Leopards head to Waynesburg Central for a Section 3-AAAA tilt while Monessen heads to Jefferson-Morgan for a Section 2-A contest.