Yough’s late hot steak leads to section title, PIAA berth
Jim Nesser felt his Yough boys basketball team would improve this season after going 13-10 and finishing fourth in Section 4-AAA a year ago.
Sitting at 5-7 partway through the season, it looked as if Nesser鈥檚 assessment was off the mark. Then the Cougars caught fire and a late turnaround propelled them to their first section title and PIAA playoff berth since 2005.
Yough (17-9) travels to Mount Aloysius College in Cresson to play Penn Cambria (21-5) in a 5 p.m. state first-round game on Saturday.
Also in action Saturday will be Monessen鈥檚 girls team in the PIAA Class A bracket. The Lady Greyhounds (17-6), also a section champion and the fifth-place team out of the WPIAL, face approximately a four-hour trip to play District 9 champion Otto Eldred (23-2) at 3 p.m. in Duke Center.
鈥淚鈥檒l be honest, we thought we鈥檇 be better than last year but we didn鈥檛 know how much better,鈥� Nesser said. 鈥淭he whole season has been a little bit of ups and downs and this is where we ended up.鈥�
Yough won its first three games, then lost seven of its next nine before closing the regular season on a 10-game winning streak to tie Washington for first place.
The Cougars opened the postseason with a 46-25 home win over Burrell, then played in three consecutive tight battles, falling at Neshannock, 53-49, in the quarterfinals and losing a consolation game to Shady Side Academy, 53-51, before defeating Mohawk, 70-67, in a second consolation game to punch their ticket to the PIAA tournament as the seventh-place WPIAL team.
鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 saying I鈥檓 shocked by it,鈥� Nesser said. 鈥淏ut it feels good to see where we鈥檙e at. It鈥檚 a whole new season now.鈥�
Beating Penn Cambria will be a tough assignment, according to Nesser.
鈥淭hey beat Deer Lakes in the first round last year,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e a good team that shoots the ball very well and plays great defense.鈥�
Nesser, a Greensburg Central Catholic graduate who played basketball at Slippery Rock, is pleased with what his team has accomplished up to this point, especially winning a section crown.
鈥淚 think it was great for the kids,鈥� said Nesser, who鈥檚 in his fifth year at Yough. 鈥淥ne of the first key games in that run came at Brownsville. We knew that would be tough but our kids found a way to win. Then the win at Washington was a huge game which, again, we found a way to win.
鈥淚 think those two games boosted our confidence. We started believing in ourselves that we could be a good team, that we could win. Once that happened, you could see in the last month or so of the season we鈥檝e just taken off.鈥�
The Cougars are led by a couple of juniors in Terek Crosby, one of the WPIAL鈥檚 top scorers, and Austin Matthews.
鈥淭erek is our main guard. He鈥檚 done a little bit of everything for us,鈥� said Nesser who is assisted by Bill Sherbondy, Sam Sunder and Kasen Harrell. 鈥淗e鈥檚 athletic, he can get to the hoop and he can shoot the ball. He鈥檚 developed into a better all-around player as the year has gone on.
鈥淎ustin is our anchor. He鈥檚 6-5, 6-6 and a legitimate post player. He鈥檚 consistent. He comes to work every day. He鈥檚 an old-school, put your hardhat on and go to work kind of kid. He鈥檚 been really outstanding for us.鈥�
The Cougars are far from just a two-man show.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had some guys who鈥檝e stepped up and been our third scorers all year long,鈥� Nesser said, pointing to a pair of senior starters. 鈥淭yler Travillion had 17 at Washington to lead our team. Parker Rost had a big game against Burrell. Both of those kids are very athletic and very capable of making plays.
鈥淥ur point guard Zander Aire, a junior, is a solid athletic kid who can defend and rebound and does a really good job. Brandon Converso is a senior who came off the bench against Mohawk and hit five 3s.
鈥淪o it鈥檚 been a team effort down the stretch.鈥�
Monessen, which halted West Greene鈥檚 string of section titles at six, is 2-1 in the postseason. After receiving a first-round bye, the Lady Greyhounds lost to St. Joseph in the quarterfinals, 53-46, but came back to win a pair of consolation games against the Lady Pioneers, 56-53, and another section foe in Avella, 48-37, to secure a spot in the state tournament.
Saturday鈥檚 winners advance to Wednesday鈥檚 second round.