Local roundup: Gardner pours in school-record 64 in Monessen win
Dan Bosnic turned in some high-scoring performances when he played basketball at Laurel Highlands.
Asked what his personal record was, the Monessen coach said, “It would’ve probably been in the 30s. I don’t think I ever got into the 40s.
“Certainly I got nowhere close to 60.”
One of his players did, though, on Friday night.
Lorenzo Gardner poured in a school-record 64 points in Monessen’s 90-59 victory at California to help Bosnic’s Greyhounds wrap up sole possession of the Section 2-A championship.
On Saturday in a 59-56 non-section home loss to Section 4-AAA champion Washington, Gardner was again the game’s leading scorer with 24 points, giving a total of 88 in a two-day span.
Against the Trojans, Gardner dropped in 23 2-point field goals, sank a trio of 3-pointers and hit nine free throws in tying Highlands’ Micah Mason for the second-highest scoring game in WPIAL boys basketball history. Mason scored 64 in a game in 2011.
The single-game record is held by Mohawk’s Larry Hardesty who rang up 71 points in a 1959 game, long before the 3-point line was introduced.
Gardner broke the Greyhounds’ previous school best of 55 points scored by Lyndon Henderson in a 93-54 win at Geibel Catholic on Jan. 24, 2018, and the overall school record formerly held by the Lady Greyhounds’ Gina Naccarato who scored 57 in a game in 1994. Monessen, with Gardner and Naccarato, now owns both the boys and girls single-game scoring records for Westmoreland County.
While the final score was lopsided, the game was competitive well into the third quarter.
The Trojans actually held a 20-17 lead after the first quarter.
“It was within the flow of the game,” Bosnic said of Gardner’s performance. “At halftime we were only up 36-33 and Lorenzo had 30 of our points. He was ultra-aggressive from the start and was able to get to the hoop often early in the game.”
Monessen (9-1, 17-4) finally was able to take control in the third quarter, surging to a 15-point lead.
“In the second half we bothered them and disrupted them defensively and got some separation,” Bosnic said. “We started getting some turnovers and got out in transition a lot and Lorenzo was able to get some easy baskets.”
The Greyhounds, with Gardner still on fire, blew the game open in the fourth quarter.
“He was a magnet out there,” Bosnic said. “The ball kept finding him, his teammates kept finding him at opportune times. It was like it was meant to be.
“What was fun about last night is the kids realized what was happening and rallied around him. They were excited to be part of what was transpiring.”
Gardner could have possibly reached 70 points if he wanted to, according to Bosnic.
“Lorenzo handled himself well,” Bosnic said. “He wasn’t being selfish and greedy and trying to score every single time down the court. He made the right basketball play. He had around five assists in the second half in situations where he probably could’ve finished himself but shared the basketball.
“It was a fun night. Watching him score that many points and the way he went about doing it was impressive. It was just awesome to see.”
Gardner scored 15 points in each of the first two quarters and 17 points in each the third and fourth quarter.
California (6-4, 7-15) finished third in the section and is also playoff bound. Noah Neil led the Trojans with 16 points, Caden Monticelli followed with 13 and Vinny Manzella had 12.
Monessen also plays at Jeannette, a Class AA playoff team, on Monday. The WPIAL playoff pairings will be revealed the same day.
“The game against Washington was a dogfight, and I’m sure Jeannette will be a tough game, too,” said Bosnic, who didn’t want to dwell on where his team may be seeded. “We try to figure out what they’re maybe thinking but you never do know. It’s always the same for us in that we’re going to take the path put in front of us.
“Playing teams like Washington and Jeannette at the end of the year, good teams like that, help us to prepare for the playoffs.”
De’Ondre Daugherty scored 20 points and Ruben Gordon had 11 in leading the Prexies (15-7) to Saturday’s win. Rodney Johnson tallied 19 points for the Greyhounds.
Southmoreland 66, Albert Gallatin 55 – The Scotties kept the host Colonials out of the playoffs with a win in the Section 3-AAAA finale for both teams.
Noah Felentzer scored 17 points for Southmoreland (5-5, 16-6) which jumped out to an 18-9 advantage in the first quarter and held leads of 34-24 at halftime and 48-39 after three quarters.
Ty Keffer and Ronnie Collins added 14 and 11 points for the Scotties.
Shymere Wilson racked up a game-high 28 points for Albert Gallatin (3-7, 9-11) which would’ve pulled into a tie for fourth place with Southmoreland and qualified for the postseason with a victory.
Elizabeth Forward 71, Belle Vernon 64 – The host Warriors bounced back from a lopsided loss at first-place Uniontown with an overtime win over second-place Belle Vernon in a Section 3-AAAA battle.
Elizabeth Forward trailed 47-44 after three quarters but pulled even at 58-58 at the end of regulation and outscored the Leopards (7-3, 12-7) 13-6 in OT.
Cy Herchelroath paced the third-place Warriors (6-4, 14-7) with 21 points and Isaiah Turner followed with 20, including four 3-pointers. Tyler Basic added three 3-pointers and 11 points for EF.
Zion Moore made four 3-pointers in tallying a game-high 32 points for Belle Vernon, which also got 11 points from Trevor Kovatch, 10 points and 11 rebounds from Curtis Wade and 10 boards apiece from Tommy Davis and Alonzo Wade.
Thomas Jefferson 84, Connellsville 48 – Noah Prosser led a group of four Jaguars in double figures with 21 points as Section 1-AAAAA champion Thomas Jefferson rolled past the host Falcons.
Brody Evans followed with 14 points for TJ (10-0, 18-3), which also got 11 points apiece from Evan Berger and Nick Trklja.
Anthony Piasecki led Connellsville (1-9, 2-19) with 13 points and Bruce Giles chipped in with 11.
Trinity 74, Ringgold 43 – Jacob Dunkle scored 22 points as the playoff-bound Hillers beat the host Rams in a Section 1-AAAAA game.
Trinity (4-6, 9-12) also got 15 points from Anthony Giorgi and 14 from Jonah Williamson.
Daryl Tolliver scored 16 for Ringgold (1-9, 4-17) and Braylen Lomax had 12.
Washington 47, Mount Pleasant 40 – De’Ondre Daugherty scored 17 points as the Prexies locked up at least a share of the Section 4-AAA title with a win at Mount Pleasant.
Braiden Wise contributed 13 points for Washington (11-1, 14-7) which held a 28-26 lead after three quarters before outscoring the hosts 19-14 in the final frame.
Dante Giallonardo scored a game-high 20 points for the third-place Vikings (7-4, 8-11).
McGuffey 64, Waynesburg Central 36 – Grayson Wallace had 26 points as the fourth-place Highlanders cruised past the visiting Raiders in a Section 4-AAA game.
Aydan Cunningham had 16 points for McGuffey (5-7, 14-8).
Austin Surber Waynesburg (2-10, 7-15) with nine points and Alex Eck grabbed 10 rebounds.
Yough 52, Charleroi 26 – Terek Crosby scored 21 points as the Cougars remained on track to secure a share of first place with a Section 4-AAA win at Charleroi.
Zander Aird added 12 points for Yough (10-1, 17-4).
Bryce Large had eight points for the Cougars (3-0, 8-14).
Chartiers-Houston 58, Carmichaels 34 – The visiting Bucs outscored the Mikes 31-11 in the middle two quarters on their way to a Section 4-AA victory.
Justin Buckingham tossed in 21 points for Chartiers-Houston (9-3, 16-6) which pulled into a second-place tie with Burgettstown.
Dominic Colarusso led Carmichaels (1-11, 4-17) with 10 points.
Jefferson-Morgan 80, Geibel Catholic 41 – Houston Guesman led the fourth-place Rockets with 16 points in a Section 2-A victory over the visiting Gators.
Dayten Marion added 14 points for J-M (5-5, 13-9) and was followed by Jase Bedilion (12) and Collin Bisceglia (10).
Tommy Kolencik paced Geibel (1-9, 1-21) with 15 points and Gary Tarbuk contributed 14.
West Greene 47, Mapletown 44 – The second-place Pioneers fended off the host Maples in a Section 2-A clash.
Lane Allison led all scorers with 18 points for West Greene (8-2, 14-7) which also got 10 points from Parker Burns.
Braden McIntire and AJ Vanata topped Mapletown (1-9, 2-18) with 14 and 10 points, respectively.
Girls basketball
Chartiers-Houston 54, Carmichaels 22 – Ava Capozzoli tallied 19 points as the Lady Bucs triumphed over the host Lady Mikes in a Section 4-AA game.
Amelia Brose added 14 points for C-H (11-1, 16-5).
Megan Voithofer led the way for Carmichaels (3-9, 4-17) with eight points.
West Greene 59, Mapletown 35 – Kasie Meek led a balanced attack with 14 points as the Lady Pioneers beat the host Lady Maples in a meeting of Section 2-A playoff teams.
Madelynn Roberts followed with 13 points and Kendra Tharp had 12 for West Greene (6-4, 9-13).
Isabella Garnek rang up a game-high 20 points for Mapletown (3-7, 6-14).