Monessen’s Gardner hits 1,000 points in playoff win vs. Western Beaver

By: Adam Brewer
Friday, February 17, 2023 | 10:52 PM

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When he was younger, Monessen’s Lorenzo Gardner would look at the 1,000-point banner in the high school gym and dream of adding his name to that milestone list.

The junior forward did just that Friday night at home and in the playoffs.

Gardner made the milestone hoop late in the third quarter as No. 6 Monessen used a stingy defensive effort and precision passing to outlast No. 11 Western Beaver, 60-44, in the first round of the WPIAL Class A playoffs.

“Any win is tough when it comes to the playoffs,” Monessen coach Dan Bosnic said. “I think we did just enough tonight, and we had spurts tonight where we were really humming. Our defense got turnovers, and we got points off those turnovers. We were attacking all night.”

Gardner scored a team-high 16 points for the Greyhounds (21-2) and became the 34th player (17th boy) in school history to hit the scoring plateau. He became the first Monessen player to hit 1,000 since Justice Rice and Jaden Altomore did it in 2017.

“All the hard work and dedication paid off,” Gardner said. “It means a lot to me to get 1,000. It takes a lot to get that many points and a lot of work that people don’t see. It’s something that I put down for one of my goals when I started out as a freshman. I look up to a lot of these players and I remember as a kid looking at these scoring banners.”

Davontae Clayton garnered 14 points for Monessen, and Tim Kershaw tallied 13 off the bench.

According to Western Beaver coach Dave Kotuby, it was another Monessen player who was the difference in the postseason victory.

“Number 15 (Jaisean Blackman) was really tough to guard,” Kotuby said. “He’s a big dude, but he does a lot for (them). He can score, he can pass, he can defend and he can dribble. We had no answer for him, and he was too much to handle. We come from a tough section, and I think Monessen is a real threat in Class A. They are definitely one of the top teams in Class A.”

Levi Gray (21) and Chantz Cottrill (18) scored 39 of 44 points for the Golden Beavers (10-13).

“Monessen was able to beat our press, and they got some easy layups,” Kotuby said. “And on the other end of things, we had too many turnovers and forced shots against their defense. We had some good stretches but could never really get back into the game. We were in catchup mode.”

Monessen, which has qualified for the playoffs a WPIAL-record 42 straight years, improved to 12-4 in the first round of the playoffs since 2003-04. Despite winning its section and capturing 20 wins in the regular season, the Greyhounds were seeded sixth.

“The seeds are the seeds,” Bosnic said. “You can’t really do anything once the seeds come out. That’s your path. As coaches, we did play the ‘disrespect card.’ We talked about it a lot this week. Our kids naturally play with a chip on their shoulder, but I think after getting that sixth seed it turned to a boulder. It motivated us this week.”

Monessen advances to play at No. 3 Carlynton (15-6) in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

“Carlynton is going to be a challenge,” Bosnic said. “They have a lot of size and come from a tough section. We have to bring our defense on Wednesday and control things with our tempo.”

The visitors held an early 4-2 lead before the home team ended the opening frame on a 12-3 spree. The Greyhounds forced a total of 27 turnovers in the game, including 10 in the opening eight minutes. Monessen led 14-7 at the end of one.

Gardner capped off a 9-2 run for Monessen in the second period with a trey, but Western Beaver bounced right back with an 11-3 rally to trim the deficit to 26-22. A late bucket by Clayton just before halftime gave the home team a 28-22 advantage at intermission.

After the teams split the opening 20 points of the third quarter and the Greyhounds held a 38-32 lead, Gardner finally was able to break away from the defense and go over 1,000 career points with a fastbreak hoop in the waning seconds of the third quarter.

“Everybody today at school was telling me not to think about (getting 1,000) and don’t force shots,” Gardner said. “It’s hard not to think about it when the whole gym is focused on you. I had a count in my head, but I just tried to play basketball and play my game.”

Leading 42-32 entering the fourth quarter, Monessen was able to break the game open with 12-2 spree that started the final eight minutes. Western Beaver tried to come back with six straight points, but the Greyhounds put the game away for good by scoring six of the final 10.

“We didn’t play a completely clean game, but we take the win,” Bosnic said. “They averaged 55 points a game, and couple of their kids do most of the scoring. We did a good job of shutting down everyone else and didn’t allow anything cheap. Our defense got better in the second half.”

Gardner was ecstatic about getting 1,000 in front of the home crowd but was happier the Greyhounds got the win and extended their season another week.

“I am just happy to get the win tonight,” Gardner said. “We played together as a team, and I thought we did a good job of finishing our traps on defense in the second half. They didn’t have a lot of height, so we had to rebound the ball and score inside. We are happy to move on.”

Tags: Monessen, Western Beaver