Young Bishop Canevin boys basketball team begins to jell in 2nd half of season

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, January 17, 2019 | 8:00 PM

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Friday night, the Bishop Canevin boys basketball team gets a rematch with Monessen, the only team to defeat the Crusaders through the first half of Section 2-A play. The Greyhounds pulled away from the Crusaders, 65-44, in that Dec. 21 meeting.

Bishop Canevin led Monessen early, but the Greyhounds eventually went ahead and continued to build their lead throughout the rest of the evening.

“Once they got ahead by eight or 10, I think (we) just kind of gave in,” first-year coach Gino Palmosina said. “I think we have to play the full 32 minutes of the game. To beat a great team like that that’s really well-coached, you have to be engaged for all 32 minutes.”

But Palmosina doesn’t expect that to be a problem in the rematch or in the postseason. That mostly is because his young players started to grow up as the season reached its halfway mark.

The Crusaders start two sophomores and a freshman, and even the two senior starters — Aidan Logan and Dahvie Montgomery — didn’t have an overabundance of varsity experience. Their lack of savvy showed in the early part of the season, and they stumbled into the holiday break with back-to-back losses (Monessen and nonsection opponent Carlynton).

“Those tight games at the varsity level, the crowd and the hype, we just weren’t ready for it,” said Logan, who averages 13 points to lead the team. “We weren’t ever in a game like (Monessen). We were just overwhelmed in the second half.

“We’ll be much more prepared for what they are bringing.”

Through their Jan. 15 victory over Avella, the Crusaders were 9-5, 5-1 in Section 2-A. They were 5-2 since coming out of the holiday break, with both losses coming to nonsection opponents Cornell and Greensburg Central Catholic.

Even in the loss to GCC, Palmosina said he was pleased with how the Crusaders played.

Several players have stepped up their game to help Bishop Canevin turn the corner. Sophomore Dom Elliott (6-foot-3) moved to the power forward slot, and, after a slow start, has become the team’s best rebounder, averaging 8.5 a game, including a 19-rebound effort against Geibel on Jan. 11.

Freshman point guard Kevaughn Price, Logan said, is becoming more adept at running the offense, and sophomore guard Nevan Crossey has improved his scoring. And everyone, Palmosina said, has bought into speading around the scoring.

“One guy would give us 20 one night, then the next night another guy. Our youth showed when we would rely on one guy too much,” he said. “Now we’re starting to share the ball, sticking with what we do, no matter who scores.

“I think we’re finally starting to play together and starting to understand our roles.”

The next — and perhaps most important — step in the process will be learning to close out games. That was the area Palmosina was concerned with most, but he chalked it up mostly to the young lineup.

The players, he said, need to remain locked in and not fade in high-pressure moments. That will be especially important once the postseason arrives, and all the opponents are tough.

But with the players beginning to jell with each other and their new coach, the Crusaders are hoping to be a factor well into February.

“I think since the beginning of the year, we’ve gotten a lot better,” Logan said. “It’s like night and day. We’re going to turn it up. We’re only going to get better.”

Chuck Curti is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Chuck at ccurti@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CCurti_Trib.

Tags: Bishop Canevin