Commodores take hold of section lead
By JEREMY SELLEW
jsellew@yourmvi.com
It’s been over 16 years, 5,852 days to be exact, since the Frazier boys basketball team has beaten the Monessen Greyhounds.
Now, that streak is over.
The Commodores claimed sole possession of first place in Section 4-2A with a 68-57 win over the Greyhounds Tuesday on Major Corley Court in Monessen.
Four players hit double figures for the Commodores, led by 18 points from Luke Santo.
“To come in and win here, it feels really good,” Frazier coach Zach Keefer said. “It doesn’t matter what the records are, Monessen is always a tough place to play. Our kids embraced that challenge and they came out with something to prove.”
The Greyhounds only led in the opening 2:06 of the game. From then on, it was all Commodores (4-1, 3-0).
“We just started with no energy,” Monessen coach Dan Bosnic said. “I thought we were really lethargic throughout the game. We tried to do some different things to get ourselves going, but we just couldn’t do it and they had an answer.”
Early on, the answer for the Commodores was the 3-pointer. Frazier hit three in the opening quarter – two by Kenny Fine and one by Noah Oldham – and added a three-point play from Owen Newcomer to take a 19-11 lead after one.
In the second, the Greyhounds (4-2, 3-1) were able to cut the lead to four at 21-17 on a basket from the short corner by Kody Kuhns, but the Commodores hit 5 of 6 free throws and got a basket by Colton Arison inside to get the lead back up to eight.
Arison added another double-double on the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
“He really does play a lot bigger than he is,” Keefer said. “The kid is the rock of our team. He’s one of our vocal leaders and he’s a guy we can turn to for a spark. He’s really bright, has great footwork inside and really plays the angles well.”
The lead remained eight at the half, 33-25, but the Greyhounds weren’t going to go away.
Kuhns, who led the Greyhounds with 24 points, scored five straight points as Monessen took advantage of three straight Frazier turnovers and cut the lead to 33-30.
But the Hounds went cold from there and the Commodores capitalized.
Frazier outscored the home team, 17-3, over a span of five minutes to take a dominant 50-33 lead.
Fine scored five, Santo another five and Newcomer four in the stretch. Fine left the game at the 4:14 mark of the third after falling and rolling his ankle on a blocking foul whistled on Monessen’s Angelo Mauro.
Newcomer ended the game with 16 points and Fine added 13 prior to his injury.
“The balance is something we need and something I expect from a senior-laden group like we have. It’s been our game all season long,” Keefer said. “Our guys are confident that if one is having an off night, there’s going to be someone there to step in and back them up.”
Frazier led 54-38 at the end of the third and kept its foot on the gas throughout the fourth.
Two big 3-pointers, one by Santo and another by Newcomer with three minutes to go slammed the door on the Greyhounds’ comeback hopes.
Chas Mrlack scored 10 of his 17 points in the second half for Monessen.
“Frazier deserves all the credit,” Bosnic said. “They played hard and controlled the tempo from the start. They never really gave up the momentum and wanted it more.
“I just told the guys, there’s a lot of basketball left to play. We have a big game here Friday with California and we’re going to have the opportunity to go down to Frazier and play them again. Friday, we’re going to learn a lot about our guys.”
The Commodores won’t be content with just jumping into first place. A product of a senior-heavy roster is non-complacency, Keefer said.
“These seniors have their goals in sight,” Keefer said. “We always talk about having a business-like approach. They’re hard workers and they’re confident about keeping this going.”
The Commodores go out of section for a game at Southmoreland Friday, while Monessen hosts California.
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