Beaver Falls (24-2) blew out Monessen (23-3), 46-27, to win the Class AA championship Saturday night at Palumbo Center.
The victory did not come as easily as the final score would suggest. Beaver Falls struggled throughout the first half with foul trouble.
Beaver Falls’ 6-foot-8 senior center Shelden Jeter, a Division I prospect, received two quick fouls in the first quarter and coach Doug Biega sat him on the bench.
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| JALEN MADISON, left, of Monessen and JOE WYNN of Beaver Falls battle for a loose ball in the WPIAL Class AA championship game. (Courier Photos/William McBride) |
With Jeter on the bench, the referees’ allowed Monessen to camp out in the paint like a group from Occupy Pittsburgh.
Monessen was able to keep the game close and was only down by 2 points at halftime, 20-18.
In the second half the Greyhounds’ GPS System went down and they couldn’t find their route to the basket.
Coach Biega rarely has his team play zone defense, but with his squad in foul trouble, he scraped the man-to-man defense and the zone caught Monessen by surprise.
The Tigers held to Greyhounds to only 9 points in the second half and Jeter scored 19 points and ripped down 11 rebounds and Beaver Falls cruised to victory.
“Half of the mission is accomplished,” said Jeter. “We have another half to finish. We want to win a PIAA championship.”
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