Mohawk pair plays big in Warriors’ romp
Neshannock (51) Vs. Mohawk (67)
By JON GERAMITA
jgeramita@ncnewsonline.com
It’s one thing to have a post player kill you all game. That happens in basketball sometimes.
But when two “bigs” are standing tall, then you get what happened last night.
Mohawk’s Matt Lorello and Michael Henry dominated the paint in the Warriors’ 67-51 home win over Neshannock in WPIAL Section 2-AA.
The 6-foot-4 Lorello had a game-high 19 points and 12 rebounds, while the 6-5 Henry added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Both Lorello and Henry were active and ran the floor well.
“We have basketball players who happen to play down low, but are very athletic,” Mohawk coach Kevin Wrona said.
The game was close early, with both teams pushing tempo and scoring off the fast break. Mohawk led by as many as eight in the first quarter, but with 6:30 to go in the second period, the Lancers’ Michael Richards drained a 3-pointer to make it 21-17.
That was the closest Neshannock would get.
Cory Nesbitt’s layup, steal and layup pushed the lead to 31-22. Lorello then scored twice in the paint and Chase Frederick hit two jumpers to make it 39-22.
Then, off another Lancer turnover, Justin Shaffer pulled up from well beyond the three-point line and swished it, bringing the home crowd to its feet.
The Warriors ended the half on a 21-4 run to take a 42-22 lead into the locker room.
“It just snowballed, and as a coach, you just don’t want something like that to end,” Wrona said. “We were playing with a passion, especially on defense.”
With his team sitting at 0-2 in the section and 1-4 overall, Neshannock coach Jim Smiley looked distraught after the game.
“I don’t know. We look lost. I take all the blame,” Smiley said.
Lorello and Henry combined for 20 points and 12 rebounds in the first half.
“We’re a great combo,” Lorello said.
By no means was it a two-man show for Mohawk (1-0, 3-1). Nesbitt had 10 points and Shaffer added nine. Frederick had six points and five rebounds, while Matt Jura (7 points) and Dan Powell (6 points) provided good minutes off the bench.
The Warriors outrebounded the Lancers 34-18 and made 31 field goals, mostly on layups.
“I doesn’t take a genius to see we have some problems,” Smiley said.
Not that Mohawk was perfect. The Warriors committed 17 turnovers in the second half, which Wrona attributed to a lack of focus after sprinting out to a big lead.
The Lancers cut the lead to 17 late in the third quarter. However, Mohawk increased its margin to 20 again on a dump down low from Lorello to Henry then the Warriors coasted to the final buzzer.
Richards had 15 points and three 3-pointers for Neshannock, while Bobby Nittinger scored 10 off the bench. Conglose finished with nine.
Wrona was pleased with his team’s performance and is eager to start section play.
Smiley, on the other hand, said changes are probably in store for his squad.
“We gotta go back to the lab.”