Conglose credits teammates
for Neshannock’s strong finish

By JOHN D’ABRUZZO
jd’abruzzo@ncnewsonline.com

Mike Conglose deflects the credit.

In fact, he prefers to talk about his teammates.

But the fact that the 6-foot-2 senior guard turned in a pair of clutch performances last week is the reason that Neshannock High boys basketball team was in position to clinch a WPIAL Section 2-AA playoff berth last night at Shenango.

The Lancers (5-6 section, 10-10 overall) earned a 55-52 road victory over the Wildcats and are now bound for postseason play.

Conglose sparked Neshannock’s run toward the playoffs last week when he scored a season-high 32 points in a 63-45 win against Laurel and followed with a 31-point effort in a 76-74 double-overtime win against Rochester.

“It was a tremendous week,” Conglose said. “They were key wins and must-win games coming down to the end of the season.”

For his performance, Conglose is Lawrence County’s Athlete of the Week, as selected by The New Castle News sports staff. The award is sponsored by Washington Centre Physical Therapy.

“It’s a team effort really and my opportunities came from my teammates,” Conglose said. “A lot of the defenses I’m seeing, whenever my teammates step up and make shots, that spreads things out for me because the defense has to go out and guard them more.”

Conglose has been one of the Lancers’ most consistent players. He’s among the leading scorers in the county with 354 points for an average of 17.7 point per game.

“He’s scoring in a variety of ways,” Smiley said. “He makes some shots, but he also does some blue-collar stuff to get other points.

“I can attribute a lot of it to him and a lot of it to the fact that we’re playing better as a team.”

Conglose picked up from where he left off last season. He finished his junior year ranked fifth in the county with 363 points (15.7 average).

“He’s always been (an all-around player),” Smiley said. “I really think the thing about him that is good is that he is coachable.

“Talented players who won’t listen is just wasted talent. He’s never been like that. He’s always been a gentleman and always been a pleasure to have around the gym.”

This season, however, got off to a rough start as Neshannock lost seven of its first 10 games.

“It’s always frustrating to lose,” Conglose said. “If it doesn’t effect you, I don’t know if you should be playing the game. You got to stay with it, keep your head in it and trust your teammates.

“It’s like a family, you have to trust everybody.”

That trust is what Conglose attributes to the team’s recent success.

“We haven’t tried to change anything,” Conglose said. “We’ve tried to stick with what we know and improve on it every day.

“The main thing is to keep our heads in it, don’t get down on ourselves, learn from our mistakes and losses and learn from our wins. That’s what we’re trying to do.”