BROCKWAY 60, MONITEAU 39

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Feb. 19, 2009 - District 9 Class AA Boys' Semifinals

By Chris Rossetti

CLARION – Mark Shannon recorded a triple-double that included an amazing 10 blocked shots to lead Brockway into the District 9 Class AA Title Game for the first time since 1997 with a 60-39 win in the semifinals over Moniteau Thursday night at Clarion University’s Tippin Gym.

Shannon added 14 points and 18 rebounds, 17 on the defensive end while also coming up with three steals.

“Mark does what we need him to do just about every night,” Brockway head coach Kurt Becker said. “He might not score in double figures every night, but he’s always around the hoop. He’s always a defensive presence, and he always gets rebounds. We rally around him.”

Brockway (13-10) came out of the gates on fire building a 14-3 lead at the end of the first quarter and expanding it to 16-3 early in the second quarter. Moniteau, on the other hand, hit just one of its first 15 shots on its way to a 28.6 percent (8 of 28) showing from the field in the first half.

“Everybody knows its important to get off to a fast start,” Becker said. “We were especially concerned about it tonight. We are much better when we get going right from the start and get in the flow of the game.”

Moniteau (10-13) didn’t allow the early deficit to deter it, though, using a 10-2 run late in the first half to cut the lead from 22-11 to 24-21 on a layup by Tyler Armagost. Armagost had four points during the run, while younger brother Kyle had a 3-pointer as did Zach McCormack.

Brockway, however, was able to get the lead back to 26-21 at halftime on two free throws by Nick Anderson with 44 seconds left in the half.

The game then stayed between three and six points for most of the third quarter before Brockway went on a game-deciding 11-2 run in the final 3:13 of the quarter to take a 41-29 lead heading into the final frame.

 “We knew we let them have some open shots, some open looks in the first half,” Becker said. “We talked about some things at halftime and made some defensive changes.”

Moniteau was able to get the deficit down to eight points a couple of times in the fourth quarter, the last being at 43-35 with 5:14 left, before Brockway ended the game with a 17-4 run that included the Rovers hitting seven free throws.

Free throws were a big part of the Brockway win, as the Rovers were 21 of 29 from the line. Moniteau, on the other hand, was just 2 of 3.

“We talked to the kids about being patient on offense and trying to work inside looking for good shots and not being scared to go to the hoop with the ball,” Becker said. “I think on the other end, we said pressure defensively in a smart way. Don’t overplay much. We were hoping to contain them if we could.”

Nick Anderson added 14 points and three assists for the Rovers, although he did turn the ball over 10 times, while Cody Anderson had 10 points and Craig Anderson nine points.

Zach McCormack paced Moniteau with 13 points, while Tyler Armagost had 10 points and eight rebounds. Zach Sloan, who was plagued with foul trouble including three in the first half, added nine points and seven rebounds.

Brockway will now face defending champion Cranberry in the title game at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 27 at Tippin Gym.

NOTES – Brockway lost to Curwensville 61-48 in the 1997 D9 Class AA Championship game. The Rovers are looking for their first D9 Title since winning the third of three in a row in 1995 62-51 over Curwensville … Brockway took 25 fewer shots from the field (63 to 38) than Moniteau but shot 50 percent (19 of 38) to Moniteau’s 27 percent (17 of 63) … Brockway turned the ball over 17 times while Moniteau had 17 turnovers … Brockway outrebounded Moniteau 39-33 but Moniteau outrebounded Brockway 18-10 on the offensive end.

BROCKWAY 60, MONITEAU 39

Moniteau 3 18 8 10 – 39

Brockway 14 12 15 19 – 60

Moniteau – 39

Clayton Casper 1-6 0-0 2, Zach Sloan 4-4 1-2 9, Tyler Armagost 5-20 0-0 10, Zach McCormack 5-15 1-1 13, Kyle Armagost 2-13 0-0 5, Mitch Hunter 0-0 0-0 0, Jereme Loss 0-0 0-0 0, Josh Madru 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 17-63 2-3 39.

Brockway – 60

Craig Anderson 2-7 4-6 9, Aaron Shaffer 2-5 2-4 6, Mark Shannon 5-9 4-5 14, Nick Anderson 3-4 8-10 14, Cody Anderson 5-10 0-1 10, Kyle Cappetta 0-0 0-0 0, Shane Horner 0-0 0-0 0, Derek Buganza 2-2 3-3 7, Ryan Shaffer 0-1 0-0 0, Mike Vervoort 0-0 0-0 0, Josh Allen 0-0 0-0 0, Bryan Ellenberger 0-0 0-0 0, Mark Robinson 0-0 0-0 0, Brad Welsh 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-38 21-29 60.

Three-pointers – Moniteau 3-12 (Zach McCormack 2-4, Kyle Armagost 1-5, Clayton Casper 0-1, Tyler Armagost 0-1, Josh Madru 0-1). Brockway 1-9 (Craig Anderson 1-6, Mark Shannon 0-2, Ryan Shaffer 0-1).

Rebounds: Moniteau 33 (T. Armagost 8, Sloan 7). Brockway 39 (Shannon 18, A. Shaffer 5). Assists: Moniteau 5 (Madru 2). Brockway 8 (C. Anderson 3, N. Anderson 3). Steals: Moniteau 9 (K. Armagost 4). Brockway 10 (A. Shaffer 3, Shannon 3). Blocks: Moniteau 1 (Madru 1). Brockway 11 (Shannon 10). Fouls: Moniteau 19, Brockway 12.

Officials: John Zimbardi, Kevin Teriberry, Jeff Jovenitti.