Westmoreland boys basketball playoff capsules: Games for Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Friday, February 14, 2020 | 5:03 PM

Purchase Photo Options

WPIAL boys basketball playoff preview capsules

Class A

First round

No. 4 Greensburg Central Catholic (16-6) vs. No. 13 Eden Christian (13-9)

1 p.m. Saturday at Fox Chapel

Winner plays: No. 5 Nazareth Prep (15-7) or No. 12 Clairton (13-9) on Thursday in quarterfinals

Coaches: Christian Hyland, Greensburg CC; Todd Aiken, Eden Christian

Points scored/allowed: GCC 64.5 ppg/54.6; Eden Christian 54.6/55.1

Players to watch: Brevan Williams, GCC (So., F); Ellijah Manges (Jr., G)

About GCC: Section 3 co-champion GCC won nine of 11 to close the regular season, losing to Charleroi and Clairton in the last two. The Centurions will be without leading scorer Christian McGowan (14.5 ppg), who is ineligible for the playoffs after transferring from Greensburg Salem. With a long bench, the team can rotate up to 10 players comfortably. Hyland is a first-year coach who played point guard for GCC when it reached the WPIAL Class AA final and PIAA semifinals in 2014.

About Eden Christian: Eden, which did not qualify for the playoffs last year, lost four of its past six games. The Warriors tied Union for fourth place in Section 1 at 7-7. Manges leads the team in scoring at 16 points per game, but Drew Lipinski, Thomas Medure and Eric Gronbeck also have scored in double figures during the season.

…

No. 7 Monessen (10-12) vs. No. 10 Union (13-8)

1 p.m. Saturday at North Hills

Winner plays: No. 2 Bishop Canevin (17-5) on Thursday in quarterfinals

Coaches: Dan Bosnic, Monessen; Mark Stanley, Union

Points scored/allowed: Monessen 56.3/55.2; Union 57.8/50.7

Players to watch: DaWayne Howell (Sr., G); Matthew Stanley (Fr., G)

About Monessen: Playoff regular Monessen is back in the postseason for the 39th straight time, adding to its WPIAL record. Seniors lead the Greyhounds, who had a 66-game section winning streak end this season. Marquell Smith, Howell, Carleton Jones, Dylan Bradshaw and Taylon Lowe lead the charge. The Greyhounds made the WPIAL and PIAA semifinals last year. Then-freshman Devin Whitlock played a key role on that team, but he transferred to Belle Vernon.

About Union: Defensive-minded Union, which averages 11 assists per game, made the WPIAL quarterfinals and qualified for the PIAA playoffs last season. Stanley, one of the top freshmen guards in Class A, was not a part of that team. But he has boosted the offense with a 17.9 scoring average. Senior Vince Fuleno averages 12.9 points.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Eden Christian, Greensburg C.C., Monessen, Union