Pre 2009-2010 Season Archive

POCONO SUMMIT — Pocono Mountain West coach Brad Pensyl didn't think this season would be a championship one after watching his team's first game.

Fast forward three months and that's exactly what his team won Friday.

Jon Mangual scored 16 points and Mike Quiteh added 11 off the bench to help the Panthers clinch the Mountain Valley Conference title with a 53-45 victory over Pocono Mountain East.

The title was the second in three years won by PM West 20-4, 6-0 MVC, which had to overcome a tough start to the season in order to raise another championship banner.

The Panthers opened with an 81-52 loss to Easton, which is the top AAAA team in the state, and a three-point loss to Berwick four nights later. PM West proceeded to win 20 of its next 22 including all 12 MVC games and are currently riding a 12-game win streak.

"I don't like to use clichés, but never in my wildest dreams did I think this team was going to win a championship after that butt whooping we took from Easton," Pensyl said. "I thought we'd be lucky to win 10 or 12 games and make the District 11 playoffs, but all the credit in the world goes to these kids.

"I couldn't be more proud of a basketball team than any team I've ever coached."

Mangual showed why he's been one of the many Panthers who played large roles in this season's success, but he didn't do it right away Friday.

Senior Sal Caicedo got the start, but Mangual came in 53 seconds later. Two minutes, three missed shots and two turnovers later Pensyl took Mangual out for a quick chat.

"Jon didn't play real well the first couple of minutes so I brought him out and talked to him a little bit," Pensyl said. "I know he's a competitor and he has the competitive fire. I don't know about the all-league stuff and who people vote for, but he deserves mention for some postseason awards."

Mangual might have earned some votes with a brilliant third quarter.

The Panthers led 26-22 to start the second half, but a personal 9-2 run by Mangual helped PM West push that lead to 41-29 by the end of the third quarter.

His four baskets came in a variety of ways. The first on a runner along the baseline, the second a 3 from the corner, the third a jumper from the elbow and the final one a driving layup in traffic.

"I just went out there and tried to be more aggressive in the third quarter," Mangual said. "I wanted to take it to the rack and get a couple of easy buckets until my jumper started coming around."

While Mangual helped the Panthers expand the lead, Quiteh helped them get it.

With starting point guard Kyrell Scott on the bench with three fouls for much of the first half, Quiteh came in and scored six points and handed out three assists. He also made two steals in the second quarter that led to easy points for PM West.

"All I try to do is give the team a boost and help us defensively," Quiteh said. "Coach Pensyl gets on us about our defense and how defense wins championships. We've worked hard on that and that's what got us here."

The Cardinals 12-11, 3-2 turned the ball over 22 times, with PM West registering 14 steals. Phil Leyro and Scott both had four steals, with Romond Vines and Quiteh each swiping two.

"We play good defense and my teams always play good defense," Pensyl said. "At the beginning of the year I went to a little zone, but this is a man-to-man defensive team. I'm not going to hold them back. That's like putting a race horse out to pasture. I'm not going to do that to these kids."

Even with all the defensive pressure and several starters in foul trouble, PM East stayed with the Panthers throughout the entire contest.

Back-to-back layups by Justin Grotevant and D.J. Strayhorn cut the Panthers lead to 46-41 with 1:50 to play. But a Scott layup and Quiteh's three-point play — after he stole an inbounds pass — helped win a championship Pensyl once thought to be impossible.

"Coach Pensyl told us after the Berwick game that if we believed we could be in a game like this," Quiteh said. "We believed and we worked hard. We went to practice every day with a good attitude.

"Now we're the MVC champions and that's all that matters."

PM West 53, PM East 45

PM EAST 45

McCutcheon 5 2-2 12, Strayhorn 3 2-4 8, Grotevant 5 0-0 10, Lepri 1 0-0 3, Powell 1 0-0 2, Herman 1 4-6 6, Castle 1 2-2 4, Belfleur 0 0-2 0, Garcia 0 0-0 0, Reinhardt 0 0-0 0. Totals — 17 10-16 45.

PM WEST 53

Caicedo 0 0-0 0, Vines 3 0-0 6, Scott 3 1-3 7, Lucas 0 2-4 2, Leyro 2 1-2 5, Mangual 6 3-11 16, Quiteh 5 1-3 11, Legette 3 0-1 6, Fair 0 0-0 0, Arrick 0 0-0 0. Totals — 22 8-24 53.

PM East 9 13 7 16 ­-- 45

PM West 11 15 15 12 -- 53

3-point goals — PME 1 Lepri, PMW 1 Mangual. Rebounds — PME 35 Lepri, Herman 8, PMW 28 Scott 7. Assists — PME 5 McCutcheon 3, PMW 11 Quiteh 4. Steals — PME 3 McCutcheon 2, PMW 14 Scott, Leyro 4. Blocks — PME 6 Lepri 3, PMW 5 Vines, Scott, Lucas, Leyro, Legette. Turnovers — PME 22, PMW 16.

Records — PME 12-11, 3-2; PMW 20-4, 6-0.

POCONO SUMMIT — Having Jon Mangual on the bench isn't something Pocono Mountain West boys basketball coach Brad Pensyl enjoys.

Allowing the senior guard to catch his breath after guarding the opposing team's best offensive player seems like a good idea. The fact that Mangual battled a groin injury last season and suffered a right hamstring injury during football this year makes giving him a break every now and then sound smart.

But Pensyl just can't bear it, literally.

"I rarely take him out of games because he drives me crazy," Pensyl said Wednesday. "When I pull him out to give him a rest, five seconds later he's pulling on my shirt or yelling my name to get back in the game. I don't take him out a whole lot only because I can't stand to listen to him on the bench."

But sometimes he has to.

With his injury history and all he's asked to do, Pensyl knows Mangual can't play all the time even if Mangual thinks he should.

"Jon thinks he should play 32 minutes of every game which is a good thing," Pensyl said. "He doesn't think he's ever tired or needs a rest even though I know he does. But I don't really like having him on the bench because he's a pain when he's sitting by me."

Mangual's been a pain to the entire Mountain Valley Conference since bursting on to the scene as a junior last year.

Mangual didn't see any varsity time as a sophomore because Pensyl had "three or four guards" returning from the 2004-05 MVC championship team. But once Mangual got his chance he ran with it, averaging 11.5 points per game to help West win its second MVC title in three years. He was named the MVC's most valuable player and was a first-team All-MVC and Pocono Record All-Area selection.

"I just waited my turn because there were, when I was a sophomore, a lot of seniors on the team," Mangual said. "I just waited until I was a junior and got the chance to get some varsity time."

Not that Pensyl hadn't thought about bringing him up earlier.

"There were times when I probably could have brought him up and let him play a little bit of varsity," Pensyl said, "but I thought it would be more to his benefit to play JV the entire year. I think he got a lot of confidence playing as a 10th grader."

That confidence has done nothing but grow since then.

After being a key member of the Panthers' MVC title team, Mangual quarterbacked the football team to its first MVC championship this season. He accounted for 26 touchdowns, 14 passing and 12 rushing.

Now, the Panthers' basketball team is off to a 9-3 start with Mangual leading the way. He's averaging 14.4 ppg and was just named the MVP of the Northampton Christmas Tournament, which West won Friday night.

"I think (the confidence) has carried over a lot," Mangual said. "The football team, we won our first MVC championship, and we won the championship for basketball last season. Now we're trying to make it a repeat for the first time in school history."

Mangual doesn't have to do it all by himself.

The Panthers are loaded with athletes that can lead them in scoring on any given night. Senior guard Phil Leyro was a first-team All-MVC and All-Area choice last year, junior point guard Kyerell Scott is averaging 12.7 ppg and senior guard Mike Quiteh has hit double digits five times this season.

"We don't have a marquee player," Pensyl said. "The one thing our kids understand is there isn't a lot of pressure on any (specific) one of them. Jon knows he does not have to go out on the floor and get us 25 points because there are other players that can help.

"He knows he's not a one-man team and he knows he's far from being a one-man team. He's a team player."

One that's willing to do whatever it takes to help the Panthers win.

"Sometimes he has to make sacrifices," Pensyl said. "I think what most people don't understand is he's a very good defensive player, and, as a matter of fact, he's probably one of the better defenders in our league. If I tell him you have to play this guy for us to win, he'll sacrifice his offensive part for the defensive part."

That desire to win was instilled by Mangual's family.

Whether it's his brother Angel, mother Anna Garcia or father Luis Mangual or even Mangual himself, nobody settles for anything less than victory.

"We don't like to lose at anything we do," Mangual said. "I'm a very competitive person. I don't like to lose at all."

SWIFTWATER — Pocono Mountain West boys basketball coach Brad Pensyl knows his team is good. The Mountain Valley Conference knows it, too. Now it's time for the rest of the teams in District 11's Class AAAA to find out.

Jon Mangual led four players in double figures as the Panthers knocked off Pocono Mountain East 80-52 Tuesday to win their second straight MVC title and third in four years.

The victory was the 13th straight for Pocono West (20-3, 6-0), which hasn't lost since falling 57-56 to Freedom on Dec. 22. That loss was the Panthers' third by one point, the others coming to Allen and Easton in the first two games of the season. PM West hasn't lost a MVC game since Feb. 6, 2006.

"We're a very balanced team, a very unselfish team, a very good team," Pensyl said. "These kids don't get a whole lot of credit. What they've done the attention they get is very minimal. They deserve some credit because we haven't lost a game since December and our three losses have been by one point.

"We're good."

The Panthers sure were that against the Cardinals (19-4, 4-1).

Right from the opening tip Pocono West pressured East and it paid off almost every time. The Panthers hounded the Cardinals into 13 first-half turnovers and held them to 7-for-27 from the floor in the opening 16 minutes.

Pocono West was just as impressive with the ball in their possession, turning a four-point lead with 4:16 to play into a 35-23 halftime advantage. The Panthers shot 15-for-32 from the field in the opening half, including 9-for-14 in the second quarter.

"We tried to push the ball like we have all year and put pressure on them on defense," said Mangual, who finished with game-highs of 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. "That's what we focused on and I thought we did a good job."

The Panthers also continued to perfect a trend they started from the season's opening game: being balanced on offense.

With the Cardinals playing tight defense on Mangual, the MVP of the MVC last season, Phil Leyro scored all 16 of his points in the first three quarters. He had seven points in both the second and third quarter. Mike Quiteh added 13 points and Antré Cole scored 10.

"That's a good thing," Leyro said. "We don't have any star players. Everybody has to play tough defense on us because you don't know who's going to shine on any given night."

Pocono West has been shining bright for quite some time now.

The Panthers won the school's first championship when it capture the MVC title in 2004-05. After coming up short a year later, the Panthers did it again last season despite breaking in four new starters. This time West has done it without much of an inside presence, depending on players like the 6-foot-3 Cole, Demetrice Fair and Leyro, both listed at 6-2, to play in the post.

"We had no big guy so we kind of had to go right back to the drawing board," Pensyl said. "We basically won the league championship with five guards is what we did."

Whoever Pensyl put on the floor, MVC opponents never seemed to be able to keep up. Now it's time for the Panthers to bring that mentality into the district playoffs.

They're assured of no worse than the No. 2 seed and still could get the top seed. Last year as the second seed, Pocono West fell in the semifinals to Easton and consolation game against Liberty. If the Panthers can win two games and get to the final this year they'll assure themselves of a trip to the PIAA playoffs and a chance at the school's first district title in any sport.

"Winning the MVC was our first goal, but another one was to go to the district final," Mangual said. "Then we want to win the title and go to states for the first time in school history."

PM West 80, PM East 52

PM WEST (80)

Mangual 7 5-6 19, Scott 4 0-0 9, Quiteh 5 2-4 13, Fair 2 0-0 4, Leyro 7 1-1 16, Cole 5 0-0 10, Johnson 2 0-0 5, Legette 0 0-0 0, Zangwill 1 0-0 2, Rudolphe 0 0-0 0, Arrick 1 0-0 2, Thomas 0 0-0 0, Douglas 0 0-0 0. Totals — 34 8-11 80.

PM EAST (52)

Garcia 0 0-0 0, Hall 4 2-2 12, Grotevant 2 0-0 5, Lepri 3 0-1 8, Herman 1 1-4 3, Halicki 3 3-6 9, Reinhardt 2 0-0 4, Richards 2 0-0 4, Emory 2 0-0 5, Hines 0 0-0 0, Swindell 0 0-1 0, Ryals 0 0-0 0, Tillary 1 0-0 2. Totals — 20 6-11 52.

PM West 14 21 28 17 ­— 80

PM East 6 17 18 11 — 52

3-point goals — PMW 4 (Scott, Quiteh, Leyro, Johnson), PME 6 (Hall 2, Lepri 2, Grotevant, Richards). Rebounds — PMW 36 (Mangual 9), PME 28 (Lepri 4). Assists — PMW 18 (Mangual 8), PME 9 (Lepri, Halicki 2). Steals — PMW 7 (Mangual, Quiteh 2), PME 5 (Hall 2). Blocks — PMW 2 (Scott, Fair), PME 2 (Grotevant, Halicki). Turnovers — PMW 17, PME 18.

Records — PMW 20-3, 6-0; PME 19-3, 4-1. JV — PME, 62-50.

POCONO SUMMIT — The names may be different, but the results have remained the same for Pocono Mountain West's boys basketball team.

Despite a roster full of inexperience and four new starters in the lineup, the Panthers 12-4 have continued to win. A victory over arch-rival Pocono Mountain East last week sealed up the Mountain Valley Conference first-half title.

Winning is something PM West coach Brad Pensyl expected from his team no matter who was on the floor.

"I've told the kids that losing is easy, anybody can lose, but winning is tough," Pensyl said. "When you win there comes a lot of responsibility with that. I certainly don't expect to lose nor do I expect our kids to expect us to lose. I just think that the kids that are playing here fully expect to win.

"That's a key and they understand what we're doing here. We're trying to win."

That's something PM West has been doing since 2004 when it captured the school's first league title. A host of seniors guided that team and it was much the same last year with seniors Rasheed Walters and Ed Riss stepping to the forefront and leading the Panthers to the district playoffs.

Now it's a host of good, but unknown players that are getting the job done for Pensyl, albeit a little early than previously thought.

"I was concerned because I thought we were a year away because we were so young," said Pensyl, in his 18th season as a head coach in the Pocono Mountain School District. "We basically didn't have anyone back so that's why you have to credit our kids. They're the ones doing it."

Just one, sophomore center Zach Lucas, returns with any starting experience. Kyrell Scott, a sophomore point guard, leads the show with junior Phil Leyro, the team's top offensive threat, on the one wing and Jon Mangual, who does a little of everything including averaging double figures in points, on the other side. Up front, senior Romond Vines, an athletic player who was a first-team All Area wide receiver, has provided a lift since he started seeing more playing time. Lucas continues to show flashes that he'll be an extremely good player as he gets older.

"Zach Lucas is getting better. He's going to be a force to be reckoned with down the road if he works hard," Pensyl said. "Phil and Jon seem to work well together and Romond has been our stabilizing force out there for us. He's does whatever we ask of him. He's that lunch pale guy. Kyrell's doing a good job at the point as a sophomore, a tough spot to be as a sophomore."

But with Lucas the only player with much experience, PM West opened the season with a 81-52 loss to Easton and a two-point loss to Berwick four nights later. That made PM West 0-2 and had Pensyl concerned, but the team ripped off a streak of 12 wins in 14 games.

Leyro and Mangual have led the way on the offensive end. Both are among the top scorers in the county and are just as active on the defensive end. Scott has a good handle of the offense and gets after opponents on the other end. Vines does anything asked, and it shows as he fills up the stat sheet night in and night out. Lucas' play has improved as of late, highlighted by a 10-point, eight-rebound performance in the victory over the Cardinals.

In short, everyone is doing his share in order to continuing doing what all teams want to do — win.

"It just helps everyone out," Lucas said. "If someone's off one night, someone will pick them up and they can focus on improving their defense. If you're having a bad offensive game, you have to try to have a good defensive game. We're just out there to win games."

Defense is what helped PM West win games after those opening two losses, in which it allowed 140 points total. Since then the Panthers are giving up just under 49 per game.

"We've gotten a lot better defensively as the season's gone on because we're cutting down on the mistakes we were making early," Vines said. "We're a smarter team now. We're focusing on doing the little things that help us on offense and defense that help us win games."

Mangual's play has been a big reason for the team's success. He's quick and aggressive and teams with Leyro to give PM West scorers on both wings. Defensively Mangual is active and gets after his man much like Scott, who had seven steals against PM East.

"Our defense has gotten a lot better since we lost against Easton," Mangual said. "We've been working hard on it a lot during practice. It's helping us win games."

Scott has been helping too, bringing the ball up on one end and pressuring it on the other.

The sophomore plays tough defense and gets everyone involved on offense. His play has gotten better in the passing weeks in all areas, including scoring where he has 41 points in his last four games. PM West's scoring average has benefited as a result, at just over 65 points per night.

"Running the point as a sophomore is a lot of hard work," Scott said. "Coach Pensyl and I have been working hard on my passing so it can be more on point. We have a lot of good players here and once I can get them the ball we can start doing what we want to do."

Leyro has been doing what he wants on the offensive end, scoring in double figures in all but three games this season. He is the team's best option from beyond, but he can get inside and score. He's shown the ability to score off offensive rebounds and makes a point to drive to the basket as well.

That makes five guys that can get whatever their team needs on any particular night, giving the Panthers a distinct advantage when they step on the floor.

"That's big having a few guys that can step up for us," Leyro said. "It's not just one person. Everyone can shoot, everyone can score, everyone defends. Whatever wins us games that's what we want to do."

What Pensyl is trying to do is to get his team to understand what lies ahead.

"You don't get a banner for a first-half championship, you don't get any trophies," Pensyl said. "Yeah, we won the fist half and we're playing pretty well, but we're just a hair better than other teams. We're getting better, but we're not taking anyone lightly. We have to continue to prepare and practice hard for every team we play. If we want to win."