Monroe boys beat Piedmont in semifinals, 71-61
Monroe High's boys basketball team used a barrage of 3-point shots to knock off Piedmont 71-61 in the semifinals of the Rocky River Conference tournament on Thursday.
The Redhawks (20-4), who are the No. 3 seed, connected on 13 triples against the second-seeded Panthers (20-5).
Piedmont cut the lead to two (57-55) with just over four minutes to play, but Monroe ended the game on a 14-6 run.
Brandon Roddy, a junior guard, led all scorers with 22 points for the Redhawks.
Monroe senior guard Dikembe White added 18 points on the strength of four 3-pointers while junior guard Jaylan Barbour scored all 11 of his points off the bench in the first half.
Garry Parker, a senior wing, added 10 points for MHS. Parker made three triples.
Piedmont made 10 3-pointers, including a career-high six by senior guard LJ Pettiway, who finished with 18 points.
Sophomore forward Cameron Tripp added 16 points and 15 rebounds for the Panthers, who also got 13 points from senior forward Brady Meggs.
Monroe will now face top-seeded Cuthbertson in the championship tonight starting at 7:30.
The Redhawks and Cavaliers split their season series, including a 52-50 win for Monroe at CHS on Feb. 1. Both contests were decided by two points or less.
Thursday's box scores
Monroe boys 71, Piedmont 61
Monroe (20-4)
Quay Chambers 1 2-2 4, Tre Shun Wynn 2 1-1 6, Dikembe White 7 0-0 18, Brandon Roddy 7 6-7 22, Garry Parker 3 1-2 10, Jaylan Barbour 4 0-0 11, Tristan Thompson 0 0-0 0, Bernard Taylor 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 10-12 71.
Piedmont (20-5)
Qualen Blakeney 3 0-0 9, Jeremy Anthony 1 0-0 3, Cameron Tripp 6 4-6 16, LJ Pettiway 6 0-0 18, Brady Meggs 6 1-2 13, Eli Hyatt 1 0-0 2, Andrew Wood 0 0-0 0, Tanner Stringer 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 5-8 61.
Monroe^12^23^18^18 - 71
Piedmont^9^19^21^12 - 61
3-pointers: MHS 13 (White 4, Parker 3, Barbour 3, Roddy 2, Wynn 1); Piedmont 10 (Pettiway 6, Blakeney 3, Anthony 1). Rebounds: Monroe 24 (Chambers 11, Parker 3, Barbour 3); Piedmont 32 (Tripp 15, Meggs 5, Pettiway 4). Assists: Monroe 15 (Wynn 8, Chambers 3); Piedmont 16 (Blakeney 7). Steals: Monroe 6 (Wynn 2, Barbour 2); Piedmont 5 (Anthony 3). Blocks: Monroe 5 (Chambers 2, Wynn 2, Parker 1); Piedmont 1 (Blakeney).