Basketball Game Preview: Serra Catholic Eagles vs. Monessen Greyhounds

The Serra Catholic Eagles will head out on the road to take on the Monessen Greyhounds at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Two weeks ago, Serra Catholic took their matchup with ease, bagging an 82-42 victory over Geibel Catholic. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 157th, while the Gators are ranked 470th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Serra Catholic's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Owen Dumbroski, who went 11 for 16 on his way to 25 points and seven steals, and Tyler Sapida, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 16 boards. The dominant performance gave Sapida a new career-high in rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Brayden Graham, who went 6 of 9 on his way to 12 points in addition to five assists and five boards.

Serra Catholic smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 20 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in three consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Monessen made easy work of Beaver County Christian on Friday and carried off a 67-46 win.

Serra Catholic pushed their record up to 8-1 with the victory, which was their sixth straight on the road. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 29.7 points. As for Monessen, they now have a winning record of 4-3.

Serra Catholic ended up a good deal behind Monessen when the teams last played back in February of 2022, losing 69-55. Can Serra Catholic avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.