Feb 5, 2016 4 min read

COAL CENTER – Joe Salvino’s greatest fear is for his Monessen High School basketball players to look ahead.

The concern is merited because the Monessen head coach has seen the Greyhounds roll over the competition in Section 3-A and Salvino knows his players’ sights are set on another gold medal in the WPIAL playoffs.

Instead of warning them of the consequences of overlooking section rival California in the regular-season finale, Salvino announced to them that the playoffs were beginning Friday night.

They listened.

Monessen looked every bit like the defending WPIAL champion, forcing 29 turnovers and shutting out California in the third quarter to walk away with a 78-25 win.

The victory earned the Greyhounds (12-0, 19-3) sole possession of their third consecutive section title. They will likely be the top seed in the Class A playoffs when the pairings are released Tuesday night.

For the fifth time in two seasons, California head coach Bruno Pappasergi and the Trojans could not find a way to combat Monessen’s full-court press defense.

“They’re a real big handful. They’re hard to play against, they’re very talented,” Pappasergi said. “They’re just too good for us right now and I have to find a way to beat them. It just seems like there were 10 guys out there when we play them. Give (Salvino) credit – that’s a state championship team right there.”

Senior Dwight Moore led Monessen with 22 points and seven steals, junior Jaden Altomore had 20 points and senior Lavalle Rush added 19.

Moore helped the Greyhounds start the game on a 20-5 run before Rush made three three-pointers on consecutive possessions. Though the press led to points in transition, it wasn’t always effective in the first half.

California (10-2, 14-7), which would have earned a share of the section title with a win, broke the press throughout the second quarter but missed several layups and could not take advantage of Monessen’s foul trouble. The Greyhounds were called for 15 fouls in the first half, including two technical fouls, but the Trojans were only 3 of 12 from the free-throw line in the first 16 minutes and faced a 41-15 deficit at the half.

“The game was a little slower than I wanted it to be,” Salvino said. “We didn’t score as many points as we’re accustomed to. California got back on defense a lot and that made us slow it down a bit. When we got our steals and transition points, I thought we did well and Lavalle was on fire for a while.”

Moore, Altomore and Rush combined for all 19 of the Greyhounds’ third-quarter points. California, meanwhile, did not score during that span, which included seven turnovers. The Trojans attempted only two shots in the quarter.

Altomore had 13 points in the third quarter and led the Greyhounds with eight rebounds.

California did not make a field goal during Monessen’s 28-0 run that lasted more than 12 minutes, leading to a 65-15 deficit early in the fourth quarter. The Trojans were led by Dylan Hammitt’s six points and their leading scorer, Kass Taylor, was held to only two points.

“It’s always good to have that pressure put on teams like that,” Salvino said. “Our quickness shows. It’s a good start to come up to the playoffs. I told them this would be the start of the playoff season here.”

Monessen averaged a WPIAL-best 92.1 points per game during the regular season and outscored opponents by an section average of 77.7 points. With a section title in hand and a top seed is secured, Salvino is relieved that the road to the Petersen Events Center is about to begin.

“We have to keep everything in perspective,” Salvino said. “First we want to win every game, then we want to win the section and now this is the beginning of the playoff season. These kids have been biting at the bullet to get to this point. They’re ready for it.”