Jan 16, 2018 3 min read

MONESSEN – It wasn’t the prettiest of coach Joe Salvino’s 630 career wins, but Monessen’s 59-56 win over Clairton Tuesday night Section 2-AA was one that the legendary coach will remember.

“This was an important win against a talented and athletic team,” Salvino said. “It was called tight early and both teams had to adjust.”

Just how closely was the game called by the officiating crew?

Monessen (4-6, 3-0) was called for 23 fouls and a technical while Clairton (8-2, 2-1) was called for 27 fouls and a technical.

There were 17 fouls called in the first quarter and 31 in the first half.

Monessen was 13 of 22 from the free-throw line in the first half while Clairton was 10 of 20.

Three Monessen players had three fouls in the first half while one Clairton player had four and four more had two.

Monessen survived the foul-filled game to win its 47th consecutive section game.

Clairton led 14-13 after the first quarter while Monessen only made two baskets in the quarter but converted eight out of 14 free throws.

The Greyhounds only made four baskets in the second quarter, but three of them were three-pointers as Monessen took a 29-28 lead into halftime.

The third quarter was played evenly and Monessen took a 42-40 lead into the fourth quarter, but a 1:18 stretch was huge for the Greyhounds as Lyndon Henderson hit three-pointers on consecutive possessions and Isaiah Allums added one to give Monessen a 40-34 lead with 4:41 to play in the quarter.

Clairton chipped away at the Monessen lead and eventually used a Keishawn Wright three-pointer with 5:41 to play to take a 47-44 advantage.

Elijiahwa Payne scored three straight baskets to give Monessen a 50-47 lead with 4:37 to play, but the Bears went on a 7-1 run to take a 54-51 lead with only 1:30 remaining.

However, Henderson drained a three-pointer off an assist from Cory Fleming to tie the score with 1:19 to play.

After Karon Byrd scored to give the Bears a 56-54 lead, Henderson made his fourth three-pointer to give Monessen a 57-56 lead with 49 seconds left and send the home crowd into a frenzy.

“This was a big win for us and I was able to get a good look,” Henderson said of the key shot. “We had to protect our court.”

Clairton turned the ball over with 42 seconds left, but Monessen gave it right back.

Playing for the last shot, the Bears got the ball to Byrd and he made a move to the basket. He attempted to bank in a six-foot shot but it went in and out. Payne grabbed the rebound and made two free throws with seven-tenths of a second left to end the scoring.

“Elijahwa played a great game for us,” Salvino said of Payne who finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds. “Everyone who played tonight contributed in a big way.”

Monessen, whhich has now won 47 straight section games dating back to a loss to Clairton Feb. 9, 2013, was paced by Henderson’s 18 points, Payne’s 15, and Vaughn Taylor’s 12 points and five steals.

“We had to get this win,” said Taylor. “This is our court and we didn’t want our section winning streak to end tonight.”

When told after the game that his team finished with only six two-point baskets, Salvino smiled.

“I don’t think we have won too many games with six made (twos),” he said. “But how many threes did we make?”

The Greyhounds had nine three-pointers and were 20 of 34 from the free-throw line. Clairton was 13 of 29.