Henderson helps Monessen boys edge Clairton in Section 2-A showdown

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, January 17, 2018 | 12:15 AM

Section 2-A still belongs to the Monessen Greyhounds. For now at least.

Fifty fouls and 42 free throws later, the host Greyhounds handed Clairton its first section loss with a 59-56 win in a foul-marred affair.

Lyndon Henderson finished with 18 points, including a 3-pointer to give Monessen a 57-56 lead with 52 seconds remaining, to lead the way.

“With Lyndon, the biggest thing is learning his responsibilities when it comes to being a leader,” Monessen coach Joe Salvino said. “Last season, we had Justice (Rice), Jaden (Altomore) and Jaron (Youngblood) to lead us. This year, that falls on Lyndon.”

Henderson's trey came seconds after Clairton's Koran Boyd hit a jumper to give his team a 56-54 lead.

“I think at that point, they took the lead and we could have folded there,” Salvino said. “But Lyndon came through with the deep 3.”

After Henderson's basket, the teams exchanged turnovers, giving Clairton (8-2, 2-1) a chance to win it, but Boyd missed a leaner from just outside the right block.

Elijahwa Payne gathered in the bouncing rebound and was fouled with less than a second remaining. He sunk a pair of free throws to seal the win.

“We knew this would be a tough game,” Clairton coach Matt Geletko said. “Both teams have some good athletes. We know them pretty well and knew we'd be in for a close, hard-fought game.”

Geletko was disappointed with his team's poor foul shooting (13-29) and ability to close out on Monessen's shooters. At one point in the third quarter, the Greyhounds (4-6, 3-0) hit three straight 3-pointers, two by Henderson and one by Isaiah Allums.

“It's just a matter of us not getting out to them on time,” Geletko said. “In the end, we got killed on the glass. They'd miss a free throw and we allowed them to get two or three more opportunities down low. We didn't rebound well.”

Geletko said the section title is still within reach and the team will move on. It didn't help that leading scorer Khori Fusco fouled out of the game with six minutes left in the third quarter after scoring 10 points.

“We did a good job offensively, and we got a good look at the basket,” Geletko said. “Foul trouble really hurt us. We move on to Elizabeth Forward tomorrow and West Mifflin Friday. We have a busy week in front of us.”

The Bears took a brief lead in the fourth quarter when Keishawn Wright, who scored a game-high 21 points, hit a 3-pointer with 5:38 to go to give the Bears a 47-44 advantage.

But it was Monessen's Payne answering with six straight points to put his team back up 50-47.

“I think the tough schedule we've played early in the season really helped him,” Salvino said. “It prepared all of our guys for tough section games like this. We're right where we want to be.”

Payne had 15 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter. Vaughn Taylor finished with 12.

Jeremy Sellew is a freelance writer.

Tags: Clairton, Monessen