MONESSEN – A stable of skilled players and plenty of hard work are necessary ingredients for success in high school basketball. As Monessen boys’ coach Joe Salvino discovered Tuesday, sometimes it takes a dash of good fortune as well. With 12 seconds to go and Monessen clinging to a one-possession lead, Mick Williams spun around and threw up an ill-advised 3-pointer. Somehow the prayer found its home and sealed a titanic, 55-51 victory for the Greyhounds (2-8, 2-1) over Clairton (4-7, 1-2) in a Class A Section 3 battle. The win allowed Salvino, a 20-year veteran, to finally collect victory No. 400 after the Hounds began the year with seven straight defeats. “It was a big gamble, but sometimes we have to get a little luck ourselves,” Salvino said. “Mick’s the kind of person that wants to do everything to win. Today, we were a little bit lucky.” Even in victory, many questioned why Williams even attempted the shot. After pulling down his 10th offensive rebound, all Williams needed to do was hold the ball. Instead, the beefy acrobat dribbled out to the arc, twisted 90 degrees in midair and fired away. “I thought he was going to foul me and I was going to get three shots,” Williams said with a trademark laugh. “I was happy it went in because Coach would’ve… I’m not going to say what he would’ve done. I’m just glad we could get Coach 400.” Williams did spearhead the Greyhounds’ attack with 20 points and 21 rebounds, but he did not do it alone. Senior forwards Matt Stark and Sheldon Davis combined for 19 points and 12 rebounds as eight different Greyhounds scored. But it was Monessen’s staunch defensive effort that cinched victory, limiting sophomore shooting guard Leroy George to just four of his team-high 14 points in the second half. Stark, Davis, Williams and Vince Campbell also limited open looks inside for Dave Prince (13 points) and 6-foot-3 sophomore Marcel Washington (six points) while swatting away a half dozen shots. “Team defense is one of the things we did extremely well,” Salvino said. “That, and we rebounded tonight.” Things looked bleak for Monessen at the start, as Clairton ran off a 12-4 lead. But Stark buried a rare 3-pointer from the corner to jumpstart a 17-0 run and the Hounds carried a 30-23 lead into halftime. The majority of Greyhound baskets in the second and third quarters came off outstanding passes. Williams, who could’ve had a triple-double if not for several misses by teammates, finished with seven of those assists. “We hit a lot of people when they were open to score some easy buckets,” Salvino said. “That’s seeing the open man and that means you’re learning, you’re seeing the court and we’re moving to an open area instead of standing around and watching the game.” Monessen’s teamwork aside, Clairton’s tight man-to-man forced 23 Greyhound turnovers. It’s what allowed to keep the Bears close and eventually take a 36-35 lead on Washington’s lay-up at 4:43 of the third quarter. The Bears, though, couldn’t cause enough damage from the outside, finishing 4 of 14 from the 3-point line. “We’ve got shooters, but you know what happens when you’ve got shooters, they’ll shoot you out of it sometimes,” said Clairton coach Pete Logan. “They could’ve come out and buried us, but we fought back, even at the end. We’re confident on our own floor, we just have to find a way to steal one or two on the road.” The Monessen offense attempted to stall through the final three minutes, but Clairton stole the ball on consecutive possessions and the Greyhounds scrapped the conservative approach. Williams would hit a put-back to put Monessen up by seven with one minute remaining, but Stark twice missed the front ends of 1-and-1 foul shots to give Clairton life. Prince and George then sliced through the lane for lay-ups, cutting the deficit to 52-49. That’s when Geremy Bassett missed yet another front end of a 1-and-1, Williams grabbed the rebound and buried his miracle 3-ball. “We had them where we wanted them, nervous and at the foul line,” Logan said. “But Williams just killed us with another offensive rebound. And then to shoot that 3. If he misses, we’re in good shape.” For Salvino, the kiss of good fortune meant not only surpassing a milestone, but hopefully signaled a winning formula for the Greyhounds. “It’s my philosophy and what I teach, but I wasn’t out there playing and I thank these players and assistant coaches and everyone from the past that are a part of it,” Salvino said. “It’s a new year, Clairton’s one of the tougher teams in the section and we came out on top.”

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