Monessen senior Josh Arnold showed Charleroi Wednesday why he's the WPIAL's leading scorer this season.
Despite sitting out a little over half the second quarter after getting in early foul trouble and then picking up his fourth foul with only 90 seconds gone in the third quarter, Arnold still managed to pour in 35 points to lift the Greyhounds to a 58-48 Class AA Section 5 victory over the visiting Cougars.
"I don't remember Arnold's athleticism from last year," said Charleroi coach Skip Koskoski recalling the Greyhound scoring only 10 points in a 55-38 Monessen win on the Cougars' floor in the Mon Valley Shoot- out.
Arnold had 10 points in the first quarter to stake Monessen (8-3, 4-0) to a 17-10 lead and was outscoring the Cougars, 19-15, in the second quarter before spending the rest of the half on the bench after getting his third foul at the 4:24 mark.
Down by eight at halftime, Charleroi (6-5, 2-2) capitalized on two other Monessen starters -- Joe Heath and Telly Clark -- being sidelined in foul trouble to close to within 35-33 with 2:40 to go in the third quarter.
Arnold then sandwiched a pair of 3's around a two-pointer to put Monessen up 43-38 going into the final eight minutes.
Any chance the Cougars had of making a fourth quarter comeback ended when a Tim Tyree tip-in and baskets by Clark and Heath gave Monessen a 49-38 cushion with 4:06 remaining.
Charleroi's John Bristol hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 53-48 with 1:26 to go before Tyree hit a free throw and Arnold went four-for-four at the foul line to close the scoring.
"The 10-day layoff really hurt us, but Charleroi never quit," said Monessen coach Joe Salvino, who was hit with his first technical late in the first half. "It didn't help that we had three starters on the bench in foul trouble. We did what we had to do."
"The difference in the fourth quarter was they beat us on the offensive boards and we got worn down," noted Koskoski. "I thought we were intimidated last year when we played them but tonight we went toe-to-toe. Our kids left everything on the court and that's all I can ask."
LEFTOVERS: Heath and Clark both fouled out in the fourth quarter ... Tyree backed Arnold with 12 points including 10 in the second half ... Adam Mudrick and Bristol both scored 12 points for Charleroi with Jermaine Thurston and reserve Taylor Andrisko both scoring 11 ... Arnold had 14 rebounds, two more than Heath and Clark ... Monessen, which has won seven straight, is home Friday with Waynesburg while Charleroi gets Beth-Center at home the same night.
