Clairton loses lead, falls to Nazareth Prep

By ADAM BREWER

MVI Sports

Clairton knew its back was up against the wall in their Class A first-round matchup against defending WPIAL champion Nazareth Prep Saturday at Thomas Jefferson High School.

But the Bears didn’t back down and put together a stellar second quarter to build a 10-point lead at halftime.

But the Saints countered with a run of their own in the second half and limited Clairton to just five points in the final eight minutes booting the Bears out of the playoffs with a nailbiting 53-52 loss.

“We just weren’t patient with the ball in the second half,” Clairton coach Matt Geletko said. “For whatever reason, sometimes it’s hard for us play with a lead. We just had no flow on offense in the fourth quarter. Turnovers killed us and their pressure forced us to the corners. The little stuff hurt us.”

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