Pittston Area and Tunkhannock players get ready to pursue a rebound. Patriots (in blue), from left: J.J. Walsh, Matt Johnson (2), Jack Locker (30) and David Behm.
Tom Robinson | Sunday Dispatch
J.J. Walsh (13) drives for Pittston Area against Tunkhannock’s Michael Kuzma in Thursday’s game.
Tom Robinson | Sunday Dispatch
TUNKHANNOCK – Even when his team opened a pair of 23-point leads in the third quarter, Tunkhannock coach Spencer Lunger figured the Pittston Area Patriots were not finished.
“With the way coach Al (Semenza) coaches and how hard they play for him, I knew no lead was safe against them,” Lunger said after the Tigers held on for a 63-58 victory in the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 boys basketball game.
Semenza was pleased that Lunger’s perception proved correct.
Pittston Area got within seven points in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, but could not get any closer than the final margin.
“Certainly, I’m disappointed that we didn’t play better in the first half,” Semenza said. “But, what I took out of it, looking for the positive, is that we didn’t quit.
“We kept coming back and got ourselves in striking distance where if we could have made one or two more plays, we could have gotten it down to a one-possession game.”
Pittston Area’s defense left just enough room for Ryan Harder, Tunkhannock’s 6-foot-4, senior, all-star guard, to get hot in the first half on the way to 26 points and 17 rebounds.
“We can’t dig ourselves so much of a hole,” Semenza said. “They shot the ball well, but we made some mistakes defensively.”
Semenza said he will have to come up with a better defensive game plan against Harder for the rematch with the Tigers and the players will have to get off to a better start.
“He’s a tough match-up,” Semenza said.
With a little boost from defensive pressure increasing the pace of the game, Pittston Area’s offense got hot late. The Patriots scored 33 points in the final 12:10 after producing just 25 in the first 19:50.
Five of the six players Pittston Area used scored in the fourth quarter and four finished the game in double figures in scoring.
Dom Jannuzzi made three 3-pointers and led the Patriots with 16 points and six assists.
J.J. Walsh, who grabbed seven rebounds and made three steals, and Matt Johnson scored 11 each.
David Behm shot 5-for-6 while finishing with 10 points and seven rebounds.
Johnson and Walsh each gave Pittston Area three-point leads with first-quarter 3-pointers.
Tunkhannock went ahead to stay with the last 10 points of the first quarter – eight of them by Harder – and the first four of the second quarter for a 23-12 lead.
The Tigers put together a 15-2 run, including 10 points by Chris Trochak, for its biggest leads midway through the third quarter.
“I’m just proud of my kids,” Lunger said after the Tigers improved to 1-2 in the division and 4-3 overall. “They never got rattled and it was a really big win for us against a very good team.”
Pittston Area, a second-round state tournament team a year ago, slipped to 0-2 in the division and 3-2 overall.
