Pittston Area’s JJ Walsh scores an easy 2-pts. of his 4-pt. first half against PIAA 5A opponent Shippensburg High School at Martz Hall, Pottsville, Friday night.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
The Patriots’ Dominic Jannuzzi (42) hits an outside shot for 2-pts. in first half action against Shippensburg High School.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Ethan Ghannam scores an easy lay up in the second half for Pittston Area against Shippensburg at Martz Hall, Pottsville.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Dominic Jannuzzi lays up a 2-pt. bucket in a loss against Shippensburg High School at Martz Hall, Pottsville, 49-43 in PIAA 5A state playoff action Friday night.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
The Patriots’ Anthony Cencetti tossed in two 3-pt. shots in the first half against Shippensburg Friday night at Martz Hall.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Competing on the state level is starting to become routine for the Pittston Area boys basketball program.
Winless in PIAA play until the 2019-20 season, the first under current coach Al Semenza, the Patriots picked up the second state win in school history Tuesday night when their district title created a rare opportunity to host a state game.
Pittston Area’s 21-5 season and 11-game winning streak came to an end Friday, but in another game that proved the Patriots were ready to battle with some of the top teams in the state.
Pittston Area 53, Lower Dauphin 51
YATESVILLE – Pittston Area opened a 12-point lead early in the fourth quarter, then held on through some anxious moments and a confusing finish.
Officials ruled that a Braden Landis attempt to force overtime with a tip-in was too late.
The ruling was complicated by the scoreboard clock malfunctioning, stopping briefly at one-tenth of a second, but video of the play showed the officials got the call correct and that the attempt would have been a fraction of a second after time expired if the clock did not freeze.
“We got a little sloppy,” Pittston Area coach Al Semenza said after the Falcons closed with a 16-5 run over the final 4½ minutes. “There were probably some cases where I made some bad decisions, maybe.
“We turned the ball over. We were still trying to run an offense, but they started doubling us and we started throwing some pop-up passes.”
The Patriots withstood committing half their 12 turnovers in the fourth quarter by hitting seven of nine free throws over the final 6:05.
J.J. Walsh, who scored a team-high 15 points, hit both ends of a one-and-one with 1:34 left, but Lower Dauphin scored the next four points.
Ethan Ghannam made one of two free throws with 17.4 seconds left to create a two-point lead and set up the final sequence.
The Falcons worked the ball around until three seconds left. Landis got off two shots and nearly got off a third.
Pittston Area scored the last four points of the first half to take the lead into the locker room, then outscored Lower Dauphin, 18-11, in the third quarter for a 42-33 lead.
Ghannam scored off an Anthony Cencetti pass and Walsh drove the right side for a three-point play and 47-35 lead.
Cody Rosati hit a 3-pointer, beginning a stretch in which he scored nine of his 11 points in the final 4:25 to lead the comeback attempt.
Ghannam finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.
Cencetti, who scored 10 points, and Dominic Jannuzzi each had eight rebounds as Pittston Area followed up a 27-12 rebounding advantage in the district final with a 29-17 edge in the state opener.
“I thought we came out in the second half and defended much better,” Semenza said. “We took the ball to the basket.
“And, I thought we did a great job rebounding the ball. I think that was the key to the game. Our guys have been tough all year.”
Shippensburg 49, Pittston Area 43
POTTSVILLE – Jeremy Thomas scored 12 of his 20 points in the second half to help Shippensburg end Pittston Area’s District 2 Class 5A championship season in the second round of the PIAA state tournament.
“That wasn’t an easy get,” Shippensburg coach Ray Staver said, “but our kids did what they had to do to get it.”
Dominic Jannuzzi led Pittston Area with 11 points while J.J. Walsh and Anthony Cencetti added nine points each. Ethan Ghannam had eight and Jack Locker scored six. All but Cencetti are seniors who were playing their final game.
Pittston Area opened with the game’s first five points. Cencetti and Locker began the second quarter with consecutive 3-pointers, giving the Patriots a 13-9 lead. Moreover, the Patriots were preventing Shippensburg from getting out in transition and getting a scoring run.
“We had it where we wanted it,” Pittston Area coach Al Semenza said. “Good effort by us. (Shippensburg) is athletic and we had the game where we wanted it. It kind of got away from us a little bit in the fourth quarter. But my guys, like they have done all year, kept rallying back.”
Eventually, Shippensburg switched the action thanks to Thomas and Minnesota football recruit Anthony Smith. Thomas penetrated consistently in the second half and Smith, a 6-foot-8, 255-pounder, wore down Pittston Area on the inside on the way to 13 points.
Pittston Area cut the deficit to 46-43 with 31 seconds left on a 3-pointer by Walsh. After Smith hit the front end of a one-and-one free throw situation with 19.8 seconds remaining, he had a steal in the defensive end with 10.4 seconds remaining. The Greyhounds tacked on two free throws for their final points.
