Nanticoke Area’s Jaidyn Johnson is defended by Wyoming Area’s Dane Shutter (left) and Tyler Sciandra during the second quarter Thursday night. Johnson, who led WVC Division 2 in scoring, finished with a game-high 32 points.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Wyoming Area’s Lukas Burakiewicz chases down a loose ball during the first quarter Thursday night.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Wyoming Area’s Tyler Sciandra pull down a rebound in front of Nanticoke Area’s Gavin Turak (left) and Ibn Jordan-Thomas during the first quarter Thursday night.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Nanticoke Area’s Gavin Turak reverses direction as Wyoming Area’s Dane Schutter blocks his way to the basket during the second quarter Thursday night.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Wyoming Area’s Brady Noone (11) and Lukas Burakiewicz go after a rebound with Nanticoke Area’s Caleb Butczynski closing in during the first quarter Thursday night.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
NANTICOKE — The strategy was quite simple and certainly given to the correct player.
“My coach actually called me over and told me to take over,” Nanticoke Area junior Jaidyn Johnson said. “After I airballed two shots in the first half, I wasn’t very happy with myself. After that, I wanted every single three I took to be in.”
The Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 scoring champion did as he was told.
Johnson scored from behind the arc and in front of it, piling up a game-high 32 points as Nanticoke Area rallied to defeat Wyoming Area 58-51 in a District 2 Class 4A boys basketball quarterfinal game.
Nanticoke Area (16-8) will play at Scranton Prep (15-9) at 2 p.m. Saturday in the semifinals. A win would send the Trojans to the championship game at 4 p.m. the following Saturday at Mohegan Sun Arena. A loss puts them in the third place game on Tuesday with an opportunity to secure a spot in the state playoffs.
Wyoming Area ended its season at 10-13. Dane Schutter scored 19 points to lead the Warriors, who led throughout most of the first half and late into the third quarter.
Nanticoke Area finally caught Wyoming Area on a rebound basket by Johnson, whose 10th point of the quarter knotted the score 33-33 with 59 seconds left. Liam Mullery closed the period with a 3-pointer to give the Trojans a 36-33 lead, their first advantage since the opening baskets of the game.
Nanticoke Area appeared ready to pull away in the fourth, opening up a 44-36 lead as Johnson hit a 3-pointer to start the final eight minutes and scored on a follow-up to complete an 8-2 run with five minutes left.
Schutter, though, led the Warriors back. The junior forward, who finished second in Division 2 in scoring right behind Johnson, triggered a run that saw Wyoming Area tie the score 46-46 with 3:19 left and again 48-48 with 1:38 remaining.
Johnson answered with an inside basket to break the 48-48 tie. Ibn Jordan-Thomas, who had a game-high 13 rebounds, then took a steal coast-to-coast.
Reserve Ethan Spencer followed with a rebound basket on his third offensive board of the quarter, boosting Nanticoke Area’s lead to 54-48 with 29 seconds left.
Another Jordan-Thomas steal with 16.2 seconds left led to him hitting two free throws and making it 56-48.
“He’s crazy, everything he does,” Nanticoke Area coach Zach Pientka said of Jordan-Thomas, a senior playing his first season with the team. “The hustle, the way he’s able to handle the basketball. You can’t teach the instincts he has. He’s unbelievable the nose for the basketball he has.”
Wyoming Area entered off a two-week break but showed little rust. Lukas Burakiewicz hit two 3-pointers and Tyler Sciandra added another as the Warriors bolted to a 15-6 lead.
“All season we knew they were a team that goes on big runs at certain points in the game,” Johnson said. “We tried to prep, but we weren’t fully ready for how hot they would be shooting at the start of the game. I think they made five (3-pointers) in the first two quarters.”
Nanticoke Area pulled within 23-21 at halftime as Jordan-Thomas outletted a defensive rebound quickly to Gavin Turak, who hit a layup at the buzzer.
District 2 Class 4A Quarterfinals
Nanticoke Area 58, Wyoming Area 51
WYOMING AREA (51) — Sciandra 1 0-1 3, Burakiewicz 4 0-0 12, Noone 0 1-3 1, Rusinchak 2 0-0 6, Schutter 5 9-10 19, DeLucca 1 0-0 3, Little 3 0-0 7, Petrucci 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 10-14 51.
NANTICOKE AREA (58) — Butczynski 0 0-0 0, Turak 3 1-2 7, Mullery 1 0-0 3, Jordan-Thomas 4 3-9 11, Johnson 12 4-4 32, Collins 0 0-0 0, Spencer 1 3-4 5, Brogan 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 11-19 58.
Wyoming Area`15`8`10`18 — 51
Nanticoke Area`8`13`15`22 — 58
Three-point goals — WA 9 (Burakiewicz 4, Rusinchak 2, Sciandra, DeLucca, Little); NAN 5 (Johnson 4, Mullery)
