Wyoming Area’s Tyler Sciandra (0) attempts to block a Mike Dubaskas shot for Holy Redeemer.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Tyler Sciandra (0) goes up high over Redeemer’s George Sabatini (4) for two of his eight points on the night.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
The Warriors’ Dane Schutter had a hot hand in the first-half scoring 16 of the team’s 27-points against Holy Redeemer at Wilkes-Barre Area gym.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
PLAINS TWP. — Down 11 early in the second quarter and not looking all that good, Holy Redeemer climbed back into the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 boys basketball championship against Wyoming Area.8
Then, with a late second-quarter burst, the Royals overtook Wyoming Area and held on for a 58-48 victory Monday night at Wilkes-Barre Area High School.
Holy Redeemer won its third consecutive Division 2 crown despite having a completely new starting lineup.
George Sabatini paced the Royals with a game-high 23 points to go along with nine rebounds. Mark Atherton had 15, including five from the foul line in the final minute as Holy Redeemer dashed any comeback hopes. David Popson, who transferred from Hanover Area, had 13 and helped reverse a 21-10 deficit in the second quarter into a 30-27 lead at halftime.
“That was a big point in the game for us,” Redeemer coach Paul Guido said. “ … If we came into the locker room down 10 or 12 and carried that with us, that could have been something different. That could have been a different animal.”
Atherton started a 12-0 run to close the first half with a 3-pointer. Sabatini finished it by flying in for a rebound dunk, one of three he had in the game.
“I wasn’t worried,” Sabatini said of the deficit. “If more than anything, it gave us a fire to do what we needed to do. It fired us up to get the job done.”
After Dane Schutter’s inside basket gave Wyoming Area a 27-18 lead with 3:25 until halftime, the Warriors suddenly went cold from the field. They went nearly eight minutes without a field goal until Brady Noone’s short jumper moved them within 33-32 midway through the third quarter.
Wyoming Area regained the lead 36-35 about a minute later on a pump fake inside by Schutter. The shooting woes, though, resurfaced. The Warriors were getting quality shots, only to see them go in and out or roll off the rim.
“We got great looks they just didn’t go in,” Wyoming Area coach Anthony Macario said. “Unfortunately, that seemed to be what cost us. Defensively in the second quarter we gave up way too many points. We had a really good first quarter. The second quarter we gave up 22. That certainly didn’t help.”
A 3-pointer by Brayden Sock gave Holy Redeemer the lead for good, 38-36 with 2:44 left in the third quarter.
A layup by Luke Kopetchny off a steal by Anthony DeLucca to start the fourth brought Wyoming Area within 40-38. The Warriors, though, went nearly four minutes without scoring. That offensive lull along with Atherton’s free-throw shooting allowed Redeemer to keep it a three-possession game most of the final minutes.
Schutter led Wyoming Area with 22 points, including going 5-for-5 from the line.
