DALLAS TWP. – The Pittston Area boys basketball team earned the respect and admiration of its veteran coach during the six-game ride it took to conclude a season that at what point had appeared to hit a dead end.
The Patriots won their final four regular-season games, added a playoff win over a higher-seeded opponent on the road, then, in their finale, put a serious scare into Wyoming Valley Conference Tournament champion Dallas.
A few too many missed free throws by the Patriots and a strong defensive response by the Mountaineers allowed Dallas to escape with a 56-49 victory in Thursday night’s District 2 Class 5A semifinals, ending Pittston Area’s upset bid and its season one game short of a championship game appearance at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
Dallas will play unbeaten Abington Heights for the title Sunday night at 7.
To get there, the Mountaineers needed to overcome a 12-point halftime deficit against an opponent they had handled by 20 and 18 points during the WVC season.
By the time this season ended, however, the Patriots were clearly a different team.
“If you saw this team three weeks ago, you’d say ‘who are they; who’s coaching them?” Patriots coach Al Semenza said of a group that had lost 10 of 11 to fall to 5-13 overall. “But, they didn’t quit. When you’re 5-13, it’s easy for kids to gripe and quit.
“Nobody complained. Everybody showed up; everybody listened; and everybody kept battling. When you do that, you’re a competitor, you’re a winner in life and you get to the big stage. We were almost there. We were very close to getting there.”
Pittston Area led by 12 at halftime and by five with less than six minutes remaining.
Dallas closed with a 16-4 run, including the game’s last seven points.
Before Silvio Giardina hit the second of two tries from the line to force the last tie with 3:11 left, Pittston Area was 3-for-10 from the line while Dallas was 9-for-9.
“We struggled at the foul line, which didn’t help us,” Semenza said. “It made a big difference. Instead of a four-point lead, a seven-point lead is a big thing. Then, you’re able to hold on to the ball a little bit. We had them in foul trouble in the fourth quarter.”
Mikey Cumbo, who finished with 17 points, eight defensive rebounds, four assists, three blocked shots and two steals, led Dallas (20-6) down the stretch and to its 12th straight victory. The Mountaineers had only one closer game during their winning streak.
Cumbo hit a 3-pointer with 4:43 left for the first tie, took a steal in for a layup and the first lead 17 seconds later, then pulled up from just inside the foul line to put Dallas ahead to stay with 2:54 to go.
Jude Nocito added 14 points and Cameron Faux 13 for Dallas.
Paul Jordan McGarry went 6-for-10 from 3-point range while leading Pittston Area with 21 points.
Silvio Giardina, who had only played briefly off the bench twice in the first 18 games but started the final six after returning from injury, added 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Matt Walter had 10 points, nine rebounds and three assists.
McGarry and Giardina built the lead.
McGarry scored the game’s first five points, then added his second 3-pointer for an 8-2 lead. He had two more from long range for 14 points before the first quarter ended. He tracked down a pass from under the basket out to nearly midcourt, then wheeled and nailed a 40-footer at the buzzer for a 16-9 lead after one quarter.
Pittston Area started 7-for-11 from 3-point range, including three by Giardina in the first 3:30 of the second quarter.
Walter had six points in the last 2:42 of the half, giving the team two of its three leads of a dozen points, including 34-22 at the break.
Dallas changed its defensive approach after the hot start from beyond the arc and held Pittston Area to 2-for-14 from long distance the rest of the way.
With Ciaran Bilbow, who had four points, six rebounds and three assists in his final game, as the only senior on the roster, Semenza is encouraged by the way the 10-14 season ended.
“It’s no fun losing, but there’s a lot of pride in the way a great group of kids played,” Semenza said. “We’ll keep working and we’re going to get back here.”
