Patriot Lucas LoPresto (12) is about to sink two points over Dallas Area’s Joey Nocito (2) at Dallas Tuesday night.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pat Flanagan (10) for the Mountaineers scores over Pittston Area’s Matt Walter (14) on Tuesday night.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pittston Area senior Silvio Giardina attempts a three-point shot against Dallas Area on Tuesday night. He scored eight first-half points.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pittston Area lost out on a possible shot at a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 boys basketball title with a loss to first-place Dallas in the Patriots’ only game of the week.
The Patriots, however, moved back to the top of the playoff ratings race for the No. 1 seed in the District 2 Class 5A playoffs Friday night when Abington Heights lost to Scranton Prep.
Going into Saturday, Pittston Area had a .626-.623 ratings lead over Abington Heights in the complex District 2 power ratings system.
The Patriots (13-8) still have one regular-season game left Monday at home against WVC Division 2 champion Wyoming Area (15-6).
Pittston Area was 8-4 in Division 1, which depending on Wilkes-Barre Area’s final game could mean a tie for second or a tie for third in the standings. The top two teams make the WVC Tournament, but the Patriots trailed Wilkes-Barre Area and Hazleton Area in the tiebreaker going into Saturday, making an appearance there unlikely.
Dallas 68, Pittston Area 50
DALLAS TWP. — Three weeks ago, Dallas had just two 3-pointers as the Mountaineers escaped with a five-point win at Pittston Area.
On Tuesday night, Dallas reached that total less than two minutes into the game and kept raining in shots from behind the arc.
The Mountaineers hit 15 times from 3-point range in all and kept Pittston Area from getting any traction on offense in the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 game.
Dallas clinched at least a tie for the divisional title, but a tie became possible when the Mountaineers slipped to 9-3 in the division and 15-7 overall with Friday night’s loss to Hazleton Area.
“It was important for these youngsters to make shots,” Dallas coach Mark Belenski said, “and we practiced extra this week on shots. Tonight we made shots.”
Senior guard Jude Nocito led the barrage in the first half, hitting four 3-pointers and scoring 14 of his 17 points as Dallas took a 37-27 lead into halftime. The Mountaineers were 9-for-13 from long range in the first two quarters.
All things considered, the first half wasn’t too bad for Pittston Area. The Patriots were able to recover a few times after Dallas looked like it was primed to pull away.
“We struggled,” Pittston Area coach Al Semenza said. “But even that, I think we had 25 at half, down by 10, which isn’t bad for us.”
Nocito was done with his 3-point display at halftime. Freshman Tyce Mason took over with four of his six 3-pointers in the second half. He and Jack Dale opened the third with consecutive threes, bumping the lead to 43-27.
A couple more 3-pointers by Mason early in the fourth gave Dallas a 56-38 advantage. Pittston Area answered with baskets by Aidan Clarke and Silvio Giardina, but it was only the second time the Patriots scored consecutive field goals.
Mason finished with a career-high 19 points. Pat Flanagan, who did a solid job on the boards, added 10.
Lucas Lopresto had 18 and Giardina had 15 for Pittston Area. Aiden Lynn finished a point shy of a double-double with nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
