WRIGHT TWP. — Crestwood had the perfect follow-up to a bitterly disappointing finish Tuesday night – a near-flawless start Thursday.
Ryan Petrosky led the charge from the start, scoring half of the points when the Comets raced out to a 17-point, first-quarter lead on the way to an 80-46 rout of visiting Pittston Area that left the two teams and three others tied for first place going into the final night of the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 boys basketball season.
Crestwood had the ball and a chance to move into a first-place tie Tuesday night in the closing seconds, also on its home court, only to have a turnover and shot by Wilkes-Barre Area’s Brandon Hall from just inside midcourt in the final two seconds keep the Comets from joining the first-place tie.
They got there Thursday, leaving no doubts about how they would respond to the missed chance.
“We had a tough loss the other day,” Comets coach Mark Atherton said. “We told them, ‘We can feel sorry for ourselves or we can bounce back hard.’ ”
When Wilkes-Barre Area also won again, the Wolfpack created a new opportunity for the Comets, replacing the one they had just taken away.
“We still knew we had a chance in this thing,” Atherton said. “Yesterday, we talked more than anything,
“Before the game, it looked like they were ready to roll. I couldn’t be more proud of these guys.”
Petrosky, Paul Feisel and Marcus Vieney made sure Crestwood capitalized. They combined to shoot 11-for-19 from 3-point range while scoring 54 points.
The Comets combined their sharpshooting with pressure defense that resulted in 11 first-half steals.
Petrosky scored 12 points for a 24-7 lead after one quarter. He finished 10-for-15 from the floor with 28 points and three steals.
“We just came in focused and prepared,” Petrosky said. “We knew this was a must-win game.”
Feisel went 4-for-7 on 3-pointers to score to add 14 points. Vieney missed his first shot, then made his last four, all from 3-point range, to add 12 points.
Jacob Zaleski and Mike Zaleski combined for 13 points, seven rebounds and seven assists while each matched Petrosky for the team-high of three steals.
The Comets never slowed down.
They pushed the lead to 41-14 before Pittston Area scored the last two points of the first half. Then, they hit four more 3-pointers in a 24-point third quarter before turning many of the fourth-quarter shots over to less-used seniors on senior night and again outscoring the Patriots.
“We really had to give the seniors what they deserved on senior night,” said Petrosky, a junior who is the team’s leading scorer.
Mike George, Brennan Higgins and Andrew Krawczyk led Pittston Area with seven points each.
The Patriots entered the night with the division’s longest winning streak at three.
Crestwood 80, Pittston Area 46
PITTSTON AREA (46) — Logan Booth 0 2-6 2, Mike George 1 5-5 7, J.J. Walsh 0 5-6 5, Brennan Higgins 2 2-2 7, Andrew Krawczyk 3 0-0 7, Joe Cencetti 1 0-0 2, Adam Penxa 1 1-2 3, Matt Johnson 2 2-2 6, Dom Jannuzzi 1 0-0 3, Jack Locker 0 1-2 1, Ethan Ghannam 0 0-0 0, Omar Aziz 0 0-0 0, Alex Hoban 0 3-4 3, Brayden Powers 0 0-0 0, David Behm 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 21-29 46.
CRESTWOOD (80) — Ryan Petrosky 10 5-5 28, Marcus Vieney 4 0-0 12, Paul Feisel 5 0-0 14, Brad Papura 1 2-3 4, Jacob Zaleski 3 1-2 7, Mike Zaleski 2 2-4 6, Brandon Nieminski 0 0-0 0, Nick Ruggeri 0 0-0 0, Don Shaw 1 0-0 2, Bruce Wyda 2 2-2 7, Sam Balliet 0 0-0 0, Zayne Dunsmuir 0 0-0 0. Totals 28 12-16 80.
Pittston Area`7`9`16`14 — 46
Crestwood`24`17`24`15 — 80
Three-point goals — PA 3 (Higgins, Jannuzzi, Krawczyk); CRE 12 (Vieney 4, Feisel 4, Petrosky 3, Wyda).
