WILKES-BARRE – Pittston Area could not hold on to the ball – or a lead – Wednesday night in the championship game of the 51st annual Robert McGrane Memorial Tournament.
Crestwood’s half-court defense harassed the Patriots into many of their 25 turnovers, helping the Comets overcome deficits of 11 points in the first quarter and six points in the fourth quarter on the way to a 47-41 victory at the Catholic Youth Center.
“If you have (25) turnovers, you’re going to lose, against anybody,” Patriots coach Alan Kiesinger said, pointing out that it was not the first time this season that he had to make that statement.
Pittston Area was at its best in protecting the ball during the first quarter when it had just four turnovers while opening a 15-4 lead before Crestwood scored the last two points of the quarter.
Crestwood’s relentless defense in the frontcourt led to many of the Pittston Area miscues, but “there were unforced turnovers, too,” according to Kiesinger.
Tournament Most Valuable Player Kyle Gregaris took care of the offense, going 4-for-6 on 3-pointers while scoring 20 points. He had 12 in the second quarter when Crestwood temporarily moved in front and the other eight in the fourth quarter when it took the lead for good.
It was a Gregaris 3-pointer with 5:42 left that erased the last Pittston Area lead.
“Gregaris was tremendous,” Kiesinger said. “He had four 3s. He’s the guy we wanted to keep out of the lane and he kills us on 3s.”
Chris Klein led Pittston Area with 16 points, also with the help of four 3-pointers, and received the tournament’s Sportsmanship Award.
Alex McAndrew added nine points, seven assists and three steals.
Patrick Mitchell had four points, six rebounds and two blocked shots while making the all-tournament team.
Klein hit two 3-pointers in the first quarter to help the Patriots take their 11-point lead.
Crestwood answered with a 17-2 run, including seven straight by Gregaris to move in front on the way to a 21-17 lead late in the half.
The turnovers began to mount and Kyle Richards turned four offensive rebounds into five points in the first half as Crestwood emerged with a 23-22 lead.
Pittston Area had a 34-25 rebounding advantage with Brian Miller coming off the bench to provide seven while fellow reserves Keemar Woodruff and Brennan Higgins were grabbing four each.
Richards, however, still managed to make an impact there with a team-high seven rebounds helping him to 13 points. He made the all-tournament team.
Crestwood managed just two field goals in the third quarter.
Pittston Area regained the lead and built it to 34-28 when McAndrew opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer.
The Comets finished strong. They put together a game-deciding, 15-2 run for a 43-36 lead with just over a minute left.
Pittston Area 68
Hanover Area 57
Patrick Mitchell led defending champion Pittston Area back to the McGrane Tournament final with a win over Hanover Area Monday.
Chris Klein scored 12 points, Naseem Guillaume had 11 and Mike Mazurkivich had 10. Guillaume hit three 3-pointers.
Hanover Area took a 15-10 lead in the first quarter when Klein kept Pittston Area in the game with seven points.
McGlynn hit two 3-pointers in the second quarter to get the Patriots halftime lead, 30-28.
Tyler Diggs, who made the all-tournament team from Hanover Area, had eight of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, but the Patriots were able to stretch a two-point advantage during the quarter.
Mitchell, Mazurkivich and Guillaume had six points each in the fourth quarter.
