EXETER – The developments of the 2018-19 season make the future look bright for the Pittston Area boys basketball program, but coach Alan Kiesinger could not help but wish for a little more time with his team now.
“I think at times during this season, we grew quickly and I also think we kind of ran out of time to reach our peak, too,” Kiesinger said. “This is when you wish that you played 25 regular-season games and then started the playoffs.
“I think we were on the cusp of maybe going a little bit deeper than we did.”
The Patriots, the most successful of the four Greater Pittston boys or girls basketball teams this winter, went 13-9 in the regular season, but went out in the first round of the District 2 Class 5A playoffs Tuesday when they lost, 58-47, to Dallas at Wyoming Area.
Dallas outscored Pittston Area, 13-2, while holding it without a field goal for the final 3:31 after forcing the game’s final tie.
The Mountaineers scored two quick baskets and the Patriots went cold while trying to play from behind, forcing them into a series of fouls followed by frustrating offensive possessions.
Kiesinger said the team had looked sharp in a scrimmage less than a week earlier, practicing the exact same late-game scenarios.
“You try to prepare for that situation, but you can’t always dictate whether the ball goes in the basket,” he said.
Pittston Area fought out of a 23-9 hole early in the second quarter by scoring the last 12 points of the first half.
The Patriots took a 39-35 lead when freshman J.J. Walsh scored on a runner in the lane 23 seconds into the fourth quarter.
“The shots just weren’t falling,” Kiesinger said. “We started off the game kind of like that and we finished the game like that.
“Sometimes that happens.”
Brennan Higgins scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half to lead Pittston Area.
Mike George added 13.
The loss ended the season at 13-10, but Pittston Area graduates just one senior starter, guard Sevion Leak. Evan Elko was the only other senior on the roster.
Higgins, George and Booth all averaged scoring in double figures while Andrew Krawczyk led the team in rebounding and also had some double-figures scoring efforts.
The season included a win in the second of three meetings with Dallas and handing Holy Redeemer one of only three regular-season losses during the McGrane Tournament in December.
“I think that we have a really good foundation in place,” Kiesinger said. “We’re going to lose one starter and we had some guys on the bench that stepped up for us this year and played a little bit better than what I had anticipated in J.J. Walsh and (sophomore) Matt Johnson. I thought they gave us real good minutes.
“They are two guys that, going forward, I anticipate will give us even better minutes. We have three other freshmen on the team that I see them contributing in the very near future.”
Those three freshmen played regularly on the junior varsity time and picked up limited varsity action as well.
CLASS 5A GIRLS
The Pittston Area girls had their season come to an end with Thursday night’s 43-23 loss to Wyoming Valley West in a Class 5A quarterfinal at Lake-Lehman.
Wyoming Valley West ran off 16 straight points for a 21-4 lead midway through the second quarter.
The Lady Patriots rallied to get as close as seven in the second half with the help of back-to-back 3-pointers by Emma Coles and Nicole Zambetti.
Pittston Area lost its last three and six of its final eight to finish 9-14.
