Opening night did not go according to plan on the offensive end for the Pittston Area boys basketball team.
With the game on the line, the final possession was no different.
So, J.J. Walsh improvised.
The sophomore guard hit his third 3-pointer of the second half from just to the right of the top of the key with four seconds left to complete a comeback from 11 down in the final 5:15 and lift Pittston Area to a 42-40 victory at Hanover Area Friday night.
“Our guards struggled shooting all night,” Patriots coach Al Semenza said in a telephone interview after the game. “We shot 28 percent. There’s not a lot of times you’ll win shooting 28 percent from the field.
“Moving forward, we’re happy we won, but we know we have to get a lot better.”
The win came in the debut at Pittston Area for Semenza, who coached Western Wayne to the state playoffs last season and earlier served as head coach at Old Forge and Wyoming Area.
“We had a nice rally,” Semenza said. “Down late in the fourth quarter, we came back and won, so it’s a great win to get it off and going.”
Walsh finished with a team-high 11 points.
Mike George added 10.
Logan Booth had eight points and supplied some key defensive plays in the fourth quarter when Pittston Area held Hanover Area to two field goals.
“We forced some turnovers,” Semenza said. “We went with a little bit more zone pressure, which we got a couple turnovers off of and we made some 3s.
“We ended up with the ball with enough time, about 20 seconds left to go. We ran a set, which broke down, and the ball ended up in Walshy’s hands and he stepped up and he knocked it down.”
Andrew Krawczyk chipped in with seven points.
Auggie George led Hanover Area with 15 points.
