EXETER — The final two free throws by Wilkes-Barre Area’s Jordan Diggs brought cheers, but they could as well brought sighs of relief.
The Wolfpack came oh-so-close to squandering the lead in the fourth quarter Monday night, but managed to hang on for a 44-39 victory over Pittston Area in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 boys basketball semifinal game at Wyoming Area Secondary Center.
First-year Wilkes-Barre (14-10 overall) advanced to Thursday’s division championship game where it lost to Crestwood, 52-31.
Pittston Area dropped to 15-8.
The playoff was necessary when four teams, including Dallas, finished 10-4 in the division to tie for first place. Crestwood defeated Dallas, 82-54, in the other semifinal.
Wilkes-Barre Area had double-digit leads in the second and third quarters, and took a 32-24 advantage into the fourth. But the Wolfpack didn’t score from the field until Diggs hit a 3-pointer for a 39-33 lead with 2:07 to play.
“As soon as it left my hand I knew it was in,” Diggs said.
Pittston Area got the deficit down to 41-39 with 14 seconds left on a pair of free throws by J.J. Walsh. Diggs was then fouled and hit just the backend of a one-and-one free throw situation, giving Pittston Area a chance to tie.
The Patriots, though, missed a 3-point attempt — finishing 2-of-13 behind the arc — and Diggs was fouled again. His free throws with 1.8 seconds left were the final points.
“He missed 10 games because of a meniscus injury and we’ve been trying to work him back into the lineup,” Wolfpack coach Pat Toole said. “He makes a big-time three when we needed one and then knocks down the free throws at the end when we needed them.”
Pittston Area was the only team Wilkes-Barre Area didn’t beat in divisional play, losing 50-47 and 47-38. Walsh and Brennan Higgins combined for 29 points in the first meeting and 30 in the second. The duo totaled just 11 Monday as Toole praised guards Saquan Portee and Matt Egidio for their defensive efforts.
“We had to beat them. There was no losing,” said Portee, who also scored nine points. “Two times in a row was bad enough. We knew what we had to do and we knew what we were doing wrong. We came out and executed everything we had, gave it our all and came out with the W.”
Cole Walker had Wilkes-Barre Area’s only other field goal of the fourth quarter, but it was huge. He beat his defender on an in-bound pass from Diggs to score, bumping the lead to 41-37 with 29 seconds remaining.
Walker finished with a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds. Brandon Hall added nine points and 10 boards.
Logan Booth was the main cog in several Pittston Area rally attempts, scoring 11 of his game-high 14 points in the third quarter. Despite being on the cusp numerous times, the Patriots never led all game. The score was tied once at 2-2.
“We got the ball back twice down two and we didn’t get a shot off,” Pittston Area coach Al Semenza said. “We turned it over. We just didn’t execute very well. Give credit to Wilkes-Barre. They did a great job on us.
“But my guys battled. We had a rough night shooting the ball, but we didn’t quit. We kept fighting and that’s all I can ask of them. I’m very proud of them.”
Mike George added nine points in the loss. George and Walsh had the only Pittston Area 3-pointers.
