HAZLE TWP. – Pittston Area is two-thirds of the way through one of the toughest draws in the history of the District 2 boys basketball tournament with its title hopes gone, but a chance to advance to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state tournament still remaining.
When the tournament is over, Pittston Area will have played three division championship teams and three higher-seeded opponents in a deep Class 5A field.
The fifth-seeded Patriots extended their season Tuesday by beating Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 champion Crestwood, 59-53, at Hazleton Area.
That victory put the Patriots in a position where they had two shots at getting to the state tournament. A semifinal win Friday would have meant a district championship game appearance and the clinching of a state berth, but by reaching the semifinals in a tournament where the top three advance to states, the Patriots also had earned themselves a second chance.
When Lackawanna League Division 2 champion Wallenpaupack fought off Pittston Area, 53-48, in overtime Friday, the top-seeded Buckhorns dropped the Patriots into the third-place game.
The next task should not be much easier.
Second-seeded Abington Heights, the Lackawanna League Division 1 champion, will be trying to make its 14th straight state tournament appearance when it faces Pittston Area in Tuesday’s third-place game. The Comets, a state semifinalist each of the past three seasons and a state champion in 2018, had their streak of eight straight district titles ended in Friday’s 49-39 loss to Dallas.
Pittston Area 59
Crestwood 53
J.J. Walsh’s four 3-pointers in a span of 4:17 to end the first half and start the second half were just part of the extended run that allowed Pittston Area to knock out fourth-seeded Crestwood and avenge a 34-point loss just 12 days earlier.
The Crestwood rout in the previous meeting was one of the biggest reasons the WVC Division 1 race ended in a four-way tie that resulted in the Comets winning a title and the Patriots falling short.
When Crestwood started out 6-for-9 from 3-point range to take a 23-13 lead midway through the second quarter, it looked like more of the same.
“Once we regained our composure, I knew we would be OK,” Pittston Area coach Al Semenza said. “When the coaches talked before, we told our kids, ‘we have to hang around in the first part of the game.’ You lose by 34 points, I don’t care how many times you say, ‘it was only one game’, it’s still 34 points.
“They had their way with us that night. We looked forward to this night. We were upset, we didn’t end up winning the division. We saw Crestwood win the division and we saw them celebrate.”
In the rematch, the Patriots sent the Comets home for the season early.
Walsh put the Patriots ahead to stay with the first basket of the second quarter as part of a 28-4 run in which Pittston Area allowed just one basket from the middle of the second quarter until Crestwood began its own rally from a 41-27 deficit with 5:24 remaining.
Marcus Vieney scored 20 of his 29 points for Crestwood from that point on, but it was not enough.
Andrew Krawczyk hit three of four free throws in the final 33 seconds to finish off Crestwood.
“One of the things we had talked about was that we couldn’t give any transition threes from Walsh,” Crestwood coach Mark Atherton said after Walsh hit a 25-footer in transition to complete his outburst. “He has a quick release.
“It was just enough where I don’t think we lost him, but we were not as close as we needed to be.”
Walsh, a sophomore guard, led the Patriots with 18 points. Brennan Higgins, who hit a 3-pointer to start the comeback, finished with 15 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Logan Booth contributed 10 points and six rebounds while Krawczyk had nine points, five rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots.
Following Crestwood’s fast start, Pittston Area held the Comets to 3-for-14 shooting on 3-pointers the rest of the way.
“A couple times early in their offensive sets where they dribble penetrated, we just lost shooters,” Semenza said. “We over-helped. That was not the game plan. We were not going to over-help. We were going to force them to take the ball to the rack.”
Wallenpaupack 53
Pittston Area 48
Elijah Rosenthal’s long 3-pointer with 1:24 remaining in overtime finally broke the last tie and lifted Wallenpaupack (22-2) to its ninth straight victory.
The 3-pointer was the fourth of the game for Rosenthal, who finished with 25 points.
Brennan Higgins led Pittston Area with 19 points.
Logan Booth and Mike George added 12 each.
George had 10 points and Higgins six to key a 20-10, third-quarter advantage that sent the Patriots into the fourth with a 33-28 lead.
