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District 2 Boys 4A Semi-Final Recap (Scranton Prep 64, Greater Nanticoke Area 61)
 

District 2 Boys 4A Semi-Final Recap (Scranton Prep 64, Greater Nanticoke Area 61)

Written by: Jon K on February 26, 2023

 

 

February 25, 2023

 

Cavaliers Rally Over Trojans to Reach Boys 4A Final

 

Scranton Prep 64, Greater Nanticoke Area 61

 

 

by Jon K.

SCRANTON – In what was a terrific back-and-forth game, Scranton Prep got a triple from Brycen Martin with 2:37 remaining in the game to help propel the Cavaliers to a game-clinching 9-5 run and secure the 64-61 victory over Greater Nanticoke Area sending them into Saturday afternoon’s District 2 Boys AAAA Championship game against top-seed Valley View.

 

Scranton Prep got a lightning quick layup off the opening tip by Chase Scanlan followed by a baseline jumper by David Sataniello to grab an early 4-1 lead.  The Trojans would storm back taking their first lead of the afternoon as part of a 6-0 run going up 7-4.  Ibn Jordan-Thomas would get a pair of layups (the second on a strong coast-to-coast drive) wrapped around a score by Jaidyn Johnson.  Following a Cav’s timeout, James Pettinato knotted the score at 7 with a triple.  Johnson and Sataniello would trade scores before Jordan-Thomas got a putback and Johnson converted on an inside spin move to give GNA a 13-10 edge.  Prep then countered with a spin move by Sataniello and inside score by Keith Pritchyk wrapped around a charge on Jordan-Thomas to put the Cavs back up 14-13.  Caleb Butczynski momentarily tied the game at 14 with 5 seconds left in the quarter before Scranton Prep inbounded from midcourt with 1.6 on the clock and knocked down a triple by Pritchyk to take a 17-14 lead into the second period.  This one was shaping up to be a highly-entertaining matchup after the first eight minutes.

 

The Cavs continued their momentum into the middle of the second stanza taking a nine point lead before the Trojans fought back to cut it to two points at the break.  Martin and Liam Mullery traded triples to begin the second quarter (20-17) before Martin connected on a floater and Roman Valvano netted a triple for a 25-17 Scranton Prep lead.  Johnson converted a free throw followed by Martin giving the Cavaliers their biggest lead of the game, 27-18, at the 5:07 mark via a pair of foul shots after a technical call on a Nanticoke Area player as the Trojan turnovers began to add up.  GNA trimmed the deficit to 27-22 with a pair of free throws by Johnson and a Jordan-Thomas layup.  After Pritchyk made a pair of free throws at the 1:40 mark, the Trojans finished the first half with a 5-0 run getting a corner trey from Mullery and free throws from Johnson (2 of his 10 in the game) to cut it to 29-27 at the break.   

 

Greater Nanticoke Area came out of the locker room with a renewed focus on being aggressive and taking the ball to the basket.  It resulted in the Trojans taking their largest lead of the game, 42-33 with just under three minutes left in the period.  Mullery got things going with a trey to give GNA a 30-29 lead.  Johnson got a baseline score and putback wrapped around a pair of free throws by Gavin Turak for a 36-29 lead that was part of a 16-2 run that began back in the second period.  Pritchyk stopped the 9-0 spurt with an inside score midway through the stanza, but the Trojans continued their penetration with drives by Johnson and Turak to go up 42-33 at the 2:56 mark.  The Cavaliers desperately needed an offensive response and they got it from Kellen Casey (a triple) and Sataniello to cut it to 42-38.  He’d add another score and Valvano a free throw wrapped around a floater by Johnson as Greater Nanticoke Area took a one possession lead, 44-41, in the final eight minutes.          

 

The final  quarter started off with a quick drive to the basket by Johnson resulting in a pair of free throws and a 46-41 lead for the Trojans.  Sataniello then took over for Scranton Prep scoring the next 8 points (a triple, 3-point play, and pair of free throws) to give the Cavaliers a 49-46 lead with 6:10 left in the game.  Turak responded with a score and free throw on their next possession to tie things up at 49.  Over the next 2:30, both teams made critical plays to help keep this one even at 55.  Pettinato connected on a triple for Prep, Johnson coverted a 1+1 for GNA, Martin nailed a triple for the Cavs, and Jordan-Thomas converted a 3-point play with 3:29 left in the game.  After Butczinski gave the Trojans a 56-55 lead, Martin netted another triple giving Scranton Prep a 58-56 lead.  As teams traded several 1 of 2 trips to the charity stripe, and Scranton Prep holding a 60-57 lead, they would come up with a Trojans’ turnover.  And that’s when the ball began to bounce the Cav’s way.  Valvano would hit the front end of a 1+1 with 23.5 left.  Pritchyk would snare the rebound and go to the line with 19.3 left.  He’d miss both, but Casey would get the carom with 16.7 remaining and the make both FTs for a 63-57 lead.  Scranton Prep would go on to secure the 64-61 victory sending them to the District 2 Boys 4A Championship game.

 

The Cavaliers were led by David Sataniello with 18 points and Brycen Martin who netted 15 point from off the bench.  Keith Pritchyk added 9 points and James Pettinato scored 8 points.  Kellen Casey, Roman Valvano, and Chase Scanlan contributed 14 combined points.  Scranton Prep was 15 for 26 from the charity strips and they made 9 triples.

 

Greater Nanticoke Area was paced by Jaidyn Johnson with 27 points and Ibn Jordan-Thomas with 16 points.  Gavin Turak, Liam Mullery, Jaylin Collins, and Caleb Butczynski combined for 19 points.  The Trojans were 19 of 28 from the free throw line and they connected on 4 triples.  They will host #3 seed Tunkhannock on Tuesday evening to determine the 3rd qualifier for the PIAA Tournament. 

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