District 2 First Round (Girls 3A, Boys 5A Game Recaps from Scranton High)
Written by: Jon K on March 6, 2020
March 6, 2020
PIAA State Tournament Tips Off
Girls 3A: Dunmore 62, Constitution 23
Boys 5A: West Chester Rustin 60, Wallenpaupack 44
By Phil T.
SCRANTON— After a long season, the big dance is here. The PIAA State Basketball Tournament tipped off at Scranton High School on Friday night featuring last year’s Girls’ 3A state runner-up and two high powered offenses in a Boys’ 5A match-up.
The night started with a Girls’ 3A First Round game between Dunmore, District 2 Champion (last year’s state runner-up) and Constitution, the four seed from District 12.
Tariyah Perkins would get the Generals on the board first, but the Lady Bucks would be too strong as Dunmore rolled to a 62-23 final and advances to the Second Round where they will face Neumann Goretti.
It didn’t take the Lady Bucks long to get rolling as they would go one a 23-0 run, that lasted more than 10 minutes, in the first half to build a 29-3 lead.
Moriah Murray scored 21 points in the first half as Dunmore took a 39-10 advantage into the break.
Ciera Toomey would keep the Lady Bucks momentum going in the second half, scoring 8 of their first 13 points in the third period, before leaving the game along with most of the other starters.
Constitution was out matched on this night against Dunmore but their future looks promising as their starting lineup featured two freshmen and two sophomores with no seniors on the roster.
Murray led the Lady Bucks with 23 points and Toomey added 16 in three quarters of work.
Jourdan Johnson led the Generals with 8 points.
The nightcap featured another District 2 Champion, Wallenpaupack, against the 4 seed from District 1, West Chester Rustin, in a Boys’ 5A first-round game.
Both teams were forced to modify their game plans multiple times but it would be the Golden Knights who would come out on top, 60-44.
Fans were given a show in the opening period as Elijah Rosenthal and IV Pettit carried their teams in the first quarter. Rosenthal and Pettit combined for 18 of the quarter’s 23 points.
Pettit followed his performance with an additional 12 points in the second quarter for the Golden Knights. Keith Cochran, Rustin’s head coach, would make key defensive changes to keep Rosenthal contained in the period as they carried a 34-20 lead into the locker rooms.
Coming out of the break, Rustin kept the pressure on Rosenthal, the Buckhorns leading scorer, holding him to a single point in the middle periods. Wallenpaupack would move their offense focus inside to Gabe Springer as they cut their deficit to nine points heading into the final quarter.
The Golden Knights would find their edge again as Jacob Barksdale would get his team’s lead back to double-digits and secure West Chester Rustin’s ticket to the Second Round.
Pettit would lead the Knights with 23 points, 22 in the first half, but it would be Barksdale’s 11 points, all in the final period, that would prove vital as Wallenpaupack attempted a comeback.
The Buckhorns were led by Rosenthal with 15 points and a double-double from Gabe Springer with 13 points and 14 rebounds, 10 boards coming after the break.
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