District 2 Playoffs (Girls 5A, Boys 4A Quarter-Finals from Wyoming Area)

Written by: Jon K on February 19, 2020

February 19, 2020

District 2 Tourney Excitement Continues

Wyoming Valley West 48, Pittston Area 46 OT (Girls 5A)

Greater Nanticoke Area 46, Tunkhannock 38 (Boys 4A)

By Phil T.

EXETER – The District 2 Tournament continued on Wednesday night and the fans that stayed for the entire doubleheader got to see an overtime nail-biter followed by a quarter-final upset.

#4 seed Pittston Area faced #5 seed Wyoming Valley West in a Girls’ 5A quarter-final match-up that went down to the wire.

Kalia Saunders would only make one basket in the game, but when it happens right before the overtime buzzer, it would count for so much more. Saunders found herself alone in the paint when Kiara Kane passed the ball to her. She would get the bucket sending the Lady Spartans’ bench into a frenzy as they secured their spot in the Girls’ 5A semi-finals against top-seed Abington Heights.

Trailing for most of the night, Wyoming Valley West found themselves leading in the closing seconds of regulation when Lily Savoy stole the inbound pass and hit the game-tying layup with 5.1 ticks left on the board.

A similar situation would happen with 8.5 second left in the overtime period as Emma Coles would come up with a steal and layup for the Lady Patriots to tie the game. This time however, the Lady Spartans would recover as Kane found Saunders with a bounce pass in the paint for the game-winning shot.

Quiet for most of the first half, Kane got going later in the game, coming up with key steals and securing key rebounds as Valley West overcame a 22-17 halftime deficit.

Trinity Johnson would lead the Lady Spartans to the win with 15 points.

Lily Savoy led the Lady Patriots with 13 points to go along with 9 rebounds.

The second game of the night featured a Boys’ 4A match-up between #3 seed Tunkhannock and #6 seed Greater Nanticoke Area.

In a rematch of last year’s district 4A semi-finals, the Trojans would top the Tigers again, 46-38.

Nanticoke Area came out with a sound defensive game plan as they shut down the Tiger’s leading scorer, Ryan Harder, holding him scoreless in the game.

The Tigers would go 3-12 from behind the arc in fourth quarter, as they attempted to make a comeback.

Tunkhannock trailed by three points with 2:36 remaining in the game, but the Trojans never let it get any closer.

Colby Butczynski would lead the Trojans with 24 points on the night.

Jack Chilson led the Tigers with 15 points.

Nanticoke Area will next play #2 seed Valley View in Saturday’s Boys 4A Semi-Finals. The loser will still have a chance to qualify for the PIAA tournament through the consolation game.

Fatikha gives WVW the lead late in the 3rd, 30-29. pic.twitter.com/VWtbJztqbs

— LLHoops NEP Beat_Phil (@Phil_LLHoopsNEP) February 19, 2020

D2 5A (Girls) Quarter-Finals
End 3rd Quarter
Wyoming Valley West 30
Pittston 32
Jada Sharp hits a triple to give the Lady Patriots the lead before the buzzer. pic.twitter.com/Picd6HMyk6

— LLHoops NEP Beat_Phil (@Phil_LLHoopsNEP) February 19, 2020

D2 4A (Boys) Quarter-Finals
End 1st Quarter
Nanticoke 11
Tunkhannock 8
Jake Krupinski hits jumper before time expires. pic.twitter.com/Wg1kU2Alm0

— LLHoops NEP Beat_Phil (@Phil_LLHoopsNEP) February 20, 2020

D2 4A (Boys) Quarter-Finals
End 3rd Quarter
Nanticoke 31
Tunkhannock 22
Jake Frisco gets putback before the end of the quarter to pull the Tigers within 9. Trojans use a 7-0 run to extend their lead in their 3rd. pic.twitter.com/pgSd52IrUq

— LLHoops NEP Beat_Phil (@Phil_LLHoopsNEP) February 20, 2020