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District 2 Playoffs (Girls A Semi-final, Boys 5A Third Place game)
 

District 2 Playoffs (Girls A Semi-final, Boys 5A Third Place game)

Written by: Jon K on February 26, 2020

 

February 25, 2020

 

Lady Sabers in Class A Finals; Patriots End Comets Streak

 

Girls 1A Semi:    2-Susquehanna 48, 3-Salem Christian 25

Boys 5A Consy:  5-Pittston Area 37, 2-Abington Heights 35

 

SCRANTON – The Lackawanna College gymnasium, the site for a pair of district playoff games Tuesday night, is a beautifully restored facility that oozes tradition.  Maybe it was a fitting venue for history to be made as Pittston Area ended the incredible 13-year state playoff run by Abington Heights with a 37-35 win over the Comets.  In the opening game, a District 2/11 Girls A Semi-final, #2 seed Susquehanna Community got an impressive 48-25 win over #3 seed Salem Christian to advance to Friday’s Championship game against top-seed Nativity BVM. 

Susquehanna Community broke open a 5-5 tie with a 13-0 run to take an 18-5 lead before Salem Christian hit a layup to trim it to 18-7 after the first period.  The Eagles then got on track with a 7-0 rally to cut the Lady Sabers’ lead to 18-12.  It would be as close as Salem Christian would get the rest of the game.  Susquehanna got a terrific first half from Taylor Huyck and Meghan Kiernan (9 points each) plus 6 points from Mackenzie Steele to go into the locker room with a 24-13 lead. 

The second half started with Mackenzie Heath connecting on a triple for the Lady Sabers.  Following Sara Nagy hitting a pair of free throws for Salem Christian, a layup by Steele and jumper by Huyck put Susquehanna up by 16 points.  They ended the period on a 6-0 run via scores by Huyck, Steele, and a corner shot by Geena Miller to take a 38-19 lead into the final period.  This one ended up with the Lady Sabers getting a convincing 48-25 victory.

Taylor Huyck led the way for Susquehanna Community with 17 points while Meghan Kiernan added 14 and Mackenzie Steele finished with 10 points.  Mackenzie Heath chipped in with 5 points and Geena Miller scored 2 points.

Salem Christian was paced by Anna Krage with 10 points, Sara Nagy netted 8 points, and Madison Ammon contributed 7 points.

 

In the Boys’ 5A Third Place game, Pittston Area jumped put to a quick 6-0 lead off a couple turnovers by Abington Heights and scores by Logan Booth and Andrew Krawczyk.  A Mike Malone reverse layup got the Comets on the board at the 3:20 mark.  Harry Johnson would then score 7 straight points to give AH their first lead of the game, 9-8.  Another Comet free throw wrapped around triples by JJ Walsh and Brennan Higgins (at the buzzer) put the Patriots back up, 14-10.  To open the second quarter, the Pats extended the lead to 6 after Booth hit a pair of free throws.  That’s when Abington, Heights would get a Phil Johnson triple, Malone layup, Kyle Nealon 3-point play, and Malone putback (10-0 run) to establish momentum and take their largest lead of the game, 20-16.  Pittston Area responded with back-to-back triples by Walsh and Higgins to take a 22-20 lead at the break.

Out of the break, the Patriots got a pair of layups by Booth to take a 26-20 advantage.  A Jacob Anderson layup and jumper in the lane by Harry Johnson cut it to a two-point game before PA again moved out a 29-24 edge.  Harry Johnson converted a 3-point play with 2:21 left in the third and then hit a triple to narrow it to 31-30 heading into the final stanza.  The final quarter tallied a total of only 11 points.  Harry Johnson (who had 16 points through three periods) was out of the game for much of the quarter as he had picked up his 4th foul.  Another triple by Walsh and free throw by Higgins gave the Patriots a 35-30 lead with 46 seconds left in the game.  Nealon would hit a triple for AH before Walsh hit a pair of free throws with 31.7 left to make it 37-33.  Pittston Area had five team fouls to give up so they effectively burned some clock before Harry Johnson hit a shot to cut it to 37-35.  Mike George missed the 1+1 opportunity with 13 seconds remaining before the Comets called time out to set up their final game tying or winning shot.  The ensuing off-target triple attempt set off a celebration as Pittston Area held on for the 37-35 victory.

Pittston Area was led by JJ Walsh with 16 points and Logan Booth with 11 points.  Brennan Higgins added 8 points and Andrew Krawczyk scored 2 points.

Abington Heights got a terrific effort from Harry Johnson with 18 points.  Kyle Nealon and Mike Malone each netted 6 points, Phil Johnson had 3 points, and Jacob Anderson 2 points.    

 

 

 

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