NANTICOKE — It was something you had to see to believe. A little bit of David Blaine hocus pocus, but only with a basketball instead of a magic hat or a deck of cards.
Cody Piestrak fired up a pretty-looking 3-pointer from the corner. It touched every part of the rim, and seemingly, stopped right at the front for nearly two seconds. And yes, it just so happened the ball turned a slight rotation toward the backboard and slipped right through the nylon rim.
Yes, it was going to be one of those night for the Nanticoke Trojans.
Piestrak scored a game-high 13 points while the Trojans used a massive third-quarter run to break open a five-point contest at the break as Nanticoke rolled to a 49-31 victory over Pittston Area in a Wyoming Valley Conference boys’ basketball cross-over on Friday night.
Even Piestrak chuckled about the first shot.
“It’s a shooter’s gym,” he said with a smile. “I love shooting here.”
It might be. But it was a defensive showcase put on by the Trojans in the third quarter.
Nanticoke held Pittston to just 2 of 8 from the floor, and forced four turnovers in the eight-minute period. Patriot Jimmy Pliska knocked down a jumper early in the quarter, but the team was then held scoreless until a Keemar Woodruff steal-and-bucket stopped the nearly six-minute streak.
By then, the Trojans were rolling.
Taking advantage of wide-open looks in the paint and picture-perfect transition offense, John Beggs’ boys played a near-perfect stretch.
Six different players scored. Four assists on the six buckets in the period. The Trojans were 60 percent (6 of 10) from the floor.
Add it up, and it equaled a massive, 15-2 run to break the game open as Justin Casey’s offensive rebound and putback gave Nanticoke a 38-20 lead late in the third.
“We wanted to get the ball to the rim, and try to get fouled or put some pressure on them in the paint,” said Beggs, Nanticoke’s head coach. “It was a pretty fun second half.”
Nanticoke couldn’t have asked for a better start, either.
Piestrak knocked down two 3-pointers. A steal and easy hoop by Luke Butczynski. Just like that, Nanticoke had an 8-1 lead just three minutes in.
“Anytime you play a Division 1 team, you are a little nervous,” Beggs said. “They were coming off a big win over Berwick; a game they won pretty soundly. This is a great win because we know every game is going to be extremely tough. Every one is a playoff. Every one counts. It’s a one-game series with these cross-overs, so we will give it our best effort.”
Down eight after one, Pittston (5-6) managed to cut the deficit back to 23-18 at halftime – thanks to a seven-point quarter by Pat Mitchell while holding Nanticoke to just 3 of 15 from field.
The problem was the defense in the second half, especially the third quarter, where Nanticoke (11-2) had numerous open looks and uncontested lanes to the basket.
“We got some quality minutes from our subs in the first half because the pace of the game did tire some of our guys out,” Beggs said. “That gave our guys a chance to rest and come back strong in the second half. We wanted to just take good, quality shots. We got the lead, and it just happened to snowball a little for them.”
Butczynski and Casey combined for 16 points for the Trojans, while Matt Piontkowski added six points and six rebounds off the bench.
Pittston, which played most of the game without leading scorer Alex McAndrew after he was injured in the opening minutes, was led by Mitchell’s 11 points.
“We were a little nervous, but we were ready to play,” Piestrak said. “This is our home court, so you always want to give your best effort in front of your fans. This is a big win. It’s huge, actually.”
Crestwood 40,
Meyers 35
Kyle Richards hit three 3-point field goals and scored 11 of his game-high 17 points in the first half as the Comets built a big lead, then held on down the stretch.
The Comets defense held Meyers to 10 points over the first two quarters and took a 21-10 halftime lead behind Richards’ shooting.
Richards scored six more points in the third quarter as Crestwood entered the fourth quarter with a 10-point advantage, but Meyers made things interesting over the final eight minutes.
Wyoming Area 46,
Wyoming Valley West 44
Sam Greenfield and Kyre Zeilinski combined for 19 points in the first half as the Warriors built a double-digit lead, then survived a late Spartans rally to hang on for victory.
Greenfield scored 11 of his game-high 15 points over the first two quarters and Zielinski had six of his 10 points in the opening quarter, leading Wyoming Area to a 30-19 lead at intermission.
GAR 50, Dallas 47
Trailing after each of the first three quarters, the Grenadiers outscored Dallas 18-11 in the fourth to win. Andrew Campbell (16 points) and Keyshawn Palmer (13) led the way.
Dallas’ Jay Bittner topped all scorers with 19 points.
Wyoming Seminary 42,
Holy Redeemer 36
The Blue Knights held the Royals to just one field goal and four points in the first half to earn the win. Dimitri Gnall scored 13, followed by Jeremy Callahan (12).
James Kosik led Redeemer with 13 points while Colin Cook added 12.
Hazleton Area 85,
Tunkhannock 44
The Cougars blitzed the host Tigers early, jumping out to a 33-8 lead after one quarter. Josh Samec (18 points) and Jeff Planutis (13) led the effort.
Avery Newhart and Sean Harder each scored eight points for Tunkhannock.
Berwick 46,
Coughlin 34
Double-digit efforts from Jude Goddard (13 points), Matt Champ (11) and Damon Beckhorn (10) propelled Berwick past Coughlin. Ken Marshman, Goddard, Champ and Beckhorn each made a pair of 3-pointers in the win.
Melvin Robinson paced Coughlin with 16 points.
Lake-Lehman 54,
MMI Prep 49
Cole Spencer scored 30 points and the Black Knights used a big fourth quarter to hold off the Preppers.
Spencer scored 10 points in the opening quarter, then finished with 12 more in the final quarter to nail down the victory for Lake-Lehman.
Kyle Williams led MMI Prep with 15 points.
Northwest 50,
Hanover Area 45
The Rangers hit 10 of 16 free throws in the fourth quarter to rally past the Hawkeyes. Jaxson Yaple led Northwest with 16 points and Sam Saxe added 14.
Hanover Area’s Mike Piscotty finished with a game-high 19 points.
Nanticoke 49, Pittston Area 31
PITTSTON AREA (31) — Chris Klein 0 0-2 0, Matt McGlynn 0 0-0 0, Alex McAndrew 0 1-2 1, Pat Mitchell 4 3-5 11, Keemar Woodruff 3 0-0 6, Mike Mazurkivich 1 2-2 4, Naseem Guillauame 1 0-0 2, Jimmy Pliska 1 2-2 4, Trevor Tigue 0 0-0 0, Kolton Zaffuto 0 0-0 0, Riley Brody 0 0-0 0, Andrew Krawczyk 0 0-0 0, Joe Cencetti 1 0-0 3. Totals 11 8-13 31.
NANTICOKE (49) — Nate Kreitzer 2 0-0 5, Rich Wiaterowski 0 0-0 0, Cody Piestrak 5 0-0 13, Luke Butczynski 4 1-3 9, Justin Casey 3 1-2 7, Trahjan Krupinski 0 0-0 0, Zack Cardone 0 4-4 4, Tyler Thomas 1 3-4 5, Matt Piontkowski 3 0-0 6, Colby Butczynski 0 0-0 0, Dylan Szychowski 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 9-13 49.
Pittston Area`7`11`4`9 – 31
Nanticoke `15`8`15`11 – 49
Three-point goals — PA 1 (Cencetti); NAN 4 (Piestrak 3, Kreitzer 1)
Crestwood 40, Meyers 35
CRESTWOOD (40) — Kyle Gegaris 2 5-8 9, Lance Blass 0 0-0 0, Kevin Klusewitz 2 2-2 6, Kyle Richards 6 2-5 17, Sean Murphy 0 0-0 0, Camden Boris 0 0-0 0, Nick Andrews 0 0-0 0, Mike Kozelsky 0 0-0 0, Noah Jackson 4 0-2 8. Totals 14 9-17 40.
MEYERS (35) — Yuri Covington 0 0-0 0, Omar Kelly 0 0-0 0, Robbie Formola 0 0-0 0, Matt Dessoye 1 0-0 2, Jawane Buckner 2 7-9 11, Levaugn Soules 4 1-4 12, Ryan Gilgallon 3 3-4 10. Totals 10 11-17 35.
Crestwood`9`12`8`11 — 40
Meyers`3`7`9`16 — 35
Three-point goals — CRE 3 (Richards 3); MEY 4 (Soules 3, Gilgallon).
Wyoming Area 46, Valley West 44
WYOMING VALLEY WEST (44) — Sean Judge 2 1-3 5, Noah Frace 0 0-0 0, Savion Saunders 2 1-3 5, Aaron Austin 5 0-0 12, Draig Ruff 5 3-3 14, Amistad Hackett 4 0-0 8, Davis Weaver 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 5-9 44.
WYOMING AREA (46) — Anthony Nardel 2 0-0 4, Kyre Zielinski 2 6-7 10,Sam Greenfield 6 3-4 15, Tony Saitta 0 0-0 0, Matt Wright 2 8-8 12, Mike Bonita 2 1-2 5, Ryan Shuleski 0 0-0 0, Cole Keating 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 18-21 46.
Valley West`15`4`5`20 — 44
Wyoming Area`17`13`6`10 — 46
Three-point goals — WVW 3 (Saunders 2, Ruff); WA 0
GAR 50, Dallas 47
DALLAS (47) — Alex Charlton 1 0-0 3, Nick Kocher 1 0-0 3, Joey Parsons 4 5-7 14, Jay Bittner 7 5-6 19, Ethan Szczencinski 1 0-0 2, Ben O’Connell 0 0-0 0, Collin Pertl 0 0-0 0, Ben Donahue 1 0-0 3, Mike Farrell 1 1-2 3. Totals 16 11-15 47.
GAR (50) — Will Johnson 1 7-8 9, Andrew Campbell 6 1-1 16, Kahlil White 0 0-0 0, Anthony Hawk 0 0-0 0, Eli Ruiz 1 2-4 4, Keyshawn Palmer 5 3-3 13, Herman Suazo 3 1-3 8, Tyler Young 0 0-0 0, Mufee Burney 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 14-19 50.
Dallas`12`9`15`11 — 47
GAR`5`12`15`18 — 50
Three-point goals — DAL 4 (Charlton, Kocher, Parsons, Donahue); GAR 4 (Campbell 3, Suazo)
Wyo. Seminary 42, Holy Redeemer 36
HOLY REDEEMER (36) — Jason Stachokus 1 0-1 3, Joey Judge 1 2-5 3, Joe Layaou 0 0-0 0, James Kosik 4 2-2 13, Nick Prociak 1 1-4 3, Bryce Yencha 0 0-0 0, Jake Adonizio 0 0-0 0, J.D. Turosky 1 0-0 2, Colin Cook 4 3-3 12, Luke Nealon 0 0-0 0, Anthony Khoudary 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 8-15 36.
WYOMING SEMINARY (42) — Tyler Maddock 0 4-8 4, Dimitri Gnall 5 2-4 13, Todd Phillips 0 2-2 2, Jeremy Callahan 2 6-8 12, Johnny Kehl 0 1-2 1, Noah Munley 0 0-2 0, Nicholas Ganter 2 6-8 10, Dan Paglia 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 21-32 42.
Redeemer`1`3`17`15 — 36
Seminary`7`10`9`16 — 42
Three-point goals — HR 4 (Kosik 2, Stachokus, Cook); WS 3 (Callahan 2, Gnall)
Hazleton Area 85, Tunkhannock 44
HAZLETON AREA (85) — Josh Samec 7 0-0 18, Michael Cusatis 2 2-2 8, Joe Grula 2 1-1 5, Jeff Planutis 5 3-4 13, Da’mir Faison 3 4-6 10, Sparky Wolk 2 0-0 5, Aaron Kellmer 4 0-0 11, Scott Shamany 1 0-0 2, Issac Perez 2 3-5 7, Nathan Begg 2 0-0 4, Frank Mussoline 1 0-1 2. Totals 32 13-19 85.
TUNKHANNOCK (44) — Avery Newhart 3 1-1 8, Sean Harder 4 0-0 8, Ethan Hoefert 0 0-0 0, Tyler Faux 2 2-2 7, Evan Turner 3 0-1 6, Paul DeMarco 1 0-0 2, Nick Reposa 1 0-0 3, C.J. Brennan 2 0-0 6, C.J. Wright 0 0-0 0, Matt Goodwin 1 0-1 2, Zach Rogers 0 0-2 0, Avery Billings 0 2-2 2. Totals 17 5-9 44.
Hazleton Area`33`17`25`10 — 85
Tunkhannock`8`11`10`15 — 44
Three-point goals — HAZ 8 (Kellmer 3, Samec 2, Cusatis 2, Wolk); TUN 5 (Brennan 2, Newhart, Faux, Reposa).
Berwick 46, Coughlin 34
COUGHLIN (34) — Melvin Robinson 7 2-7 16, Charles Cobbs 3 3-5 9, Dominique Flippen 2 1-2 5, Aaron Bennett 1 0-0 2, Idris Hollis 1 0-0 2, Dylan Thomas 0 0-0 0, Thomas Davis 0 0-0 0, Anthony Hinkle 0 0-0 0, Nyseem Johnson 0 0-0 0, Marco Deluco 0 0-0 0, Tony Egidio 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 6-14 34.
BERWICK (46) — Jude Goddard 4 3-6 13, Matt Champ 4 1-2 11, Damon Beckhorn 4 0-2 10, Ken Marshman 2 0-0 6, Alec Markle 3 0-0 6, Justin Groshack 0 0-2 0, Alex Forec 0 0-2 0, Joe Norec 0 0-0 0, Austin Markle 0 0-0 0, Kyle Pierce 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 4-14 46.
Coughlin`4`11`6`13`—`34
Berwick`12`11`13`10`—`46
Three-point goals — COU 0; BER 8 (Marshman 2, Champ 2, Beckhorn 2, Goddard 2).
Lake-Lehman 54, MMI Prep 49
MMI PREP (49) — George Palermo 2 3-6 8, Nick Young 1 0-0 2, Mike Badamo 0 0-0 0, Zach Young 2 4-6 8, Matt Marchetti 3 5-8 12, Lucas Smith 2 0-0 4, Kyle Williams 5 2-2 15, David Antolick 0 0-0 0, Kiefer Hoover 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 14-22 49.
LAKE-LEHMAN (54) — Walkker Shaw 0 1-4 1, Tyler Scharff 1 1-4 3, John Pelton 2 4-5 9, Mahmoud Dabsheh 1 0-0 2, C.J. Cercone 1 0-0 2, Adam Motovidlak 0 4-4 4, Cole Spencer 13 3-7 30, Mike Sikora 1 0-2 3. Totals 19 13-25 54.
MMI Prep`16`3`11`19`—`49
Lake-Lehman`16`6`14`18`—`54
Three-point goals — MMI 5 (Williams 3, Palermo, Marchetti); LL 3 (Spencer, Sikora, Pelton).
Northwest 50, Hanover Area 45
NORTHWEST (50) — Steve Saxe 4 5-6 14, Tyler Stevens 2 1-2 5, Jaxson Yaple 6 0-0 16, Nick Levandowski 2 3-4 7, Mitchell Mazonkey 0 4-8 4, Walker Yaple 1 0-0 3. Totals 15 13-19 50.
HANOVER AREA (45) — Luis Rivera 2 0-0 4, Abaad Hamlet 3 0-2 6, Desmond McCance 2 0-0 5, Tyler Diggs 4 0-0 9, Mike Piscotty 6 5-10 19, Evan Materna 1 0-2 2. Totals 18 5-14 45.
Northwest`7`18`8`17 — 50
Hanover Area`16`10`9`10 — 45
Three-point goals — NW 6 (J. Yaple 4, Saxe, W. Yaple); HAN 4 (Piscotty 2, McCance, Diggs)
