Pittston Area’s Silvio Giardina (2) scores against Wyoming Area’s Brayden Shotwell (11) at the Patriots’ gym.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Patriot senior Matt Walter (14) scores easily on a layup against rival Warriors on Monday night.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Aiden Lynn (24) goes up high off the board for a Pittston Area rebound against the Warriors.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Wyoming Area’s Lukas Burakiewicz (2) is guarded heavily by Patriot Lucas LoPresto (12) at Pittston Area.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
YATESVILLE — Pittston Area’s Silvio Giardina and Wyoming Area’s Lukas Burakiewicz traded shots throughout Monday night’s 20th annual Eugene R. DeMinico II Memorial boys basketball game.
Giardina and Burakiewicz were the leading scorers and were later honored as Most Valuable Players of their respective teams. They also were responsible for the game’s final three lead changes, all in the last minute.
It was Giardina who struck last, hitting the floating jumper from a tough angle on the right baseline with seven seconds left to help the Patriots to a 57-55 victory.
After Burakiewicz nailed a 3-pointer from the left corner to put Wyoming Area ahead 54-53, Pittston Area called timeout with 20.2 seconds left, leading to Giardina’s game-winner.
“Coach Al (Semenza) told us the play to run, we ran it to perfection, our guys know where to go, and the shot fell,” Giardina said. “I don’t get there without my guys getting me open, setting me up for the shot.”
Giardina had also gotten the roll on a drive to break a 51-51 tie with 53 seconds left. On a night when he struggled from 3-point range, he made six of eight shots from inside the arc over the last three quarters by finishing in traffic and sometimes through contact around the rim.
“I had a little bit of luck with those shots,” said Giardina, who finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists to claim his second straight team MVP award in the DeMinico Game. “I don’t mind getting bumped around. I get bumped in almost every game. People play physical. It’s part of the game.”
Matt Walter went 5-for-7 from the floor, 2-for-3 on 3-pointers and 2-for-2 from the line to add 14 points. Lucas Lopresto chipped in 13 points, including two clutch free throws with 4.7 seconds left. Paul Jordan McGarry had nine points by going 3-for-4 on 3-pointers in the first quarter.
That balance helped offset Burakiewicz scoring 25 points for the Warriors.
“That was an amazing Wyoming Area team. They played awesome” Giardina said of the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 champions. “Lukas Burakiewicz played amazing; he made almost every single shot. Anthony DeLucca played really well.
“Our guys persevered and got through it. We toughened up, got rebounds and got some big plays from my teammates.”
Lopresto had six points in the fourth quarter, four of them in the final 1:32.
John Jadus grabbed the defensive rebound that secured the win with a second left.
Pittston Area held the lead from exactly the midpoint of the first quarter, when McGarry hit a 3-pointer, until the middle of the third quarter when Burakiewicz tied the game on a 3-pointer.
From there, the lead changed hands six times and there were three more ties.
The game honors the memory of DeMinico, a Pittston Township police officer and decorated veteran for his service in Iraq, who was killed in a traffic accident in November, 2005.
Proceeds from the game benefit local police force K-9 units.
“It’s a great cause that we play the game for,” Giardina said. “It’s always fun.”
