WILKES-BARRE — Needing someone to step up Thursday night in yet another close game, Pittston Area found the guy.
Senior Brennan Higgins grabbed a defensive rebound in the final minute and followed up with two free throws as the Patriots escaped with a 50-47 victory over Wilkes-Barre Area in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 boys basketball game.
It was already the fifth time this season Pittston Area (3-0 in Division 1, 8-3 overall) had a game decided by four points or less. The Patriots are 3-2 in those games. Wilkes-Barre Area (2-1 and 5-6) lost for a second time by three points.
Pittston Area trailed at the end of the first three quarters as Wilkes-Barre Area’s Blake Masker (18 points) and Cole Walker (16 points) were troublesome all game.
“The first half, they outworked us,” Higgins said. “They outrebounded us, defended harder than us. We weren’t boxing out at all. The second half, we came out definitely mentally tougher. They still got some rebounds, but we made plays when we needed to to come out with the win.”
The lead changed hands for the fifth and final time in the fourth quarter with 3:33 to play when Pittston Area’s Mike George nailed a 3-pointer from the left corner for a 43-41 advantage. Higgins gave the Patriots a bit of a cushion by connecting on three free throws, only to see the Wolfpack make it a two-possession game with under a minute left.
WBA’s final possessions didn’t go as planned. A miss led to Higgins’ defensive rebound and two free throws with 29.8 seconds left for a 49-43 lead.
The Wolfpack then used up 21 seconds to score as Matt Egidio hit a jumper after his teammates misfired on a pair of 3-pointers. Pittston Area’s J.J. Walsh, though, hit a free throw with 7.4 seconds left to move the lead to 50-45.
Higgins finished with a team-high 15 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter.
“Higgins is a big-time player. There’s no secret about that,” Pittston Area coach Al Semenza said. “He makes plays you don’t coach. I tell him that all the time. I tell him, ‘You’re the guy down the stretch. You have to come up with the big plays.’ And he continues to do it. I think he’s had three solid games the last three games.”
Wilkes-Barre Area’s plan, though, was to stop sharpshooter Walsh, who connected on a dozen 3-pointers in the first two conference games. Saquan Portee drew the assignment. At 5-foot-6, Portee surrendered a five-inch height advantage, but used his quickness to be disruptive.
While Walsh finished with four treys, he had to work hard for open looks.
“I thought Saquan did a hell of a job on Walsh,” Wolfpack coach Pat Toole said. “He chased him all over the place and made him earn the threes. (Pittston Area) did a great job on the foul line. They were like 20 of 25 or something like that.”
Pittston Area 62
Wyoming Valley West 33
J.J. Walsh scored 16 points to lead three players in double figures as Pittston Area gave itself a break from the close games with Tuesday’s WVC Division 1 romp.
Brennan Higgins added 12 points and Logan Booth had 10.
