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<p>ALLENTOWN &#8212; Ever since they can remember, the Nanticoke Trojans had a vision.</p><p>And by banding together, they came a little closer to turning a childhood fantasy into reality.</p><p>Luke Butczynski scored a team-high 18 points, Justin Casey and Trahjan Krupinski played big on the boards Friday and the Trojans used a strong second half to creep away from Conwell-Egan, 62-54, in a PIAA Class 4A boys basketball second-round game at Parkland High School.</p><p>&#8220;We grew up saying we&#8217;re going to win the state championship,&#8221; Butczynski said. &#8220;And I&#8217;m not saying that. But we&#8217;re going to try and keep it going.&#8221;</p><p>The Trojans entered the state tournament after winning the District 2 third-place game, captured their PIAA opener last weekend and now beat a quick and solid Conwell-Egan team in the second round &#8212; all as an underdog.</p><p>The run took Nanticoke on a trip into its storied past. The Trojans will face West Philadelphia, which beat GAR 74-60 Friday night, in a quarterfinal game Sunday. A Nanticoke boys basketball team hasn&#8217;t advanced this far since 1996.</p><p>&#8220;We weren&#8217;t even born, actually,&#8221; Butczynski said. &#8220;It&#8217;s an accomplishment.&#8221;</p><p>Nate Kreitzer got things started early for the Trojans, scoring 10 of his 17 points in the opening quarter to get Nanticoke out to a 14-10 lead.</p><p>Casey took over from there, owning the inside with six rebounds and seven of his 14 points in a second quarter as Nanticoke matched Conwell-Egan&#8217;s fast pace and smooth scoring almost to the end of the first half.</p><p>Then, Kreitzer hit a diving shot between two defenders at the second-quarter buzzer, sending the Trojans into halftime holding a 28-26 lead.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s just a big-time play for a sophomore in this atmosphere,&#8221; said Nanticoke coach John Beggs, a 3-point marksman from the Trojans&#8217; playoff teams of the late 1980s. &#8220;Guys were getting to the basket early. The effort&#8217;s been great all year. We&#8217;re just playing against teams that are extremely tough.&#8221;</p><p>The Trojans stood up to the task, though.</p><p>Butczynski hit five points in the second quarter, then really got going in the third.</p><p>He buried two 3-point goals to finish with three for the game, including a game changer with 2:49 remaining in the period to put Nanticoke up by eight. Butczynski was also key in breaking a trapping Conwell-Egan press, and converted seven foul shots &#8212; including five of six in the final quarter to help the Trojans put the game away.</p><p>&#8220;Actually, I&#8217;ve been in a slump,&#8221; Butczynski said. &#8220;At the shoot around (Friday), I worked on my shot. We knew this (Conwell-Egan) team was good. We knew what they had.</p><p>&#8220;They had a lot of talent. They&#8217;re just a very good team and very fast. We just had to stick together,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Krupinski kept sticking his 6-foot-4 frame in the middle, and it kept paying off for Nanticoke.</p><p>He pulled down three critical defensive rebounds to keep Conwell-Egan from tying the game, then hit a three-point play with 4:40 remaining to give the Trojans a five-point lead.</p><p>&#8220;Trah&#8217;s played great the last three or four games,&#8221; Beggs said. &#8220;He&#8217;s been really, really stepping up.&#8221;</p><p>Kreitzer stepped to the foul line to add five more foul shots in the final period, including two that gave the Trojans a nine-point lead and essentially iced the game with 43 seconds to go.</p><p>&#8220;To do this, it&#8217;s been a long time since Nanticoke&#8217;s been in this situation,&#8221; Beggs said.</p><p>&#8220;Big win for Nanticoke.&#8221;</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>PIAA Class 4A second round</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Nanticoke Area 62, Conwell-Egan 54</strong></p><p><strong>NANTICOKE AREA (62) &#8212;</strong> Luke Butczynski 4 7-8 18, Justin Casey 5 4-10 14, Cody Piestrak 2 2-4 6, Rich Wiaterowski 0 0-0 0, Nate Kreitzer 4 7-8 17, Trahjan Krupinski 2 1-1 5, Matt Piontkowski 0 0-0 0, Patrick Caesar 0 0-0 0, Zack Cardone 1 0-0 2, Alec Divers 0 0-0 0. <strong>Totals 18 21-31 62.</strong></p><p><strong>CONWELL-EGAN (54) &#8212;</strong> Darien Simmons 5 3-3 13, Patrick Robinson 10 4-5 25, Sean Stokes 1 0-0 2, James Leible 2 1-2 5, Eric Esposito 2 0-2 6, Daniel Green 0 0-0 0, Devin Harris 1 0-0 3, Patrick Garwo 0 0-0 0. <strong>Totals 21 8-12 54.</strong></p><p><strong>Nanticoke Area`14`14`16`18`&#8212;`62</strong></p><p><strong>Conwell-Egan`10`16`11`17`&#8212;`54</strong></p><p><strong>Three-point goals</strong> &#8212; NAN 5 (Butczynski 3, Kreitzer 2); CE 4 (Esposito 2, Robinson, Harris).</p><p><ins>For other sports stories, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/category/sports" target="_blank">click here</a>.</ins></p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Nanticoke guard Cody Piestrak drives to the basket between Cornwell-Egan Catholic defenders James Leible (left) and Eric Esposito in a PIAA Class 4A playoff game at Parkland High School. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_nan_ce1_faa.jpg</photo0><caption0>Nanticoke guard Cody Piestrak drives to the basket between Cornwell-Egan Catholic defenders James Leible (left) and Eric Esposito in a PIAA Class 4A playoff game at Parkland High School. </caption0><photoCredit0>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_nan_ce2_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Nanticoke&#8217;s Nate Kreitzer dribbles past Cornwell-Egan defender Patrick Robinson. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_nan_ce2_faa.jpg</photo1><caption1>Nanticoke&#8217;s Nate Kreitzer dribbles past Cornwell-Egan defender Patrick Robinson. </caption1><photoCredit1>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_nan_ce3_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Nanticoke guard Luke Butczynski takes a look at the basket before shooting against Cornwell-Egan. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_nan_ce3_faa.jpg</photo2><caption2>Nanticoke guard Luke Butczynski takes a look at the basket before shooting against Cornwell-Egan. </caption2><photoCredit2>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_nan_ce4_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Nanticoke&#8217;s Trahjan Krupinski pulls down a rebound under his basket. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_nan_ce4_faa.jpg</photo3><caption3>Nanticoke&#8217;s Trahjan Krupinski pulls down a rebound under his basket. </caption3><photoCredit3>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Nanticoke reaches PIAA quarters for 1st time in 21 years</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Paul Sokoloski</p><p>psokoloski@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>VIDEO</strong></p><p>To watch video of Nanticoke Area&#8217;s boys basketball victory over Conwell-Egan, visit timesleader.com.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Nanticoke Area reaches boys state basketball quarterfinals