web1_FullSizeRender-14-.jpg

UPDATE: Two shot at Hazleton bar; suspect in custody

web1_SRM_8505.jpg

Nanticoke Area rolls to district girls basketball semifinals

<p>EXETER &#8212; Tuesday night&#8217;s game started like the first meeting. Then it evolved more like the second meeting. Finally, it settled somewhere in between.</p><p>Dallas raced out to a big lead, blew it and then recovered in the final four minutes to defeat Pittston Area 58-47 in a District 2 Class 5A boys basketball quarterfinal game at Wyoming Area High School.</p><p>Dallas (14-9) advanced to Friday&#8217;s semifinals where it will take on PIAA 5A defending state champion Abington Heights (21-3) at a site and time to be announced. Abington Heights demolished North Pocono 71-25 in its opener.</p><p>Pittston Area finished the season at 13-10.</p><p>&#8220;We won by 30 in the first time. The second time we struggled in the first half,&#8221; said Dallas junior Luke DelGaudio, who finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. &#8220;We started to mount a comeback, but they overtook us. This game, we took all that work we did in the offseason and they couldn&#8217;t keep up with us in the fourth quarter.&#8221;</p><p>When the team played on Jan. 18, Dallas trampled the Patriots 71-41. Tuesday&#8217;s game appeared heading to a similar verdict. Freshman guard Nick Nocito and junior center Jack Farrell paced the offense early as the Mountaineers built a 23-9 lead with more than six minutes left in the second quarter.</p><p>Then the game shifted to similarities of the second meeting, won by Pittston Area 50-45 on Feb. 5. The Patriots kept chipping away and overtook Dallas 29-26 on a 3-pointer by Mike George at 5:44 of the second quarter.</p><p>&#8220;I think we had 11 possessions where we didn&#8217;t do anything,&#8221; Dallas coach Mark Belenski said. &#8220;We talked about that at halftime. It came down to ABCs, fundamentals. And that&#8217;s what they did. They maintained their composure against their physicality and that&#8217;s what we didn&#8217;t do the second time we played them.&#8221;</p><p>Dallas was able to battle back in front, only to see Pittston Area finish the third with a basket by Brennan Higgins and open the fourth with a drive score by JJ Walsh for a 39-35 advantage.</p><p>A short time later, Nocito put Dallas ahead for good 44-41 with a 3-pointer as part of his 20-point game. DelGaudio began to dominate inside, scoring nine of his 16 points. His final points came on a double-pump underneath for a 52-45 lead with 1:11 to play. He then grabbed his 10th rebound on the defensive end for a double-double night.</p><p>Farrell would have likely added another double-double if not for missing time due to foul trouble. He finished with 11 points and nine boards.</p><p>Dallas is back in the semifinals for a third consecutive year, but with an entirely new cast as it lost seven seniors to graduation.</p><p>&#8220;We went through two, three starting lineups,&#8221; DelGaudio said. &#8220;The freshmen have really stepped it up. I don&#8217;t see them as freshmen anymore. I treat them like I would a fellow junior or a senior. Their performance has really upped our team.&#8221;</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>District 2 Class 5A Quarterfinal</strong></p><p><strong>PITTSTON AREA (47) &#8212;</strong> Sevion Leak 1 2-2 4, Brennan Higgins 6 3-4 16, Andrew Krawczyk 0 4-5 4, Logan Booth 2 1-6 6, Mike George 5 2-2 15, Adam Penxa 0 0-0 0, Matt Johnson 0 0-0 0, JJ Walsh 1 0-1 2. <strong>Totals 15 12-20 47.</strong></p><p><strong>DALLAS (58) &#8212;</strong> Justin Finarelli 2 2-5 8, Sam Nocito 0 0-0 0, Luke DelGaudio 6 4-6 16, Nick Nocito 6 5-8 20, Austin Finarelli 1 2-8 5, Dylan Schuster 0 0-0 0, Bryce Chopyak 0 0-0 0. <strong>Totals 19 15-29 58.</strong></p><p><strong>Pittston Area`9`12`16`20 &#8212; 47</strong></p><p><strong>Dallas`19`4`12`23 &#8212; 58</strong></p><p><strong>Three-point goals &#8212;</strong> PA 5 (Booth, George 3, Higgins). DAL 5 (Farrell, N.Nocito 3, A.Finarelli).</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL022019HSBB-Dallas-Pittston_1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Dallas&#8217; Jack Farrell secures a rebound ahead of Pittston Area&#8217;s Logan Booth in a District 2 Class 5A boys basketball quarterfinal game at Wyoming Area High School in Exeter on Tuesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL022019HSBB-Dallas-Pittston_1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Dallas&#8217; Jack Farrell secures a rebound ahead of Pittston Area&#8217;s Logan Booth in a District 2 Class 5A boys basketball quarterfinal game at Wyoming Area High School in Exeter on Tuesday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL022019HSBB-Dallas-Pittston_5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Pittston Area&#8217;s Brennan Higgins makes a move to the hoop ahead of Dallas&#8217; Austin Finarelli in a District 2 Class 5A boys basketball quarterfinal at Wyoming Area High School in Exeter on Tuesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL022019HSBB-Dallas-Pittston_5.jpg</photo1><caption1>Pittston Area&#8217;s Brennan Higgins makes a move to the hoop ahead of Dallas&#8217; Austin Finarelli in a District 2 Class 5A boys basketball quarterfinal at Wyoming Area High School in Exeter on Tuesday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL022019HSBB-Dallas-Pittston_2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Dallas freshman Nick Nocito finished with a game-high 20 points as the Mountaineers defeated Pittston Area 58-47 in a District 2 Class 5A quarterfinal game Tuesday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL022019HSBB-Dallas-Pittston_2.jpg</photo2><caption2>Dallas freshman Nick Nocito finished with a game-high 20 points as the Mountaineers defeated Pittston Area 58-47 in a District 2 Class 5A quarterfinal game Tuesday night. </caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL022019HSBB-Dallas-Pittston_4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Dallas&#8217; Austin Finarelli, left, and Pittston Area&#8217;s Mike George scramble for a loose ball in a District 2 Class 5A boys basketball quarterfinal game at Wyoming Area High School in Exeter on Tuesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL022019HSBB-Dallas-Pittston_4.jpg</photo3><caption3>Dallas&#8217; Austin Finarelli, left, and Pittston Area&#8217;s Mike George scramble for a loose ball in a District 2 Class 5A boys basketball quarterfinal game at Wyoming Area High School in Exeter on Tuesday. </caption3><photoCredit3>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL022019HSBB-Dallas-Pittston_3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Dallas&#8217; Luke DelGaudio, right, blocks the shot of Pittston Area&#8217;s Andrew Krawczyk as teammates Nick Nocito and Dylan Schuster trail the play in a District 2 Class 5A boys basketball quarterfinal game at Wyoming Area High School in Exeter on Tuesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL022019HSBB-Dallas-Pittston_3.jpg</photo4><caption4>Dallas&#8217; Luke DelGaudio, right, blocks the shot of Pittston Area&#8217;s Andrew Krawczyk as teammates Nick Nocito and Dylan Schuster trail the play in a District 2 Class 5A boys basketball quarterfinal game at Wyoming Area High School in Exeter on Tuesday. </caption4><photoCredit4>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By John Erzar</p><p>jerzar@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach John Erzar at 570-991-6394 or on Twitter @TLJohnErzar</p></shirttailMeta></div>

H.S. Boys Basketball: Dallas holds off Pittston Area in D2-5A quarterfinals