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WBS Pens’ playoff hopes take a hit in loss to Hershey

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District 2 Class 3A Wrestling Tournament: Hazleton Area’s Dante Matarella pulls off major upset

YATESVILLE &#8212; Try as they might, the senior boys basketball players on a talented Crestwood roster just couldn&#8217;t get grab a spot in a district title game that&#8217;s kept slamming the door shut.They came heartbreakingly close two years ago.They fell agonizingly short last year.After more than a decade of being left on the doorstep, the Comets were left wondering what to took to break the lock.Not anymore.Mike Palmiero helped the Comets hold serve early, Ryan Petrosky got going later and Crestwood finally broke down the barrier to a District 2 Class 5A finale by wrapping up Wallenpaupack, 44-33, in a district semifinal Friday at Pittston Area High School.&#8220;I think we came out with a chip on our shoulders,&#8221; Crestwood coach Mark Atherton.Did they ever.The Comets rolled off 10 straight points to end the first quarter, boosted their lead to nine points by halftime and made it a 12-point lead that was never seriously threatened by the end of the third.That sent 20-6 Crestwood to the Class 5A district title game to face 23-2 Abington Heights at 8 p.m. next Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena and guaranteed Crestwood will be one of the district&#8217;s three representatives in the PIAA tournament.It also erased years of frustration for a Crestwood team that hasn&#8217;t made a district title game since 2004.Senior starters Palmiero, Sean Murphy and Camden Boris came within a blink of ending that drought twice, but suffered a crushing 41-38 defeat in triple overtime to West Scranton in the 2017 district semifinals, then endured a painful 52-50 loss to Dallas in last year&#8217;s semis.This time, the Comets made sure their title spot was secured long before the game came down to the end.The Comets got there with defense, limiting Wallenpaupack to single digits in each of the first three quarters.&#8220;I thought our kids were locked in defensively,&#8221; Atherton said. &#8220;That&#8217;s a good (Buckhorn) team, with a lot of high scorers.&#8221;The most prolific of them, Elijah Rosenthal, finished with a game-high 15 points, but no other Wallenpaupack player had more than two baskets and none reached double figures.&#8220;I&#8217;m proud of my guys locking in defensively,&#8221; Atherton said.Oh, and there was some offense, too.Rosenthal and Izaiah Santiago opened the game with 3-pointers for Wallenpaupack to put the Comets in a quick hole.But Crestwood dug out when Palmiero scored three straight buckets to tie the game &#8212; starting a 10-point run that continued with two foul shots by Boris and a bucket by Murphy to lift the Comets to a 10-6 lead by the end of the first quarter.Petrosky drilled two treys in the second to grow Crestwood&#8217;s advantage to 10 points, then hit a driving bucket for another 10-point lead 2:11 from halftime.Palmiero opened the second-half scoring with three straight free throws, Petrosky swished two more baskets, then Palmeiro added a 3-pointer for a 32-16 Crestwood lead midway through the third quarter.For the game, Petrosky finished with a team-high 14 points, Boris put up 13 and Palmiero added 12 in a balanced scoring attack.&#8220;They hit two bit threes, great start for them,&#8221; Atherton said. &#8220;Palmeiro came away with a couple quick scores, which was big for us. We scored 10 in a row. I was pleased with the way we responded.&#8221;Abington Heights 59, Dallas 51Division I recruit George Tinsley scored 25 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and finally finished off Dallas with a game-ending dunk in the District 2 Class 5A semifinal.After Tinsley, a returning first-team, all-stater who has committed to Binghamton University, scored 17 first-half points to get the Comets out to a 31-18 lead, the Mountaineers fought back.Down 16 midway through the third quarter, Dallas got within five twice in the last four minutes, both times on drives by junior Sam Nocito.Nocito came off the bench to score six of his eight points and dish out all five of his assists in the second half.Jack Farrell led Dallas with 13 points and seven rebounds. Justin Finarelli added 10 points, including seven straight, all on Nocito assists, in a span of 1:40 immediately after Abington Heights had taken its 38-22 lead.Trey Koehler had 17 points and 9 rebounds for Abington Heights.Defending state champion Abington Heights will go for its eighth straight district title March 1 at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza against Crestwood.Dallas (14-10) will play Wallenpaupack Tuesday for the district&#8217;s third state berth.District 2 Class 5A SemifinalsCrestwood 44, Wallenpaupack 33WALLENPAUPACK (33) &#8212; Elijah Rosenthal 6 1-1 15, Alex Pillar 2 0-0 5, Gabe Springer 0 2-2 2, Izaiah Santiago 2 0-0 5, Derrick Vosburg 2 2-2 6, Gerard McGrath 0 0-0 0, Jack Smith 0 0-0 0, Wyatt Peifer 0 0-0 0, Jake Liddy 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 5-5 33.CRESTWOOD (44) &#8212; Ryan Petrosky 6 0-0 14, Brad Papura 0 1-2 1, Sean Murphy 1 0-0 2, Camden Boris 3 7-10 13, Mike Palmiero 4 3-3 12, Frank Casarella 0 0-0 0, Jacob Zaleski 0 2-3 2, Marcus Vieney 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 13-18 44.Wallenpaupack`6`7`9`11 &#8212; 33Crestwood`10`12`12`10 &#8212; 44Three-point goals &#8212; WAL 4 (Rosenthal 2, Santiago, Pillar); CRE 3 (Petrosky 2, Palmiero).Abington Heights 59, Dallas 51DALLAS (51) &#8212; Jack Farrell 6 0-0 13, Nick Nocito 0 3-4 3, Austin Finarelli 2 0-0 4, Justin Finarelli 3 3-4 10, Luke DelGaudio 2 0-0 4, Dylan Schuster 4 0-0 9, Sam Nocito 4 0-0 8, Logan Evanosky 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 6-8 51.ABINGTON HEIGHTS (59) &#8212; George Tinsley 9 4-5 25, Corey Perkins 3 4-5 10, Jack Nealon 2 0-0 6, Trey Koehler 8 1-3 17, Mike Malone 0 0-0 0, Drew Nealon 0 1-3 1, Harry Johnson 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 10-16 59.Dallas`10`8`13`20`&#8212;`51Abington Heights`18`13`11`17`&#8212;`59Three-point goals &#8212; DAL 3 (Farrell, J. Finarelli, Schuster 1), AH 5 (Tinsley 3, J. Nealon 2).<style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Paul Sokoloskipsokoloski@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</shirttailMeta></div>

Crestwood clamps down to reach boys basketball district finals