Dallas forward Michael Bufalino (top) and Crestwood forward Matt Sklarosky chase after a loose ball before it goes out of bounds in the second quarter Tuesday night.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Dallas guard Jude Nocito takes a look at the basket against Crestwood during the first quarter Tuesday night.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Dallas’s Jude Nocito passes the ball in the first quarter Tuesday night as Crestwood defends.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Dallas’s Nick Williams gets close to the basket as Crestwood’s Brandon Burbank (left) and Mason Czapla (4) defend in the first quarter Tuesday night.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Dallas guard Jude Nocito gets ready to shoot as Crestwood guard Ryan Sechleer defends during the first quarter Tuesday night.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
DALLAS TWP. — Dallas believes it can play any style of basketball an opponent presents.
The Mountaineers’ preference, though, is up-tempo. And when they can run it like in the third quarter Tuesday, then good things can happen.
Dallas turned a close game into a rout, blitzing Crestwood with 24 third-quarter points on the way to a 64-45 Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 boys basketball victory.
“That’s what we tried to do,” said Dallas coach Mark Belenski, who wanted to limit as much halfcourt offense as possible. “I think we were a little bit afraid of early fouls. We came out in the third quarter and I challenged them. We picked up our defense and were able to get it a little up-tempo.
“To me, that was the difference.”
First-place Dallas (6-1 Div. 1, 12-1 overall) led just 30-27 at halftime as Jude Nocito closed out the second quarter with his third 3-pointer of the period.
Crestwood (3-3, 8-6) got within 32-30 early in the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Brandon Burbank, but it was the only field goal by the Comets until 6:57 of the fourth. Seven turnovers, combined with Dallas’ hot shooting, led to the Mountaineers scoring 22 of the final 24 points in the quarter.
Darius Wallace and Cameron Faux started the barrage with 3-pointers, with Faux’s basket coming off a steal by Michael Bufalino. Nick Williams then converted his steal into a layup to give Dallas its first double-digit lead at 40-30.
The points kept coming as Dallas shot 8-of-12 in the third quarter. The Mountaineers scored seven points in the final minute on a 3-pointer by Nocito, a jumper by Nick Farrell and a steal by Wallace to pushed the lead t0 54-32.
“I thought we did some good stuff in the first half,” Crestwood coach Mark Atherton said, “but the second half, third quarter they just destroyed us.
“We talked to our guys about turnovers. The thing is, some of our turnovers aren’t forced. It’s just guys making terrible decisions. We just got to make better decisions.”
The game started well for Dallas as it scored the first six points. Crestwood then went on a 10-0 run fueled by Burbank and a few Mountaineers’ turnovers.
Dallas finished the first quarter with a 3-pointer from Michael Cumbo and a pair of buckets by Williams and never trailed the rest of the way.
Dallas 64, Crestwood 45
CRESTWOOD (45) — Czapla 3 0-0 8, Sklarosky 1 0-0 2, Wright 0 2-10 2, D.Sechleer 5 1-1 11, Burbank 5 1-1 14, R.Sechleer 0 0-0 0, Agapito 0 0-0 0, Nulton 0 0-0 0, Hilpp 0 1-2 1, Feisel 0 0-0 0, Tejeda 1 0-0 2, Porro 0 0-1 0, Jennings 1 0-0 2, Biscotti 1 0-0 3. Totals 17 5-14 45.
DALLAS (64) — Nocito 5 2-2 16, Wallace 5 0-0 11, Bufalino 3 0-0 6, Faux 3 0-0 9, Williams 3 1-2 7, Cumbo 2 0-0 6, Timinski 0 0-0 0, Farrell 2 0-0 4, Zapoticky 0 2-2 2, Karosa 0 0-0 0, Dolan 0 0-0 0, O’Donnell 1 0-0 3, Jones 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 5-6 64.
Crestwood`10`17`5`13 — 45
Dallas`13`17`24`10 — 64
Three-point goals — CRE 5 (Czapla, Burbank 3, Biscotti). DAL 11 (Nocito 4, Wallace, Faux 3, Cumbo 2, O’Donnell).
