Dallas received a bit of a scare early on Tuesday night. Pittston Area’s came late … as late as possible.
Yet both survived to advance to the PIAA boys basketball state second round on Friday.
District 2 Class 4A champion Dallas (25-3) will play District 12 third seed Bishop O’Hara (14-10) at 7:30 p.m. at Easton Area High School. District 2 Class 5A champion Pittston Area (21-4) gets District 3 runner-up Shippensburg (21-4) at 7:30 p.m. at Martz Hall in Pottsville.
The games are part of doubleheaders. Tickets are $8 and available online only at piaa.org. A processing fee is added to each ticket.
Dallas reached the second round in 2020 and won, but never had a chance to play in the Class 5A quarterfinals. The COVID-19 pandemic shut down the state playoffs. The PIAA hoped to resume them, but eventually canceled them completely and later all spring sports.
“This team is on a mission,” Dallas coach Mark Belenski said. “They got stopped. Three of the kids played on that team in (Michael) Bufalino and Nick (Nocito) and Austin (Finarelli). They got themselves focused and we’ll give it our best shot.”
That same season Pittston Area won a state playoff game for the first time, upsetting Penncrest 42-40 in the Class 5A first round. The Patriots’ journey ended in the second round.
Here’s a look at the two games.
Dallas (25-3) vs. Bishop O’Hara (14-10)
PIAA 4A Second Round
7:30 p.m. Easton Area H.S.
Dallas got hit with a flurry against upset-minded Shamokin, the District 4 third seed. Shamokin scored inside and outside early, shot at a very high percentage and led 20-16 with just over two minutes left in the first quarter.
The Indians, though, couldn’t sustain the shooting or the pace. Dallas scored the final eight points of the first quarter and then caused six turnovers early in the second period to extend the run to 19-0. If that didn’t dash any upset hopes, a 12-0 run later in the quarter did.
Dallas won 66-46, but the score didn’t truly show how much the Mountaineers dominated. They led 51-23 at halftime, triggered the 30-point mercy rule with the first basket of the second half and pulled the main guys midway through the third quarter.
Dallas’ 1,000-point scorers Nick Nocito and Austin Finarelli had 16 and 14 points, respectively. Mike Cumbo had 14. The Mountaineers had only four 3-pointers mainly because the defense was causing so many easy transition baskets.
O’Hara is coached by former Bishop Hoban standout Ryan Nemetz. The Lions were 3-10 during last season’s truncated schedule because of the pandemic. However, the lineup was extremely young, including five freshmen among the regulars.
While O’Hara’s overall record isn’t overly impressive, it plays in the extremely tough Philadelphia Catholic League. The Lions were tied with District 11 runner-up Wilson with three minutes left before winning 54-46. Pearse McGuinn, a 6-foot-7 sophomore, scored 21 points and sophomore guard Hunter Johnson added 16.
O’Hara’s best player this season has been 6-5 Izaiah Pasha, who transferred from Central Dauphin East but has been ruled ineligible for the postseason by the PIAA.
The winner plays in the quarterfinals Tuesday against the winner of the game between District 3 third seed Trinity (19-6) and District 12 runner-up West Philadelphia (20-5).
Pittston Area (21-4) vs. Shippensburg (21-4)
PIAA 5A Second Round
7:30 p.m. Martz Hall, Pottsville
District 2 champion Pittston Area defeated District 3 sixth seed Lower Dauphin by the slimmest of margins on the scoreboard. And, no, it wasn’t the 53-51 final score.
Lower Dauphin apparently sent the game into overtime, but a tip-in basket was declared invalid. The reason — the scoreboard got stuck at 0.1 of a second for just enough time for the basket before clicking over to all zeros. There’s a video available on Twitter. You be the judge.
The clock controversy wouldn’t have matter had Pittston Area closed the game better. The Patriots led by 12 as the midway point of the fourth quarter approached. The offense once again was balanced with JJ Walsh scoring 15, Ethan Ghannam scoring 13 and Anthony Cencetti adding 10.
The victory put Pittston Area in the second round for only the second time in eight tries. The Patriots, though, have never advanced beyond that point. They’ll need a top effort, especially inside, to dispose of District 3 runner-up Shippensburg.
Shippensburg had size inside starting with 6-foot-8, 255-point Anthony Smith. Smith is finishing up his basketball career. He has signed to play football at the University of Minnesota. Fellow senior Jeremy Thomas is 6-4 and an excellent rebounder as well. He also can score as he had a team-high 20 points in Tuesday’s 56-46 win over District 1 fourth seed Upper Moreland.
Senior guard Jayden Statum runs the show for the Greyhounds. He recently became the program’s all-time leading scorer and is strong in transition. He had 11 vs. Upper Moreland. Smith scored 12.
Like Pittston Area, Shippensburg hasn’t made it past the second round. The Greyhounds are there for a fifth time.
The winner plays Tuesday against the winner of the game between District 1 champion Chester (19-3) and District 12 champion Archbishop Ryan (19-7).