WILKES-BARRE TWP. — Things weren’t exactly going great for Dallas, but they were going good enough for a six-point lead midway through the fourth quarter Friday.
A District 2 boys basketball championship, which would have been the first in 36 years, needed just four more minutes to expire. And the way Wallenpaupack was playing, it seemed feasible.
Four minutes later, it was Wallenpaupack with the gold for the first time in school history.
And eight-point swing coming off a pair of turnovers and a block by Wallenpaupack big man Gabe Springer was just enough for the Buckhorns to edge Dallas 33-32 in the District 2 Class 5A championship game at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Both teams will play next Friday in the PIAA Class 5A tournament. Wallenpaupack (23-2) will face the District 1 fourth seed, the loser of Saturday’s game between West Chester Rustin (17-7) and Penncrest (19-6). Dallas (19-7) will play District 12 third seed Frankford (7-17). The two will be joined in states by D2 third seed Pittston Area, which plays the Rustin vs. Penncrest winner.
Wallenpaupack’s Jack Smith hit a pair of 3-pointers — the first off a Dallas turnover and the second off Springer’s block — to start and end an 8-0 run that gave the Buckhorns a 28-26 lead with 1:03 remaining. In between, Elijah Rosenthal scored off another turnover.
The basket was the only field goal of the game for Wallenpaupack’s leading scorer, but his foul shooting in the final minute prevented a Dallas rally.
“We played a great game tonight. They just beat us at the end,” Dallas coach Mark Belenski said. “We turned the ball over. There’s nothing more I can say. They made plays at the end of the game and we didn’t.”
Dallas held Wallenpaupack to 5-of-24 shooting (21 percent) through the first three quarters. The Mountaineers had a lead as big as seven, 20-13, with 2:38 left in the third quarter. Wallenpaupack went over eight minutes without a field goal before Smith nailed a 3-pointer with a minute left in the period.
Still, Dallas didn’t exploit the drought to the fullest. Wallenpaupack was held to one-shot possession four times to start the third quarter as Dallas’ Dylan Schuster grabbed defensive rebounds. Yet, the Mountaineers managed just four points through the first five minutes.
“Me and my team know when things aren’t falling on offense, defense will carry you in every game,” Springer said.
Rosenthal pretty much wrapped up the win with a pair of free throws with 5.2 seconds left for a 33-29 lead. Schuster hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for Dallas’ final points.
Defense and offensive struggles led to the second-lowest scoring boys game at the arena since the championships were moved there in 2016. Only Holy Cross’ 46-18 victory over Mountain View in the 2017 Class 2A title game produced fewer points.
While Wallenpaupack attacked from the 3-point arc often through three quarters, Dallas used 6-foot-4 Jack Farrell inside. Although Springer was three inches taller, the Mountaineers worked for mismatches where 6-foot Gerard McGrath ended up on Farrell.
The strategy led to Farrell scoring seven of his team-high 14 points in the second quarter as Dallas took a 14-13 lead into halftime.
“Bottom line is we held a team like Dallas to 32 points,” Wallenpaupack coach Jim McGinnis said. “We’ll take that all day.”
District 2 Class 5A Championship
Wallenpaupack 33, Dallas 32
DALLAS (32) — Jack Farrell 6 2-4 14, Austin Finarelli 1 1-2 3, Nick Nocito 2 0-0 5, Dylan Schuster 4 0-0 8, Luke DelGaudio 0 1-2 1, Sam Nocito 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 4-8 32.
WALLENPAUPACK (33) — Elijah Rosenthal 1 9-12 11, Izaiah Santiago 0 0-1 0, Gerard McGrath 2 0-0 6, Gabe Springer 1 0-0 2, Jack Smith 4 2-2 12, Matt Keane 0 0-0 0. Totals 8 11-15 33.
Dallas`5`9`8`10 — 32
Wallenpaupack`6`7`3`17 — 33
Three-point goals — DAL 2 (N.Nocito, Schuster). WAL 5 (McGrath 2, Smith 3).
