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By JAMIE PIERCE Times Leader Sports Correspondent
Sunday, March 09, 2003 Page: 3C
HAZLETON – Things didn’t start well on Saturday for Pine Grove senior Frank
D’Agostino and junior Dave Horst.
D’Agostino, who leads the Cardinals with his 21-plus points per game, was
held to one field goal through the first 26 minutes of the PIAA Class 2A
playoff against Northwest Area at Hazleton Area High School. And Horst had
just one point, spending much of the afternoon on the bench in foul trouble.
But during the final six minutes, both stepped up. The two combined to
score 22 consecutive points during a frenzied fourth-quarter run. A Horst
three-pointer, his fourth during the spurt, gave Pine Grove its first lead of
the second half. D’Agostino then scored seven straight to secure a 68-61
Cardinal victory.
Pine Grove (21-9) faces Loyalsock on Wednesday at a site and time to be
determined. The Rangers end an impressive season at 22-6.
“I thought we really picked up our intensity in the fourth quarter,” Pine
Grove coach Dan Becker said. “David (Horst) was in the zone for a while and
Frank (D’Agostino) was great down the stretch.”
Horst hit his first three-pointer of the game with 5:44 left to pull Pine
Grove within 50-46. After a Keith Mazonkey putback, Horst drained another
trey, cutting Northwest’s lead to 52-49.
Northwest’s Vince Scalzo, who led all scorers with 28 points, answered with
a short bucket. Horst then hit his third consecutive three and Pine Grove
trailed 54-52. Seconds later, D’Agostino stripped Scalzo and went the length
of the court for a layup to tie the game.
Another Mazonkey putback put Northwest ahead, but 11 seconds later Horst
hit his fourth three and Pine Grove took a 57-56 lead with 3:38 to go. While
the Rangers went on a three-minute scoring drought, a Horst free throw and
seven from D’Agostino helped the Cardinals build a 65-56 lead to guarantee the
win.
“We know if we don’t win, there is no tomorrow,” Becker said. “We had a
great week of practice and were ready to play.”
Foul trouble was the theme most of the afternoon. Horst played the final 12
minutes with four personals, while Pine Grove’s other four starters ended with
three apiece. Three Rangers fouled out in the fourth quarter, and three others
ended with four. In all, 61 free throws were attempted – 39 by the Cardinals.
“They have five guys who could shoot the ball. How do you play a team like
that any other way than man-to-man?” Northwest coach Jerry Blazick said. “But
we couldn’t do that because of foul trouble. You can’t defend a team like that
when every little thing is called a foul. No player had a bigger impact on
this game than the three referees, and that is not how it is supposed to be.”
Senior Jared Lehman scored Pine Grove’s first eight points. A D’Agostino
jumper with 2:25 left in the first quarter gave the Cardinals a 13-4 lead, but
Northwest scored five straight to close the period down, 13-9.
Scalzo scored 10 in the second quarter, including a runner with two seconds
left, that gave the Rangers a 29-27 lead at the half.
Mazonkey, who tallied 14 points and nine rebounds, scored six in the third
to give the Rangers a 45-39 lead after three.
Three points the old-fashioned way by Scalzo gave Northwest its biggest
lead of the game – 50-43 – before Horst sparked Pine Grove’s fourth-quarter
surge.
“Give Pine Grove credit, they played a great game,” Blazick said. “But
what do I tell my kids? We told them to leave it all out on the floor, but
they couldn’t do that because of fouls. Sixty (actually 61) free throws! Sixty
free throws! I don’t know! I’m just so disgusted right now.”
D’Agostino led Pine Grove with 19 points. Horst added 16 and Lehman had 12.