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By KEVIN KAZOKAS Times Leader Sports Correspondent
Wednesday, March 12, 2003 Page: 3B
HAZLETON – The scouting reports on the Bishop O’Reilly boys basketball team
might warn opposing coaches of the club’s potent perimeter shooters.
But the District 2 champion Queensmen showed they are anything but a
one-dimensional force Tuesday night.
Senior center David Lohin led O’Reilly’s strong inside attack with his 17
points as the Queensmen rolled to a 69-48 victory against Pottsville Nativity
BVM in a PIAA Class A second-round game at Hazleton Area High School.
O’Reilly (21-8) will face District 4 champion Muncy (26-3) Friday at a site
and time to be determined. Muncy defeated Galeton 63-48 Tuesday night to
advance.
Nativity, the District 11 runner-up, finished its season 21-7.
“All of our players came up big,” said Lohin, one of four Queensmen who
finished in double figures. “We had a lot of diverse scoring.”
Most of that scoring came from inside the three-point arc. Senior forward
Chris Lynn tallied 14 points. Senior guard Mike Dal Santo had 12 and junior
forward Matt Flanagan added 11.
But the Queensmen, as a team, made only a trio of three-point baskets.
“We thought they were more perimeter oriented, and they took the ball
inside,” said Nativity coach Ed Balonis.
Along with that inside game, O’Reilly relied on quick ball movement and an
aggressive defense.
“We just figured, man-to-man, we’d make them (the Hilltoppers) dribble
inside the arc, and it worked,” O’Reilly head coach Mark Belenski said. “We
played excellent defensively. That’s what got us here and what got us by
tonight.”
The Queensmen overcame four deficits during a see-saw first quarter before
a Lynn free throw put them ahead 20-19 at the end of the period. The basket
ignited a 7-0 O’Reilly run and gave the Queensmen a lead they never
relinquished.
O’Reilly expanded the margin to 37-31 by halftime and exploded for an 8-0
run during the third quarter. The surge opened up a 49-37 lead with 1:45 to go
in the period.
The Hilltoppers closed the gap to eight early in the fourth when a layup by
senior forward Jason Loftus made the score 49-41. But the Queensmen got four
consecutive baskets, including a three-pointer from junior Jason Blazosek, to
increase the margin to 59-41 with 4:42 left in the game.
Junior center Frank Fetterolf led Nativity with a game-high 18 points.