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SCRANTON — Hazleton Area mounted two big comebacks in the District 2 Class 4A boys basketball title game, but one last run by Abington Heights proved to be the clincher in a 51-45 victory Saturday afternoon at Lackawanna College.
The Comets began the fourth quarter by outscoring the Cougars 11-2 to stretch their lead to 49-37 with 3:38 left in the game, but the Hazleton Area answered by scoring eight consecutive points over the next two-and-a-half minutes to cut the deficit to four with 1:10 remaining.
Jordan Hollander and Tim Toro each converted a free throw in the final minute to seal Abington Heights’ win.
“It’s was ebb and flow the whole game,” Abington Heights coach Ken Bianchi said. “Sometimes our big men took charge, sometimes their guards took charge. We just happened to have one more spurt than they did to get us over the hump.”
Hazleton Area jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the opening minutes of the game, but Abington Heights scored 10 of the next 13 points to tie the score at the end of the first quarter.
The Cougars went cold in the second and Abington Heights took advantage by outscoring Hazleton Area 13-3.
“Early on, we made shots and could get after them (defensively) a little bit,” Hazleton Area coach Mike Joseph said. “In the second quarter, we made one shot. If you don’t make any shots, then you can’t press and try to create turnovers.”
Abington Heights’ 6-foot-7 center Toro scored seven of his 14 points in the second to spark the Comets.
“The first quarter I didn’t bring it,” Toro said. “I knew they were going to be real physical on me. As they got a little more physical, I knew I had to try to get stronger and change the momentum.”
After an Abington Heights turnover and technical foul on Comets’ forward Clay Basalyga, Hazleton Area scored nine straight points to tie the score 35-35 with 2:15 left in third quarter.
“It’s been kind of the makeup of this team all year,” Joseph said. “They have a never-give-in attitude. We started making shots in the third and fourth quarters and got the game going the way we wanted because it took away from their inside game a little bit.”
A technical foul on Hazleton Area’s Chris Panzarella on the next possession swung the momentum back in Abington Heights’ favor. The Comets got two free throws from Tyler Ksiazek and another from Toro to lead by three points entering the fourth quarter.
“The play where we got a foul and it was a tie game, and it ended up with them shooting foul shots and scoring was definitely the turning point in the game,” Joseph said.
Ksiazek, who finished with 13 points, opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer, Basalyga scored two baskets and Seth Maxwell scored inside to give the Comets a 47-35 lead with 5:03 left in the game.
“I think all-around we played well,” Ksiazek said. “All season long, we’ve had tight games so that helped us in the end. Sticking together and having faith in each other pays off.”
Abington Heights’ 30-21 rebounding advantage, including 16 from Toro, also played a role in their win.
“Their size is such a tough thing to deal with,” Joseph said. “Toro is even bigger than he looks on film and Maxwell is going to be a really good player.”
District 2 Class 4A championship
Abington Heights 51, Hazleton Area 45
ABINGTON HEIGHTS (51) — Clay Basalyga 6 1-6 13, Tyler Ksiazek 4 2-2 13, Jordan Hollander 2 1-6 6, Matt McDonald 1 0-0 2, Tim Toro 4 6-11 14, Colin Klingman 0 0-0 0, Jackson Danzig 0 0-0 0, Seth Maxwell 1 1-3 3. Totals 18 11-28 51.
HAZLETON AREA (45) — Mike Makuta 2 0-0 6, Chris Panzarella 1 0-0 3, Zach Zukoski 5 0-0 14, Shane Planutis 0 0-0 0, Bob Planutis 5 3-3 15, Josh Samec 1 0-0 3, Nolan Genasevich 0 0-0 0, Mike Cusatis 1 0-0 2, Dante Biasi 1 0-0 2, Nick Seach 0 0-0 0, John Collado 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 3-3 45.
Abington Heights`11`13`14`12`—`51
Hazleton Area`11`3`21`11`—`45
Three-point goals — AH 4 (Ksiazek 3, Hollander); HAZ 10 (Zukoski 4, Makuta 2, B. Planutis 2, Samec, Panzarella)