Pittston Area guard JJ Walsh gains control of a loose ball during Tuesday night’s game with Wyoming Valley West. Walsh finished with a season-high 30 points.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
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Wyoming Valley West’s Desmond Rhodes (10 ) falls in front of Pittston Area’s Anthony Cencetti during the first quarter Tuesday night.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Wyoming Valley West’s Desmond Rhodes (10) trys to block a shot by Pittston’s JJ Walsh’s in the first quarter Tuesday night.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Pittston Area’s Silvo Giardina (2) takes the ball down court with Wyoming Valley West’s Kenny Brown giving chase in the first quarter Tuesday night.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Wyoming Valley West’s Kahzir Wright (11) and Pittston Area’s Anthony Cencetti chase after a loose ball during the first quarter Tuesday night.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
PLYMOUTH — Pittston Area entered Tuesday night’s game with plenty of incentive.
The Patriots were trying to keep their Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 boys basketball title hopes — albeit no matter how slim — alive. They were also trying to remain atop the District 2 Class 5A playoff standings.
Then when Wyoming Valley West started five seldom-used seniors on Senior Night, it seemed Pittston Area was primed for a comfortable win. It didn’t quite go that way initially.
“You’re thinking you got to jump on them, you got to get ahead of them,” Pittston Area coach Al Semenza said, “and you look up and it’s 4-2 after two and a half minutes.”
And it was a three-point lead after six minutes until JJ Walsh started yet another big night. Walsh scored five consecutive points and continued scoring when Valley West put its starters in as the Patriots went on for a 61-41 victory.
Walsh finished with 30 points, most by a Patriot this season. The senior guard is averaging 23.3 points in his last seven games. He is also 44-of-50 (88%) from the foul line in that span.
“The last three and a half weeks he’s been playing as well as anyone around,” Semenza said. “He has taken over this team, he makes big baskets, his confidence is off the charts at this point. He was out with an illness that week and a half when we opened up the season and maybe didn’t recover that quick and took a little time to get his feet under him.”
Ethan Ghannam and Dom Jannuzzi added 10 points each and were Pittston Area’s top rebounders.
Pittston Area (10-3 Div. 1, 15-4 overall) stayed a game behind Dallas (11-2, 16-3) in the divisional playoff race. Both teams have one divisional game remaining. The Patriots, though, are trying to hold off three teams for the top seed in the D2-5A playoffs.
Valley West (3-10, 5-15) entered the week with a shot at getting the final D2-5A berth, but Tuesday’s loss coupled with an overtime setback to Tunkhannock on Monday dashed those hopes.
Valley West’s makeshift starting lineup, which coach Chris Parker estimated seen about a minute total of varsity experience this season, gave Pittston Area trouble early on. But turnovers caught up with the group as Walsh finished off his personal 5-0 run with a layup and ensuing free throw off a steal.
“It was a lot of fun and that was the intention going in. The guys knew it,” Parker said. “We have a lot of seniors this year. It wasn’t the season we expected, unfortunately, it’s part of life. That’s how life works. Sometimes things you expect don’t work out the way you want them to work out.”
The Valley West regulars, headed by a 13-point performance by Johnathan Mann, cut a double-digit deficit to 32-25 three minutes into the third quarter. Pittston Area, though, extended an 11-2 run into the fourth quarter to regain control.
Pittston Area 61, Wyoming Valley West 41
PITTSTON AREA (61) — J.J. Walsh 10 8-9 30, Ethan Ghannam 4 2-2 10, Jack Locker 3 0-0 7, Anthony Cencetti 1 0-2 2, Dom Jannuzzi 3 3-6 10, Ethan Maslowski 0 0-0 0, Matt Mayers 0 0-0 0, Silvio Giardina 0 0-0 0, Jack Long 0 0-0 0, Zach Elko 1 0-0 2, Rob Barbieri 0 0-0 0, Ethan Clarke 0 0-0 0, Matt Walter 0 0-0 0, Brayden Powers 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 13-19 61.
WYOMING VALLEY WEST (41) — Tyrese Harris 2 0-0 5, Brian Gill 0 0-0 0, Johnathan Mann 6 1-2 13, Quadel Glaster 0 0-0 0, Kenny Brown 1 0-0 2, Ryan Sullivan 4 1-1 12, Zach Konopke 0 0-0 0, Emmanuel Lewis 0 0-0 0, Kahzir Wright 0 0-0 0, Bradley Gill 2 0-0 5, Colin Rood 0 0-0 0, Desmond Rhodes 1 0-0 2, Marquessu McKenith 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 2-3 41.
Pittston Area`17`13`17`14 — 61
Wyo. Valley West`10`7`14`10 — 31
Three-point goals — PA 4 (Walsh 2, Locker, Jannuzzi); WVW 5 (Sullivan 3, Harris, Bradley Gill)