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HAZLE TWP. — As strong as Crestwood’s Camden Boris was offensively, his production was also a bit disconcerting.
The Comets have been a team all season that thrives on a balanced offense. And without it, things don’t always work out well.
Like on Tuesday night in a PIAA Class 5A second-round boys basketball game.
Unable to get other options going, Pottsville was about to pull away in the fourth quarter to defeat Crestwood 59-46.
District 2 runner-up Crestwood ended its season at 21-8. District 11 champion Pottsville (25-3) plays in the quarterfinals on Friday against D12 champion Archbishop Wood (18-8). Wood rolled D1 third seed Penncrest 61-38 in its second-round matchup.
Boris had 17 of Crestwood’s 23 points in the first half as the Comets trailed 32-23 at the break. Only two other Comets had field goals in the first 16 minutes.
“He carried us in the first quarter there,” Crestwood coach Mark Atherton said. “Not really what you want as a coach because you want more balance. But he stepped up big time and made some huge shots for us.”
Crestwood received a glimpse of balance in the third quarter as Mike Palmiero started a 7-0 run with a three-point plays. A pair of free throws by both Sean Murphy and Ryan Petrosky cut Pottsville’s lead to 35-30 with two minutes elapsed in the period.
“Absolutely, we were concerned,” Pottsville coach Dave Mullaney said. “There were some 50-50 calls in there that sort of went against us. But our guys hung in there and stuck to the game plan.”
The Comets couldn’t get any closer. Pottsville’s Trevor Sherakas popped in a pair of 3-pointers in the final two minutes, the last one giving the Crimson Tide a 45-34 lead going into the fourth.
Crestwood was able to slice the deficit to single digits midway through the fourth on a 3-pointer by Mike Palmiero and two free throws by Murphy. But the Comets managed just two more field goals after Palmiero’s trey at 5:23.
Boris finished with 20 points and seven rebounds. Fellow seniors Murphy and Palmiero added 10 and eight points, respectively.
“They just played well together,” Atherton said as he assessed the season. “The way you can define this team is they were unselfish. You look at some games Murphy led the scoring, some days (Ryan) Petrosky led us, some days Boris. And if you let Palmiero go, he has 25 against Sem in the playoff game.
“We have multiple guys that could do that and a fun group of guys. Undersized all year, but played their hearts out.”
Pottsville’s 6-foot-5 Kevin Schenk was a handful off the bench, scoring 16 and grabbing nine rebounds. The backcourt of Sherakas and Mason Barnes combined for 30 points.
PIAA Class 5A Second Round
Pottsville 59, Crestwood 46
POTTSVILLE (59) — Trevor Sherakas 5 0-0 14, Mason Barnes 5 5-5 16, Aiden Stanton 1 0-0 3, Zak Tobin 2 3-4 6, JR Hahner 2 0-1 4, Kevin Schenk 6 4-6 16, Matt Salata 0 0-0 0, Riley Stanton 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 11-15 59.
CRESTWOOD (46) — Ryan Petrosky 0 2-2 2, Brad Papura 0 0-0 0, Sean Murphy 3 4-4 10, Camden Boris 7 2-5 20, Mike Palmiero 3 1-1 8, Jacob Zaleski 1 2-3 4, Frank Casarella 0 0-0 0, Marcus Vieney 1 0-0 2, Adam Gegaris 0 0-0 0.
Pottsville`14`18`13`14 — 59
Crestwood`13`10`11`12 — 46
Three-point goals — POT 6 (Sherakas 4, Barnes, A.Stanton). CRE 5 (Boris 4, Palmiero).
