H.S. Boys Basketball: Three-time D2-6A champion Hazleton Area eliminated by Scranton in semifinals

SALEM TWP. — Perhaps Hazleton Area will eventually solve the mystery that plagued the Cougars for a fifth consecutive game on Saturday afternoon.

The Cougars — so says coach Mike Joseph — do everything right in preparation yet something inevitably seems to go wrong.

The fifth and final gut punch came in the District 2/4 Class 6A semifinals at Berwick Middle School. Hazleton Area led by as many as eight in the fourth quarter only to see Scranton rally for a 51-50 victory.

Kevin Lazdowsky hit two free throws with 12.5 seconds left and Hazleton Area missed two inside shots before the buzzer to end its season at 13-10. The Cougars, who were the tournament’s top seed, lost for a fifth consecutive time and for the sixth time in seven games.

The loss means Hazleton Area won’t have the opportunity for a fourth consecutive district championship. The early losses prevented a chance at a fourth consecutive Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 title.

Instead, fourth-seeded Scranton (11-13) will play second-seeded Wilkes-Barre Area (15-10) at 8 p.m. Saturday at Mohegan Sun Arena for the title and the only spot in the state playoffs.

“We practiced the past two weeks, I thought, as good as we possibly could,” Joseph said. “We’d have control of the game and lately we’d lose control of the game. I can’t explain it. I’m at a loss. Anything that could happen the wrong way for us happens.”

Hazleton Area reversed a four-point third-quarter deficit into a 38-35 lead entering the fourth quarter. Guard Scott Campbell provided an offensive spark. Scranton’s shooting soured into a 4-of-13 effort in the period, with Hazleton Area center Angel Cruz preventing several second-chance opportunities with his rebounding.

Dewin Concepcion kept the momentum going in the fourth with an inside basket and a 3-pointer for a 45-37 lead at the 6:27 mark. The lead, though, started to erode. The Cougars managed just one more field goal the rest of the game. A chance to take a three-point lead with 43 seconds left ended on the miss of the front end of a one-and-one free-throw opportunity.

Then Lazdowsky, who progressed from a pest through three quarters into a menace in the fourth, finished off Hazleton Area’s season with two free throws with 12.5 seconds remaining. Lazdowsky scored 10 of his 19 points in the final period.

“We’ve been battling all year,” Scranton coach Tony Battaglia said. “We’ve had some bad minutes here and there. We’ve missed a couple assignments on defense, we’ve given up some easy shots. And they took advantage of it. We got down eight and they’re a tough team to come back on. We said one possession at a time. We switched up our defenses, we made some plays.”

Scranton’s last district championship came in the 2012-13 season at the Class 4A level. However, the Knights lost to Williamsport in the D2/4-4A subregional title game and didn’t advance to states. Their last state appearance was in 2011.

District 2/4 Class 6A Semifinals

Scranton 51, Hazleton Area 50

SCRANTON (51) — John Rose 1 0-0 3, Kevin Lazdowsky 7 5-5 19, Jason Shields 5 4-8 14, AJ Dinterman 3 4-6 10, Noah Leety 2 1-2 5, Arvel Chandler 0 0-0 0, Pat McCormick 0 0-0 0, Marty Crofton 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 14-21 51.

HAZLETON AREA (50) — Andrew Vayda 3 0-0 6, Scott Campbell 3 2-3 10, Brett Antolick 0 2-4 2, Angel Cruz 4 4-4 12, Dewin Concepcion 4 0-1 9, Chris Garcia 1 3-3 5, Kevin Gil 0 3-4 3, Josian Guerra 1 0-0 3, Jawardt Nieves 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 14-19 50.

Scranton`10`12`13`16 — 51

Hazleton Area`13`8`17`12 — 50

Three-point goals — SCR 1 (Rose). HA 4 (Campbell 2, Concepcion, Guerra).