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Noah Jackson: Blocks 7 shots in win

Kyle Gegaris: 16 points for Comets

NANTICOKE Kyle Gegaris remembered what it was like being eliminated by Pittston Area in the District 2 boys basketball playoffs.

Camden Boris? Not so much.

Both the Crestwood senior and sophomore stepped up to deliver key shots and their teams defense was its usual stellar self as the Comets avenged their upset loss at the hands of the Patriots last year with a 44-31 victory over Pittston Area in the Class 5A quarterfinals Tuesday night at Nanticoke High School.

We definitely came in with a chip on our shoulders, said Gegaris, who led all scorers with 16 points, including eight in the opening quarter. We came in with the mindset that we werent going to let it happen it again.

With the closer-than-it looks win, No. 2-seeded Crestwood (16-7) earned a semifinal date with No. 3 West Scranton on Friday night at a site and time to be announced. The Invaders eliminated North Pocono 44-29 on Tuesday.

Its exciting getting to the second round, Gegaris said. Were one step closer getting to (Mohegan Sun) arena.

Whether or not the Comets would have advanced past the quarterfinals without Boris this year is debatable, but the sharpshooter surely made his presence felt. He came off the bench to score all seven of his points in the second quarter, including two 3-pointers that turned a two-point Crestwood lead into an 18-10 advantage.

Coach (Cole) Wasco kept telling me, Youre a shooter ... Your job is to bring a lot of confidence and energy.

The sophomore responded like a savvy veteran. Boris second triple from the exact same spot in the right corner forced Pittston Area

coach Alan Kiesinger to call timeout and kept his team in catch-up mode for the rest of the night.

I did not see that coming, Kiesinger said of Boris shooting heroics. I certainly didnt expect it.

The seventh-seeded Patriots did expect the Comets man-to-man defense to be a challenge. After all, Crestwood had stifled Pittston Area in three previous meetings this season, including limiting the Patriots to just 21 points a few weeks ago in Mountain Top.

While the Patriots (6-17) didnt make a single field goal in the second quarter Tuesday, they hung tough thanks to their own aggressive 2-3 zone that kept Crestwoods guards out of the lane and forced them to take shots sooner than they would have liked.

Two fouls shots apiece by Chris Klein and Brennan Higgins and one by Michael Mazurkivich kept the Patriots within 20-15 at halftime. Crestwood again threatened to pull away as putbacks by Noah Jackson (nine rebounds, seven blocked shots) and Gegaris pushed the Comets lead back up to 24-15 just two minutes into the third quarter.

Theyd make a run and wed make a run of our own, Crestwood head coach Mark Atherton said. By doing that we were able to control their runs.

Pittston Area came out of a 30-second timeout with what wound up being their final push. Matt McGlynn banked in a runner, fed Pat Mitchell for a layup and swished a 3-pointer from the corner to bring the Patriots within 24-22 at the 3:33 mark.

The Comets defense stiffened at that point, blanking Pittston Area for the rest of the quarter. Meanwhile, Jackson knocked down a free throw and Lance Blass buried a short jumper to make it a five-point game entering the final quarter.

With Gegaris connecting from beyond the arc and later cashing a steal into a regular three-point plan, Crestwood finally put the pesky Patriots away early in the fourth quarter. Another McGlynn three got Pittston Area back within nine (36-27), before consecutive baskets by Kyle Richards, Blass, Blass again and Richards again snowballed the Comets lead to 44-27.

Both coaches let deep reserves finish out the final two minutes.

Theyre a good team, definitely a very good defensive team, Kiesinger said of the Comets. Theyre always tough, no matter how many times we play them.

I think beating a good team four times might be easier than beating it the third time, Atherton said. It gets psychological for both sides.

Not that Tuesdays tussle was easy.

These guys played hard, Atherton said. Now we get to move on. And face a West Scranton team that the Comets coach calls very similar to us. Theyre very tough, very physical.

Game Summary

District 2 Class 5A Quarterfinal

At Nanticoke

PITTSTON AREA (31) Tigue 0 0-0 0, Klein 1 5-5 7, Guillaume 1 4-4 7, Woodruff 0 0-1 0, Higgins 0 2-2 2, Pliska 0 0-0 0, McGlynn 3 0-0 8, Mazurkivich 0 1-5 1, Coyne 0 2-4 2, Cencetti 0 0-0 0, Mitchell 2 0-0 4. Totals 7 14-21 31.

CRESTWOOD (44) K. Gegaris 5 4-6 16, Blass 4 0-0 8, Klusewitz 1 0-0 3, Richards 3 0-0 6, Murphy 0 0-0 0, Boris 2 1-3 7, Andrews 0 0-0 0, Ayala 0 0-0 0, Kozelsky 0 0-0 0, Jackson 1 1-3 3, Knapp 0 1-3 1. Totals 16 7-15 44.

Pitt (6-17) 10 5 7 9 31

Cres (16-7) 12 8 7 17 44

3-point FGs: McGlynn 2, Guillaume. K. Gegaris 2, Boris 2, Klusewitz.

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Comets top Patriots, advance in D2 5A basketball playoffs - Standard Speaker