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MATT SEAMON/FOR THE STANDARD-SPEAKER Hazleton Areas Joey Grula (22) tries to get in front of Crestwoods Kyle Gegaris during their WVC Division I boys basketball showdown at Hazleton Area on Friday night. The Cougars pulled out a 43-41 to clinch a tie for the division championship.

MATT SEAMON/FOR THE STANDARD-SPEAKER Crestwoods Lance Blass (4) looks to pass as Hazleton Areas Joey Grula defends during their WVC Division I boys basketball game Friday at HAHS. The Cougars prevailed, 43-41.

Included in the Hazleton Area boys basketball programs previous 499 wins over the past 25 seasons were several thrillers over Crestwood.

No. 500 also came at the Comets expense in just the latest exciting chapter between the Wyoming Valley Conferences most intense rivals on Friday night at Hughie McGeehan Gymnasium.

Michael Cusatis put in the game-winning basket with 52 seconds left and the Hazleton Areas defense stepped up late to preserve the Cougars 43-41 come-from-behind win, giving them no worse than a tie for their second straight Division I championship.

We battled, but we stuck together, Cusatis said. As long as we keep our heads, we can get through a lot of stuff, even if things are looking bad for us.

Indeed, for huge stretches of their showdown, it looked like the Comets would avenge a 32-point home loss to Hazleton Area last month and the Cougars would have to keep scarlet their pre-ordered T-shirts emblazoned with the silver numbers 5-0-0 across their chests inside a box for another day.

Hats off to them, Hazleton Area head coach Mike Joseph said. They came in here really ready to play... We let them off the hook in the second quarter, but they hit some threes and battled back and had us chasing them around.

Trailing in the fourth quarter for just the fifth time in 19 games forced to go deep into their bench, the Cougars overcame a four-point deficit, tied the game on Jeff Planutis highlight reel-worthy dunk and went ahead to stay

on Cusatis floater in the lane with just under a minute left.

Crestwood then held the ball, playing for the tie or win at the buzzer. But Josh Samec blocked Noah Jacksons three-point attempt and the ball bounced into Cusatis hands, keeping the Cougars unbeaten in WVC play and extending their winning streak to 16 games overall.

You cant create an oil painting every game, said Joseph, paraphrasing a quote from Joe Maddon, the Chicago Cubs manager and Hazleton native. Sometimes you ugly.

Ugly in regard to Fridays game would be based on ones interpretation. Hazleton Area wanted to apply its pressure defense, force turnovers and score points in bunches like the Cougars did in their 62-30 victory over the Comets last month.

Crestwood, meanwhile, was content to run its motion offense until an open shot arose or a Comet player found a cutting teammate who had a layup or drew a foul. The ploy was meant to frustrate the Cougars, slow them down, get them off their game, maybe take some of their better players out of the game.

And it worked for the most as both Cusatis and Joey Grula finished the game with four fouls apiece and Planutis played with three.

Im proud of my guys, Crestwood head coach Mark Atherton said. I thought we did what we had to do to try to win the game. We had a chance at the end. It just came down to one possession.

The strategy helped the Comets (14-6, 11-3) overcome a 19-10 deficit in the second quarter, which the Cougars built largely on the shooting of Samec, Grula and Planutis. But Kyle Gegaris knocked down two triples from the top of the key and Kevin Klusewitz and Kyle Richards each buried their own threes to put Crestwood on top 23-22 with3:05 left before halftime.

Gegaris later added a jumper and a free throw to add to his teams lead, before Grulas two foul shots pulled the Cougars within 26-24 at halftime.

Senior Lance Blass almost single-handedly continued the Comets momentum in the third quarter as he muscled in a layup that he converted into a three-point play and later rattled in a triple from the corner to give the Comets their biggest lead of the night (32-26) at the 5:25 mark.

Hazleton Area picked itself off the deck with a 7-0 run that gave the Cougars back the lead and re-energized the crowd. Samec swished a step-back three, before Planutis scored in transition and then on a reverse layup on a feed from reserve Isaac Perez.

The Cougars maintained their 33-32 edge until Klusewitz beat the buzzer with a triple that had the Crestwood fans buzzing and Comets feeling confident.

We went out there and gave it every thing we got, Blass said. We got it right where we wanted it to be.

The Comets were feeling even better after Blass again worked the baseline for a deuce and Jackson cashed a Klusewitz feed into a deuce that made it 39-36 with six minutes showing on the scoreboard clock.

Planutis got one point back with a free throw, then probably made the play of the night, when he stole an inbound pass and put down one-handed jam that tied the game at 39 brought Hazleton Area fans to their feet with 5:20 left.

I just got the steal and I said, Im going up with it, Planutis said. Just hoping for the best.

Crestwood, however, kept its calm and stayed with its game plan until missing a shot. Samec was fouled on the other and dropped in two free throws to give the Cougars back the lead (41-39) as the clock ticked under four minutes.

In no hurry to rush things, the Comets took their time on their next possession until spotting Blass free. His spinning layup re-tied it at 41 with 1:19 left.

Then it was the Cougars turn to play offense. They got the ball to Cusatis, whose shot from in the lane was the eventual game-winner.

The Comets then spread the floor, hoping to force overtime or complete their upset.

Samec and the Cougars had other idea in what they call their monster defense, an extended 1-3-1 zone.

We didnt want them to shoot the three, Samec said. We packed it in and denied their whole right side. They ended up getting the ball to the person we wanted to have shoot it... and I just happened to be there.

This just shows that we have resilience, he added. It should help us in the long run.

The Comets should benefiit too come District 2 playoff time.

I thought our kids kept their composure throughout the game, Atherton said. We fought back and fought back... We were a couple plays away from winning this game... But by the same token, our kids upset they came close to beating a very good team.

Game Summary

CRESTWOOD (41) K. Gegaris 4 1-2 11, Blass 5 1-2 12, Klusewitz 2 1-2 7, Richards 3 0-1 7, Boris 0 0-0 0, Jackson 2 0-0 4, Knapp 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 3-7 41.

HAZLETON AREA (43) Samec 3 2-2 10, Cusatis 4 0-0 8, Kellmer 0 0-0 0, Grula 2 2-2 7, Genasevich 0 0-0 0, Shamany 0 0-0 0, Perez 0 0-0 0, Planutis 5 5-9 16, Faison 1 0-2 2. Totals 15 9-15 43.

Cre (14-6, 11-3) 10 16 9 6 41 HA (17-2, 13-0) 14 10 9 10 43

3-point FGs: Gegaris 2, Blass, Klusewitz 2, Richards, Samec 2, Grula, Planutis

JV score: Crestwood 51-46

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