PLAINS TWP. — Sometimes a wire-to-wire victory isn’t as easy as it sounds.
That was the case for Wilkes-Barre Area on Thursday night in its first-place showdown with Crestwood.
The Wolfpack never trailed, but they could never pull away as they defeated Crestwood 52-47 to take sole possession of first place in Division 1 of Wyoming Valley Conference boys basketball.
WBA improved to 5-0 in the division and 10-3 overall with its ninth consecutive win. Crestwood fell to 4-1 in the division and 9-4 overall.
Victory wasn’t assured until WBA’s Vincent Garrett grabbed a rebound off a Crestwood free throw miss with under five seconds left. David Jannuzzi then hit two free throws for the final points of the game.
Crestwood trailed by as much as nine in the second half, yet kept rallying. Derek Johnson converted two steals into layups and a free throw, moving the Comets within 49-46 with 48 seconds left. Crestwood’s Ayden Agapito then made another steal, but the result was a missed inside shot and 3-pointer.
“We knew coming in they were a physical team,” WBA coach Jim Lavan said. “The (Matt) Sklarosky kid, Agapito’s size. They played hard and are well-coached and play disciplined. They come hard at the offensive glass.
“They hurt us a bunch on second-chance shots.”
Crestwood scored 20 of its 22 field goals in the paint. Agapito (nine rebounds) and Chaz Wright (eight rebounds) helped give the Comets a decisive edge on the boards on both ends.
When WBA responded, it did so from beyond the arc. Evan Laybourn-Boddie and Kaprie Cottle hit key 3-pointers in the final minute of the third quarter. Cottle’s came with two seconds left to give the Wolfpack a 41-34 lead.
“I give the kids credit. They fought to the end of the game,” said Crestwood assistant Len Butcyznski, who ran the team in the absence of head coach Mark Atherton. “Couple things here and there that could have gone our way. Again, foul shooting and turnovers, little things that cost us the game this time.”
Laybourn-Boddie entered the game averaging 20.7 points. He finished with 11. Jannuzzi finished with a team-high 14, which was on par with his season average.
Derek Johnson had 15 to pace Crestwood to go along with five rebounds. Crestwood’s offense lived mainly inside the 3-point line as the Comets shot all but two first-half shots inside the arc.
WBA’s biggest lead was 27-16 when Mike Keating hit a 3-pointer at the 4:33 mark. Crestwood closed strongly, and Sklarosky’s basket to start the third quarter sliced the deficit to 29-26. The Comets couldn’t get closer than three the rest of the game.
Wilkes-Barre Area 52, Crestwood 47
CRESTWOOD (47) — Czapla 0 0-0 0, Johnson 7 1-1 15, Sklarosky 6 1-5 14, Wright 2 0-0 4, Agapito 4 0-0 8, Sechleer 1 0-2 2, Porro 2 0-0 4. Totals 22 2-8 47.
WILKES-BARRE AREA (52) — Cottle 2 1-3 6, Jannuzzi 4 5-6 14, Laybourn-Boddie 4 0-4 11, Argueta 2 0-0 5, Garrett 3 0-0 6, Egbeto 1 0-0 2, Keating 3 0-0 8, Brown 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 6-13 52.
Crestwood`12`12`10`13 — 47
Wilkes-Barre Area`14`15`12`11 — 52
Three-point goals — CRE 1 (Sklarosky); WBA 8 (Laybourn-Boddie 3, Keating 2, Cottle, Jannuzzzi, Argueta)
