DALLAS TWP. — Seventeen seconds is a long time to play defense, yet Dallas did so Tuesday night.
The result was a shot Crestwood didn’t want and a 58-57 Dallas victory in a key Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 boys basketball game.
The victory kept Dallas (9-3 Div. 1, 14-6 overall) in the running for one of the two divisional spots in next week’s WVC playoffs. It also helped the Mountaineers jump over Crestwood (9-4 Div. 1, 14-7) for the second seed in the District 2 Class 5A playoffs. Neither team can catch unbeaten Abington Heights for the top seed.
“We didn’t play smart at times,” Dallas coach Mark Belenski said. “But I’m happy. It’s a ‘W,’ it’s a big game for the two seed in 5A. A win’s a win.”
Crestwood, which trailed by 10 in the third quarter, got possession of the ball with 17 seconds remaining after a Dallas miss bounced out of bounds. The Mountaineers hounded the Crestwood ballhandlers, who wanted to get the ball inside, where the Comets found success. Instead, they had to pull the ball farther from the basket and a long 3-pointer bounced off the front of the rim.
“We were trying to get something going to the basket,” Crestwood coach Mark Atherton said. “That (the 3-pointer) wasn’t the option right there.”
Dallas led 34-29 at the half and then hit Crestwood with a barrage of 3-pointers in the third quarter to take a 49-39 lead with under three minutes left in the period.
The Mountaineers offense, though, disappeared and Crestwood went on an 11-0 run to take a 50-49 lead, its first since midway through the second quarter.
“It’s just basketball. It’s a game of runs,” said Dallas guard Jude Nocito, who made five of Dallas’ 11 3-pointers. “That’s where you show your true colors. How are you going to adapt to those runs, how are you going to come together as a team when stuff is going wrong.”
After two ties and a lead change to start the fourth, Dallas took the lead for good — albeit quite shaky — when Mike Cumbo scored off a drive with 1:51 left. Nick Farrell kept the possession alive with an offensive rebound. Cumbo added a free throw with 44 seconds left before an inside basket by Crestwood’s Ayden Agapito brought Crestwood within one with 31 seconds remaining.
Agapito, who missed the previous two games, led Crestwood with a season-high 20 points. Chaz Wright had 11 and Matt Sklarosky added 10.
Cumbo was the high man for Dallas with 21 while Nocito had 20.
Dallas 58, Crestwood 57
CRESTWOOD (57) — Mason Czapla 2 2-2 7, Derek Johnson 2 1-1 5, Matt Sklarosky 5 0-0 10, Ayden Agapito 9 2-2 20, Adam Nulton 0 0-0 0, Ryan Sechleer 1 0-0 2, Alan Porro 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 10-13 57.
DALLAS (58) — Jude Nocito 7 1-2 20, Cameron Faux 0 0-0 0, Zach Paczewski 3 0-0 9, Mike Cumbo 7 4-6 21, Nick Williams 3 2-3 8, Nick Farrell 0 0-0 0, Pat Flanagan 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 7-11 58.
Crestwood`14`15`23`5 — 57
Dallas`12`22`16`8 — 58
Three-point goals — CRE 1 (Czapla). DAL 11 (Nocito 5, Paczewski 3, Cumbo 3).
