Comets’ Gavin Corwin shoots a fade-away jump shot against Springfield-Delco on March 6.
Buck Norton-Jennings | For Abington Journal
Comets’ Finn Goldberg shoots a jump shot against Springfield-Delco on March 6.
Buck Norton-Jennings | For Abington Journal
Andrew Kettel of Abington Heights takes a three-point shot during the fourth quarter against Springfield-Delco on March 6.
Buck Norton-Jennings | For Abington Journal
Thomas Reese, of Abington Heights, shoots a three-pointer against Springfield-Delco, during the state basketball first round on March 6.
Buck Norton-Jennings | For Abington Journal
Logan Shaffer of Abington Heights attempts a three-point shot during play against Springfield-Delco on March 6.
Buck Norton-Jennings | For Abington Journal
T.J. Valletti capped a 20-point effort by hitting four straight free throws in the final 27 seconds on March 6 to lead visiting Springfield-Delco to a 49-47 victory over Abington Heights in the first round of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 5A boys basketball tournament.
The District 2 champion Comets rallied from an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter to go ahead 47-45 on a 3-pointer by Jordan Shaffer with 35 seconds left.
Valletti tied the game with two free throws with 26.3 seconds remaining.
Springfield-Delco, which bothered Abington Heights with its defense throughout and forced 15 turnovers, pressed on the in-bounds play.
The Comets first had to call a timeout, then had the in-bounds pass stolen.
Springfield-Delco held the ball with the game tied until Valletti drove for the basket and was fouled with 3.9 seconds left. He hit both shots for the win.
Valletti finished 7-for-12 from the floor and 2-for-6 on 3-pointers. His late free throws completed a 10-for-12 effort from the line for the team.
Thomas Toomey made four of five 3-point attempts and finished with 16 points and three steals. Will Carr grabbed seven rebounds, and Pete Altes had three assists and three steals while leading the defensive pressure.
Abington Heights shot 51.5 percent (17-for-33), but Springfield-Delco overcame that by grabbing 13 offensive rebounds and committing just eight turnovers.
Shaffer went 5-for-10 on 3-pointers and finished with 19 points and seven rebounds.
Andrew Kettel was 3-for-5 from long range while adding 11 points and five assists. Finn Goldberg, who had seven points, and Gavin Corwin had three assists each.
Abington Heights took a 15-9 lead after one quarter with the help of two Shaffer 3-pointers, four points by Goldberg, and a 3-pointer by Kettel.
Valletti outscored the Comets by himself 7-6 in the second quarter to cut the deficit to 21-20.
Springfield-Delco held Abington Heights scoreless for 2:09 and without a field goal for 3:27 to begin the third quarter. It then closed the third quarter with two straight 3-pointers in the final minute and hit another to open the fourth for a 38-30 lead.
The Comets rallied with five 3-pointers, three by Shaffer and one each by Kettel and Thomas Reese.
Shaffer scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, but his last attempt, from nearly 30 feet out at the buzzer, caromed off the back of the rim.
Toomey had eight points in the third quarter, and Valletti had nine in the fourth.
Abington Heights, which had a 15-game winning streak ended, finished 19-6.
The Comets had a tough draw in the fourth-place team from the Philadelphia suburbs of District 1.
Springfield-Delco went 23-5. It routed Octorara 54-28 in the next round, then lost 61-52, tying for the closest of the five games Monsignor Bonner-Archbishop Prendergast faced on its run to the state title.
