SCRANTON – Few teams in the history of District 2 basketball have come close to matching the extended run of success produced by the Abington Heights boys program.
The 2018 Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 5A state title was just one part of the equation. Others included three straight state semifinal appearances, eight straight District 2 championships and 13 straight trips to the state tournament.
The last of those streaks came to an end by the slimmest of margins Feb. 25 at the Lackawanna College Student Union Center when Pittston Area survived an attempt at the game-winning shot at the final buzzer to knock off the Lackawanna League Division 1 champion Comets, 37-35, in a District 2 Class 5A third-place game.
The game, just four days after Dallas had ended the Abington Heights district championship streak, decided the district’s third and final state berth in Class 5A.
Corey Perkins, who had rescued the Abington Heights season with a buzzer-beating, 3-pointer in a quarterfinal rally over North Pocono, was unable to duplicate those heroics on a similar play in the final attempt against Pittston Area.
Perkins and Mike Malone, three-year starters, had careers that included starting on the state championship team, come to an end.
“We would have never been where we are today without the two of them,” Abington Heights coach Ken Bianchi said. “Both of them as sophomore had starting position having never played a second of varsity ball (before that).
“ … At least when they look back, they’ll have some fond memories of their career, but this blemish in it, I think is going to bother them.”
Harry Johnson provided the majority of the Abington Heights offense, but had to sit out more than 11 minutes because of foul trouble.
The offensive struggles, combined with a hot streak from Pittston Area sophomore sharpshooter J.J. Walsh, decided the game.
Johnson had 18 points by going 7-for-11 from the floor, making his only 3-pointer and going 3-for-4 from the line.
The rest of the team shot just 7-for-24 (29.1 percent).
“You’re not going to win scoring 35 points in a district game,” Bianchi said.
Walsh got hot when Pittston Area needed him most. His four 3-pointers included the last six points of the first half to halt a 10-0 Abington Heights run and send the Patriots to the locker room with a 22-20 lead.
“We had some lapses on defense, not picking up on the shooter who we said in the locker room, ‘that’s who we’re going after’,” Bianchi said. “We wanted to prevent him from getting the shots.
“Those couple of mistakes made a difference and we just don’t score.”
Neither team had scored for nearly seven minutes when Walsh hit a 3-pointer for a 34-30 lead.
“They were going in, so I kept looking for my shot,” Walsh said.
Walsh also hit both ends of a one-and-one with 31.7 seconds left after Kyle Nealon’s 3-pointer pulled Abington Heights to within, 35-33.
Nealon and Malone scored six points each for Abington Heights. Perkins had four assists and two steals.
The Comets finished 17-8.
