King, Conwell fall in boys' state playoffs
PARKLAND - Onlookers at Parkland were treated to a thriller in Game 2 of a PIAA playoff doubleheader. In the nightcap, Class 5A District 2 top seed Abington Heights held off Martin Luther King, 65-60, in double overtime of a Class 5A second-round matchup, a game that featured nine ties and eight lead changes.
PARKLAND - Onlookers at Parkland were treated to a thriller in Game 2 of a PIAA playoff doubleheader.
In the nightcap, Class 5A District 2 top seed Abington Heights held off Martin Luther King, 65-60, in double overtime of a Class 5A second-round matchup, a game that featured nine ties and eight lead changes.
Junior guard Jackson Danzig led the Abignton Heights Comets (22-8) with a game-high 25 points.
Senior wing Ricardo Monteiro led the Cougars with 15 points coming off five three-pointers.
King (21-10), which trailed for most of the game, rallied from a five-point third-quarter deficit and eventually knotted the game at 44 after senior forward Elijah Kiah-El hit two free throws with about three minutes left in regulation.
Eventually, King junior Will McNair finished a layup off a nice pass from fellow junior Dennelle Holly Jr. to send the game into overtime tied at 50.
At the end of the first overtime, Kiah-El tied the game at 58 after a feed from in close from McNair, momentarily quieting the significant numbers of Comets supporters.
King had an opportunity to win during the final frame, trailing, 61-60, after a smooth Holly finish. The Cougars then forced a turnover but couldn't convert the subsequent fastbreak, which resulted in a ball dribbled off a foot and a turnover.
Kiah-El finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Holly added 10 points, while Mikey Robinson provided eight points and feisty defense off the bench.
McNair finished with seven points before fouling out with 1 minute, 14 seconds left in the final overtime.
In the early contest, Conwell-Egan was outnumbered in the stands and, at times, on the court Friday night during the Class 4A second-rounder.
District 2 No. 3 seed Greater Nanticoke nearly packed the sizable visitors' bleachers, and the Trojans also patrolled the paint en route to a 62-54 victory.
Despite a hard-fought, 25-point performance by junior guard Patrick Robinson, the Eagles (10-15) gave up 15 offensive rebounds, including six in the critical third quarter.
Luke Butczynski led the Trojans (20-7) with 18 points, but Justin Casey supplied 14 points and 15 rebounds, including eight off the offensive glass.
The 6-foot-5 senior helped the Trojans build a 28-26 halftime edge that eventually swelled in the third frame.
Twice, a Casey offensive rebound resulted in a three-pointer. The second such sequence yielded a Butczynski triple and an eight-point advantage midway through the frame.
Sophomore guard Nate Kreitzer proved difficult to defend for Conwell-Egan in the first half. The 5-foot-8 guard scored 10 of his 17 points in the first half.
Fellow sophomore Trahjan Krupinski provided a spark off the bench in the form of five points and nine rebounds (four offensive).
Even 6-foot senior Zack Cardone, in his only minute of play, netted a put-back to end the third quarter and put the Trojans ahead by seven.
For the Eagles, Robinson finished 10 of 22 from the field and 4 of 5 from the foul line.
Senior wing Darien Simmons added 13 points, while James Leible added five points and seven rebounds.
Greater Nanticoke 14 14 16 18 - 62
Conwell-Egan 10 16 11 17 - 54
GN: Nate Kreitzer 17, Cody Piestrak 6, Luke Butczynski 18, Justin Casey 14, Trahjan Krupinski 5, Zack Cardone 2.
CE: Patrick Robinson 25, Darien Simmons 13, Eric Esposito 6, Sean Stokes 2, Devin Harris 3, James Leible 5.
Abington Hts. 17 9 14 10 8 7 - 65
M.L. King 13 10 14 13 8 2 - 60
AH: Jackson Danzig 25, Trey Koehler 17, Tom Rothenberger 2, Seth Maxwell 9, Lucas Goodman 1, George Tinsley 11.
MLK: Ricardo Monteiro 15, Dennelle Holly Jr. 10, Elijah Kiah-El 14, Mikey Robinson 8, Will McNair 7, Qadir Burgess 6.
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