Mar. 17—SCRANTON — Danville recovered after digging itself into an early hole, then held off a charge in a physical battle and kept its season alive.
Carson Persing led a balanced attack for the Ironmen with 12 points — all on 3-pointers — in a grueling 51-49 win over Scranton Prep on Tuesday night at the Xavier Center in the first round of the PIAA Class 4A basketball playoffs.
Danville (17-1), the District 4 champion, advances to face District 3 champion Middletown in the quarterfinals Friday. Scranton Prep, the seven-time District 2 champion, ends its season at 12-6.
“I think if you look at this whole season in a nutshell, it’s these guys sticking together and overcoming adversity,” Scranton Prep coach Andrew Kettel said. “That was true again in this game. The second quarter wasn’t great and we came in at halftime and challenged them and they responded and stayed together when they could have folded.
“Looking back, playing in a tough Lackawanna Division I, there were times when we could have folded, but not these guys. The character of these young men who I am so lucky to coach is so great, that I couldn’t be more proud.”
Scranton Prep came out firing and senior Gavin Bednarz helped spot the Cavaliers a 9-0 lead at 4:27.
But Danville, which had four players score in double figures, never panicked. It got going with a 3-pointer from Aiden Wiktor and closed to within 9-7 before the Cavaliers pulled ahead again on a drive by Rossi and a pair of free throws from Bednarz, who finished the quarter with nine of his 22 points in the game.
“We were rolling early and I got hot hitting some jump shots and hitting some 3-pointers,” Bednarz said. “That built our momentum.”
At the end of the first, Scranton Prep led, 16-14, but Danville dialed up the intensity and played a physical second quarter.
The Ironmen forced seven turnovers as KJ Riley, who contributed 10 points in the game, had three steals and four points and Zach Gordon added two steals. Persing knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and Jagger Dressler scored four points, including two on free throws that gave Danville its first lead, 26-24, with 4:29 left in the half.
The Ironmen closed with seven straight points to seize a 33-24 advantage.
“We kind of let it get away from us in the second quarter and didn’t get back in transition and they made us pay for it,” Bednarz said.
Scranton Prep responded with its own defensive pressure in the second half and limited Danville to 18 points on 6 of 16 shooting to climb back into the game.
However, the Cavaliers also had to overcome losses to the lineup as defensive leader Michael Skoff injured his left knee while he fought for an offensive rebound midway through the third quarter, Robert Rossi had to sit for valuable minutes of the fourth quarter with four fouls and Matthew Cobb suffered a laceration to his chin after banging the floor while he dove for a loose ball in the final 20 seconds of play.
“We played more physical, because that’s the way the game was played in the second quarter,” Kettel said. “Once we were able to adjust, we played much harder and they really responded.”
Despite his fouls, Rossi was more aggressive in the third quarter and scored seven of his 12 points, which included a 3-pointer that brought the Cavaliers to within 40-35 at 3:42 of the third. Then, he started a late surge with a short jumper and Bednarz had a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer from the corner at the third-quarter buzzer that pulled Scranton Prep to 43-42 and energized the team.
“I just tried to rally the troops heading into the fourth quarter,” Bednarz said.
In the fourth, Rossi tied the game at 47 with his second 3-pointer, but Dante Harward, who had 10 points in the game, converted an offensive rebound into a three-point play at 4:11.
Scranton Prep’s Noah Sorenson made it a one-point game again when he soared for an offensive rebound and gently put it back with 2:50 remaining in the game.
With possession late, Bednarz had a good look at a 3-pointer that caromed off the rim and fired out to half court. Cobb hustled and leaped toward the ball and slammed his chin off the floor, but he kept the play alive and Sorenson tracked it down to keep the Cavaliers in possession.
Cobb, who had four points and six rebounds, left the game.
Following a held ball after Danville nearly had a steal, Scranton Prep turned the ball over on a steal by Dressler, who closed out the game with a free throw and finished with 11 points.
“I am really proud of the guys,” Bednarz said. “Especially Skoff and Cobb, who got injured making two great hustle plays. Matt just laying out and that played gave us a shot really.
“With plays like that you couldn’t be happier because that showed how hard we played.”
Danville 51, Scranton Prep 49
Danville (17-1) — C. Persing 4 0-0 12, J. Dressler 3 5-6 11, K. Riley 4 2-3 10, D. Harward 2 5-6 10, A. Wiktor 1 1-2 4, Z. Gordon 2 0-0 4, B. Hill 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 13-17 51.
Scranton Prep (12-6) — G. Bednarz 7 4-4 22, R. Rossi 5 0-0 12, M. Skoff 2 0-0 4, M. Cobb 2 0-0 4, B. Roche 1 1-2 3, N. Sorensen 1 0-0 2, A. Ferguson 0 2-2 2, R. McAndrew 0 0-0 0, N. Cafarella 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 7-8 49.
Danville 14 19 10 8 — 51
Scranton Prep 16 8 18 7 — 49
3-point shooting: DAN 6-19 (Persing 4-6, Harward 1-3, Wiktor 1-4, Riley 0-1, Dressler 0-1, Gordon 0-1), SP 6-17 (Bednarz 4-10, Rossi 2-3, Ferguson 0-3, Sorenson 0-1). Rebounds: DAN 21 (Harward 6), SP 37 (Ferguson, Skoff, Cobb 6). Assists: DAN 8 (Riley, Dressler, Wiktor 2), SP 9 (Ferguson, Skoff, McAndrew, Sorenson 2). Steals: DAN 12 (Riley 5), SP 4 (Rossi 2). Blocks: DAN 3 (Dressler, Harward, Wiktor), SP 3 (Ferguson, Skoff, Rossi). Turnovers: DAN 6, SP 13.
Contact the writer: jbfawcett@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9125; @sportsTT on Twitter
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