PIAA CLASS 6A: Coatesville races past Scranton to advance to second round
Mar. 11—SCRANTON — In a matter of five minutes, Coatesville crushed Scranton's postseason.
With a furious, fast-paced run, the Raiders established an imposing advantage to start the second half on the way to a 68-58 win Saturday night at Scranton High School in the PIAA Class 6A first round.
Coatesville (19-9), the ninth-place team from District 1, will play North Penn (19-8), the eighth-place team from District 1 which defeated Central, 64-52, in the second round Tuesday. North Penn defeated Coatesville, 64-60, in the District 1 playoffs Feb. 21.
Scranton had its eight-game winning streak snapped and finished 14-12.
"We came out flat at the start of the third quarter," Scranton coach Tony Battaglia said. "They turned up the pressure, and we knew handling that pressure would be the key to the game. Once we got down 10 and they started to hold the ball, we had to do some things defensively that we didn't want to do, and that created some easy looks.
"I am still proud of my guys because they could have given up at that point and they kept fighting."
Coatesville and Scranton were locked in a tight battle in the first quarter. Dillon Lazdowsky hit one of his three first-half 3-pointers, and Rykeese Cenord and Jaheam Roberts each scored as the Knights trailed by two in the final 20 seconds of the first. However, Zuri Harris drilled a deep 3-pointer to close out the quarter for a 12-7 lead for Coatesville.
In the second, Lazdowsky's sharp shooting kept Scranton within striking distance. He had two and Roberts had one from beyond the 3-point arc, and the Knights trailed, 18-16. This time, Jeremiah Marshall swished a 3-pointer in response for Coatesville, and Larry Brown scored to stymie Scranton.
Dohnavin Laybourn-Boddie scored, and Oliver Almonte had a driving dunk that recharged the Knights. However, Harris knocked down another 3-pointer ahead of an Almonte score as Coatesville led, 26-22, at the half.
"We came out shooting," Lazdowsky said. "I think I had three 3s to get us going, and my teammates had a couple. It was a good start, but we didn't carry it over."
Then came that momentum-changing start to the third.
Dior Kennedy went on his own personal 8-0 run that included converting turnovers into fast breaks. Marshall, who had 11 points overall, snuck in a score, and Kennedy, who finished with 23 points, got to the rim to end a 12-0 run that put the Raiders in command, 38-22. That advantage moved to 42-24 on back-to-back scores by Marquis Peoples.
As it did against Williamsport in the District 2-4 Class 6A subregional final, Scranton didn't back down.
Freshman Tony Battaglia hit a 3-pointer in the waning seconds of the third and connected on two more to start the fourth. He also had a steal and layup to finish with 11 points, and the Knights forced a timeout by Coatesville as they closed to 44-37.
Coatesville came right back with four straight points, but Scranton's Chris Chandler came off the bench and hit a 3-pointer, one of the team's 10 from beyond the arc.
Still, Coatesville kept pushing the pace, and the lead grew again to 60-46 with 1:53 left. When the Raiders weren't scoring layups, they were knocking down free throws, going 12 for 12 in the fourth.
PJ Murphy came in and scored a 3-pointer, and Scranton tried to rally with some breakout baskets. Laybourn-Boddie had a pair of layups, Cenord got to the basket, and Murphy hit his second 3-pointer, but the hole the Knights had dug proved too deep.
"The guys fought hard," Battaglia said. "We shot the ball well. We started trapping there at the end and got some steals and knocked down some shots."
Scranton shot 23 of 43 from the field and 10 of 20 on 3-pointers. But the Knights had 20 turnovers overall and seven in the decisive third quarter.
"This team has guts," said Lazdowsky, who finished with nine points. "We were 3-8 this season, and we kept fighting and won a district title and got to states.
"I am just so proud of this team."
Coatesville 68, Scranton 58
Coatesville (19-9) — D. Kennedy 9 5-5 23, J. Marshall 3 4-4 11, Z. Harris 4 0-0 10, M. Peoples 4 0-0 8, L. Brown 3 2-5 8, A. Fowlkes 1 2-2 4, J. VanOrden 1 0-0 2, T. Lynch 1 0-0 2, S. Guinta 0 0-0 0, W. Fowlkes 0 0-0 0, C. Proctor 0 0-0 0. Totals: 26 13-16 68.
Scranton (14-12) — T. Battaglia 4 0-0 11, D. Lazdowsky 3 0-0 9, D. Laybourn-Boddie 3 2-2 8, O. Almonte 4 0-3 8, R. Cenord 3 0-0 6, P. Murphy 2 0-0 6, J. Roberts 2 0-0 5, C. Chandler 2 0-0 5, K. Conforti 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23 2-5 58.
Coatesville 12 14 18 24 — 68
Scranton 7 15 7 29 — 58
3-point goals: Z. Harris (C) 2, J. Marshall (C), T. Battaglia (SCR) 3, D. Lazdowsky (SCR) 3, P. Murphy (SCR) 2, J. Roberts (SCR), C. Chandler (SCR).
Coatesville (19-9) — D. Kennedy 9 5-5 23, J. Marshall 3 4-4 11, Z. Harris 4 0-0 10, M. Peoples 4 0-0 8, L. Brown 3 2-5 8, A. Fowlkes 1 2-2 4, J. VanOrden 1 0-0 2, T. Lynch 1 0-0 2, S. Guinta 0 0-0 0, W. Fowlkes 0 0-0 0, C. Proctor 0 0-0 0. Totals: 26 13-16 68.
Scranton (14-12) — T. Battaglia 4 0-0 11, D. Lazdowsky 3 0-0 9, D. Laybourn-Boddie 3 2-2 8, O. Almonte 4 0-3 8, R. Cenord 3 0-0 6, P. Murphy 2 0-0 6, J. Roberts 2 0-0 5, C. Chandler 2 0-0 5, K. Conforti 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23 2-5 58.
Coatesville 12 14 18 24 — 68
Scranton 7 15 7 29 — 58
3-point goals: Z. Harris (C) 2, J. Marshall (C), T. Battaglia (SCR) 3, D. Lazdowsky (SCR) 3, P. Murphy (SCR) 2, J. Roberts (SCR), C. Chandler (SCR).
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