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By KEVIN KAZOKAS Times Leader Sports Correspondent
Wednesday, February 26, 2003 Page: 1B
PLYMOUTH – Nanticoke Area head coach Ken Bartuska knows he can count on a
balanced offensive attack every time his team takes the floor.
The Trojans didn’t let him down Tuesday night in a District 2 Class 3A
semifinal game against Crestwood.
Four Nanticoke players finished in double figures and the Trojans sank nine
three-pointers in a 68-54 victory against the Comets at Wyoming Valley West
High School.
Nanticoke (20-7) will meet Valley View at 8 p.m. Friday at Wilkes
University in the Class 3A championship game. Both teams have already secured
berths in PIAA playoffs.
Crestwood (17-10) will face Meyers at 6 p.m. at Hazleton Area High School
in the Class 3A third-place game, with the winner also clinching a spot in the
state tournament.
In a night that Crestwood standout Grant Carter scored his 1,000th career
point on a free-throw in the second quarter, the highlight was the Trojan
offense.
Junior guard Greg Snyder and senior guard Dave Angradi led Nanticoke with
14 points each. Senior forward Bob Donahue added 13 and senior guard Zach
Pientka had 11 for the Trojans.
“We’re really a team in the truest sense of the word,” Bartuska said after
the victory. “It makes it tough for other teams to play us because they can’t
concentrate on one guy.”
Crestwood found that out early on, as six Trojan players lit up the
scoreboard during an explosive first half. Nanticoke jumped to a 10-0 lead in
the first quarter with the aid of a pair of Angradi three-pointers. The
Trojans managed to hold a double-digit lead throughout most of the first half,
with the margin reaching as high as 21 late in the second quarter.
“They have so many weapons they can come at you with,” said Crestwood coach
Mark Atherton. “They are a quick team. We can’t let them fast-break on us, and
I thought they did that.”
The early onslaught, fueled by Nanticoke’s quickness and accuracy in the
perimeter game, proved to be enough to hold Crestwood at bay. Even though the
Comets trimmed the Nanticoke lead to 12 several times during the second half,
the Trojans always had an answer.
“We try to use our quickness and play defense and go for the ball as much
as we can,” Bartuska said.
Carter finished with 14 points for Crestwood. Dan Kovalski led the Comets
with 19.
Snyder had three treys for Nanticoke. Angradi, Pientka and Dan Benick each
had two baskets from behind the arc.