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WILKES-BARRE — Crunch time came at precisely 2:48 of the fourth quarter Saturday.
Selinsgrove was on a run. Some shoving resulted in double technical fouls on Selinsgrove’s Tony Dressler and GAR’s Herman Suazo, with Suazo bumped from the game with his fifth foul. Bailey Hatenstein, a Selinsgrove reserve who hadn’t played at all, was ejected for leaving the bench when the shoving began.
Through the chaos, GAR didn’t waver. Instead, the Grenadiers put away Selinsgrove down the stretch for a 72-59 victory in a PIAA Class 4A boys basketball first-round game.
Will Johnson canned two technical free throws after the officials sorted things out. They were for Hatenstein leaving the bench, as Dressler’s and Suazo’s technical offset. The two free throws were part of a run which turned GAR’s 62-55 lead into a 68-55 advantage inside a 68-second window.
“I wasn’t worried because we were still playing with high intensity,” said GAR senior center Keyshawn Palmer, who finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds. “We were playing good. Everyone was working together. When something went wrong, we’d say, ‘Next time do this,’ and we’d fix it.”
District 2 runner-up GAR (19-7) moves to the second round on Wednesday and will play District 12 fourth seed West Philadelphia (13-4) at a site and time to be announced. D4 runner-up Selinsgrove ended its season at 20-7.
“We’re never nervous,” GAR senior 3-point ace Andrew Campbell said. “We think we’re going to win every game, honestly. It’s just confidence.”
Confidence began to show late in the second quarter when Palmer went the length of the court to slam dunk two points. The 6-foot-6 center later nailed two corner 3-pointers in the third quarter as he and point guard Will Johnson carried the offense to a 57-42 advantage entering the fourth.
“(Palmer) had a great game today,” GAR coach Jerry Altavilla said. “You probably saw a little smile on my face when he hit those two threes. He’s able to make them. We just don’t want it to be a habit.”
Selinsgrove made a potential blowout close with a strong opening to the fourth. A 3-pointer by Brice Harro moved the Seals within 62-55 with just over four minutes to play. But once that skirmish happened between Dressler and Suazo, GAR seized control.
“We always kept our heads up and never let that distract us,” Campbell said. “We just played our game.”
Selinsgrove’s 6-6 center Hunter George carried the offense through the District 4 playoffs, and he appeared he would do the same Saturday. He had seven points in the opening quarter, only to go cold in the middle quarters. He finished with 14.
Johnson paced GAR with 28. Campbell added 12.
PIAA Class 4A First Round
GAR 72, Selinsgrove 59
SELINSGROVE (59) — Brice Harro 2 2-2 7, Griffin Kirchner 3 0-0 9, Tony Dressler 6 0-0 12, Thomas Kerstetter 3 0-1 9, Hunter George 5 4-6 14, Kyle Mertz 0 0-0 0, Logan Leiby 1 0-0 3, Drew Gabnelson 1 0-0 3, Ricky Cope 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 6-9 59.
GAR (72) — Keyshawn Palmer 8 2-3 20, Will Johnson 9 7-10 28, Andrew Campbell 3 3-4 12, Herman Suazo 3 0-0 6, Khalil White 0 0-2 0, Eli Ruiz 0 0-0 0, Anthony Hawk 2 2-2 6, Mufee Burney 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 14-21 72.
Selinsgrove`13`11`18`17`—`59
GAR`14`17`26`15`—`72
Three-point goals — SEL 9 (Harro, Kirchner 3, Kersetter 3, Leiby, Gabnelson). GAR 8 (Palmer 2, Johnson 3, Campbell 3).
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