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WILKES-BARRE — Nanticoke sophomore point guard Nate Kreitzer took control of the ball with a minute left. He dribbled under the basket, made a big loop into the backcourt and then dashed down the lane for two points.
The points were probably not needed. Nanticoke was in control by then. But they were symbolic. They represented the long road the Trojans have traveled to finally get back to the state playoffs.
Kreitzer finished with 25 points and fellow sophomore Trajhan Krupinski added 14 more as Nanticoke defeated Meyers 57-46 in the District 2 Class 4A third-place boys basketball game at Holy Redeemer High School.
Nanticoke (18-7) qualified for the state playoffs for the first time since 2003. The Trojans will play the winner of the D1/11 subregional championship game, either Bethlehem Catholic or Jim Thorpe, on March 11. Meyers ended its season at 18-7, failing to make state for only the second time in the past eight seasons.
The Trojans were penciled in as a contender last season only to lose to Berwick 47-45 in the quarterfinals with a senior-heavy lineup. They could have clinched a state berth over the weekend, but squandered a 24-point lead in a 72-66 double-overtime loss to Scranton Prep.
“We just had to look off of that (loss) and focus on this game,” Kreitzer said.
Nanticoke finally began to distance itself from Meyers with 2:30 left in the fourth quarter. Krupinski scored on a rebound and a tip-in, breaking the sixth tie of the night and giving the Trojans a 46-42 lead. Krupinski played a larger role with senior Luke Butczynski, considered the team’s best all-around player, out of the lineup with a knee injury suffered during the Prep loss.
Kreitzer followed with three free throws, the final after Meyers was called for a technical foul. He then added his roundabout drive to the basket to give Nanticoke a 51-42 lead with 53 seconds left. Until the outburst, the biggest lead was five points.
“I’m going to tell you right now, big things are coming for Nate Kreitzer,” said Nanticoke senior forward Justin Casey, who had a team-leading eight rebounds. “Even though he doesn’t have the captain mantra … he’s been a leader for us. He’s been like the quarterback of our team. Even his freshman year, I knew this kid was going to be something special.”
Nanticoke defeated Meyers 44-42 on Feb. 4 during the Wyoming Valley Conference season. Like that game, the Mohawks were unable to get into a consistent flow in the offensive end. Ten first-half turnovers didn’t help matters. Neither did the fact that WVC Division 2 MVP Jawane Buckner had been sick since a 29-point performance in a semifinal loss to GAR on Saturday. Buckner finished with three points on 1 of 4 shooting.
“I know he’s been a little sick,” Nanticoke coach John Beggs said. “I know that played a little bit into it, but we wanted to make sure we didn’t let him shoot. We lost him one time and he drained it. We saw what he did against GAR, so we made sure we made the other guys shoot the outside shot and tried to attack the glass.”
Meyers’ Ryan Gilgallon knotted the game three times with 3-pointers, the last with 2:44 left in the fourth that tied it 42-42. The Mohawks, though, never took the lead in the final eight minutes. Their last lead came at 1:23 of the third on a fast break bucket by Robbie Formola.
“I told the kids afterward that I want them to think about positive things,” Meyers coach Pat Toole said. “What I want them to remember was the fact that when nobody thought we could, we won three road games in four games to win the conference championship.
“To knock off Berwick, GAR and Hazleton on the road, that’s an accomplishment they should be proud of.”
District 2 Class 4A Third-Place Game
Nanticoke 57, Meyers 46
NANTICOKE (57) — Nate Kreitzer 8 5-8 25, Rich Wiaterowski 1 0-0 2, Cody Piestrak 2 4-6 9, Trahjan Krupinski 6 2-2 14, Justin Casey 2 0-0 4, Zack Cardone 1 1-3 3, Dylan Szychowski 0 0-0 0, Alec Divers 0 0-0 0, Jared Piontkowski 0 0-0 0, Colby Butczynski 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 12-19 57.
MEYERS (46) — Robbie Formola 4 0-0 8, Matt Dessoye 3 2-2 9, Jawane Buckner 1 0-0 3, Levaugn Soules 6 0-1 13, Ryan Gilgallon 4 0-2 12, Steve Morel 0 1-2 1, Willie Wallace 0 0-0 0, Yuri Covington 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 3-7 46.
Nanticoke`12`11`8`16`—`57
Meyers`12`8`11`15`—`46
Three-point goals — NAN 5 (Kreitzer 4, Piestrak). MEY 7 (Dessoye, Buckner, Soules, Gillgallon 3).
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