HS Boys’ Basketball: Minersville rallies late to hand Mahanoy Area its 1st defeat
Minersville's Dante Carr (23) gets his hands on the ball as Mahanoy Area's Tanner Zawada (5) attempts a shot during Friday's Schuylkill League Division I clash at the Thomas Fitzpatrick Gymnasium (Photo by Kelly Wiley).
MINERSVILLE — Good teams in any sport are often measured by how they bounce back from a defeat.
There may not be a measuring system big enough to gauge how well Dave Mullaney’s Minersville boys’ basketball squad bounced back Friday night.
The Miners got clutch performances from a host of individuals in the fourth quarter to hand previously unbeaten Mahanoy Area its first defeat with a 50-41 victory in a Schuylkill League Division I showdown at the Thomas Fitzpatrick Gymnasium.
Three days after losing by 10 points to Pottsville on the same floor, Minersville put together an 18-2 run over a four-minute span of the fourth quarter to knock off the Golden Bears and tighten the Division I playoff race.
“We learned a lot from Tuesday,” Mullaney said. “We were really disappointed but we didn’t want to have that feeling again. The guys were really mentally tough tonight.
“It was tough on Tuesday. Credit to Pottsville, they did a great job, but we were playing so well. We were hoping that was just a hiccup and we’d get back to playing the type of basketball that we want.
“Maybe not with our shooting, but I thought the rest of it, what we want Minersville basketball to be, we did that.”
Minersville (14-3, 9-2 D-I) opened the game with a 7-0 spurt, holding the Golden Bears (17-1, 10-1) scoreless the first 5:24 of the game. Mahanoy Area found its rhythm late in the frame on a 3-pointers by Peyton Sendatch, William Mayberry and Tanner Zawada, eventually grabbing the lead on a Zawada 3-pointer midway through the fourth.
Mahanoy Area led 24-22 at intermission and 32-28 late in the third when the Golden Bears’ outlook, and maybe season, took a rough blow.
As time ticked down in the frame, senior standout Jace Yedsena drove the lane and missed a short jumper. He rebounded his own miss, put up a quick shot, and came down awkwardly on his left ankle.
Yedsena was helped off the floor with 13.9 seconds left in the third and was assisted to the locker room. He did not return to the game, coming out of the trainer’s area on crutches with a little over 3 minutes remaining in the game.
The Golden Bears still led at that point, 39-36, as Mike Oblas scored three points, Ryan Zilker had a putback and Zawada hit a pair of free throws.
Minersville, however, took over the game at that point.
Dante Carr, who did all of the little things — offensive rebounds, assists, steals — in the outburst, started the game-closing sequence with a drive to the basket.
After a Minersville turnover, Dawson Manning than made the play of the game, perfectly executing a spin move down the lane for a layup and foul to give Minersville a 40-39 lead with 2:03 remaining.
Manning spent most of the game on the bench, coming back into the game just a minute prior when Logan Hutsko fouled out. It was his first points of the game.
“I was just thinking that somebody needed to change the game right now and we needed to come up with a big bucket if we wanted to win this game,” Manning said. “I’m a senior … I don’t have too many games left. I was willing to prove to the team that I’m ready for that moment and get that bucket.
“It felt amazing,” he continued. “The atmosphere, that’s what helped us come out with this W. The student section, all the parents, all the support … without them we wouldn’t have won.”
Manning missed the ensuing free throw, but Carr pulled down the offensive rebound. He quickly fed Bradley Kostishak, who converted the layup to put Minersville up 42-39 with 1:53 remaining.
Kostishak was one of Minersville’s biggest heroes, scoring a game-high 13 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. His efforts inside gave the Miners numerous chances to convert on the offensive end.
“It got us second-chance shots that we needed,” Kostishak said of his effort. “Mullaney was saying all week that you learn more from a loss than a win. We corrected our mistakes, saw the mistakes we were making and fixed them.”
Added Mullaney: “Bradley has great touch. He plays a lot bigger than his size. He really fills a lot of different roles for us, depending on who is on the floor.”
Without Yedsena on the floor, Mahanoy Area’s offense went dormant. With Shazier Bethea blanketing Zawada, the Bears missed a trio of 3-point shots and committed two turnovers, with Carr coming up with another key steal.
Manning and Bethea each hit two free throws, Kostishak scored on a layup off a pass from Bethea and Jordan Bowers hit two free throws as the Miners went 8-of-9 from the line down the stretch.
Bethea, who excelled in all facets of the game, and Bowers, who contributed several driving baskets, each finished with 12 points for Minersville. Carr had nine points and nine rebounds.
Zawada led Mahanoy Area with 12 points.
Minersville’s victory, coupled with Pottsville’s 65-29 rout of North Schuylkill, tightens the Division I race. Mahanoy Area now leads both Minersville and Pottsville (13-5, 9-2) by one game with three league playing dates left.
Mahanoy Area visits Martz Hall to take on the Crimson Tide next Friday, Jan. 31, then hosts fourth-place Blue Mountain (9-8, 6-5) on Feb. 4.
“We really grinded that one out,” Mullaney said. “I thought we defended really well the whole game … we had like 18 offensive rebounds. We were really determined to find a way, even when our shots weren’t going.”
