Murphy leads charge in Crestwood's victory over Hazleton Area

One of the biggest rivalries in the WVC was renewed on Friday in Mountain Top as the Crestwood Comets took on the Hazleton Area Cougars. Both teams come in undefeated in conference play and looking to be in first place as the night ends. Who would come out on top in this rivalry matchup? Let's find out!
The Cougars would take an early 9-4 with a 7-0 run when Crestwood had a 4-2 lead. After Sean Murphy hit a basket to cut the lead to three, Scotty Campbell would hit a three pointer to make it 12-6. Murphy would proceed to score five straight points as the Comets would trail 12-11 at the end of the first quarter. A pair of free throws by Ryan Petrosky And a basket by Camden Boris would give the Comets a 15-12 lead. The Cougars would get a basket by Warren Seigengall and a three pointer by Campbell to re-take the lead at 17-15. Murphy would get a basket to tie the game on the very next possession. Frank Casarella would hit a three pointer to give the Comets a 20-17 lead but the Cougars would take the lead just before halftime with a putback by Campbell and another basket by Seigengall for a 21-20 Cougars lead at halftime.
 The Cougars would start with a basket by Faison but the Comets would go on a 7-0 run for 27-23 lead. After a pair of Faison free throws, Ryan Petrosky would hit a three pointer. The Cougars would get a basket by Andrew Vayda but the Comets would then get a basket by Petrosky and a three pointer by Camden Boris for a 35-27 lead. The Cougars would cut the lead down to five but Palmeiro would hit a pair of free throws then after a free throw, Palmiero would hit a three pointer to make it 40-31, then Murphy would hit a basket to make it an 11 point lead. The Comets would lead 44-35 at the end of the third quarter. The Comets would make 18 free throws in the fourth quarter and hit two field goals in the final quarter to be in sole possession of first place with a 66-51 home victory over Hazleton Area.

Thoughts on the game: At the end of the first half, I expected more of the same in the second half. However, Crestwood started getting the hot hand shooting. Sean Murphy had a great game with game high 24 points. Ryan Petrosky added 14. For the Cougars, Da'mir Faison had 19 points and Scotty Campbell added 11.