Dallas pulls away in the fourth quarter to defeat Nanticoke

Coming into halftime trailing by four, Dallas got a spark from Mikey Cumbo in the third quarter as he scored nine points in the quarter then Darius Wallace put the game away as he scored seven straight points to give the Mountaineers a 61-51 victory over Nanticoke at Wilkes-Barre Area High School. "Mikey came up big and we played well in the second half. We played Dallas basketball in the fourth quarter." Dallas Head Coach Mark Belenski said. "We got together in the second half, we started playing more as a team. We started excecuting plays and made big shots." said Dallas junior Mikey Cumbo

Nanticoke started off by scoring the first five points of the game with a basket by Ibn Jordan-Thomas and a three pointer by Jaidyn Johnson. Dallas then went on a 5-0 run to tie the game up with a three point play by Michael Bufalino and a basket by Jude Nocito. Liam Mullery then hit a three pointer to take back the lead. They went on a 7-0 run followed by baskets by Johnson and Gavin Turak to make 12-5 in favor of the Trojans. The Mountaineers then went on an 10-0 run to take a 15-12 lead. With the first quarter coming to an end, the Trojans got a steal and passed the ball to Johnson to hit a basket to beat the buzzer and Nanticoke only trailed 15-14 at the end of the first quarter.

Nanticoke tied the game up as Gavin Turak hit one of two free throws. Nocito then gave the Mountaineers the lead. The Trojans took back as Johnson and Jordan-Thomas hit baskets to make it 19-17. Nocito hitting a basket tying back up the game. Mullery then hit a three pointer then Jordan-Thomas hit a basket and Turak hit a basket to make it 25-19. Dallas went on a 5-0 run to cut the lead to one. Just before halftime, Mullery hit a three pointer at the top of the key to beat the buzzer to make it 28-24 Nanticoke.

Mikey Cumbo scored five straight points to give Dallas a 29-28 lead. The Trojans took back the lead as they went on a 7-0 run to make it 35-29. They built the led up to seven but just before the third quarter with the Mountaineers trailing by four. Cumbo and Wallace hit a pair of baskets to tie the game at 40 as the third quarter came to a end.

Both teams traded baskets and Nanticoke took a 44-43 lead but the Mountaineers down the stretch outscored the Trojans 18-7 as Dallas advanced to the WVC Championship Game with a 61-51 victory over Nanticoke. The Mountaineers will take on Holy Redeemer on Saturday night on their home floor. Dallas coach Mark Belenski and Holy Redeemer coach Paul Guido go back as Guido was an assistant under Belenski for 13 seasons.