Nick Ponko caught the basketball at the high post, turned into an open lane and completed a frantic rally
He took two dribbles and scored with a left-handed layup with 4.1 seconds remaining to lift Penn-Trafford to a 67-65 comeback victory over Latrobe in another Section 1-5A nailbiter between the boys basketball teams Tuesday night.
“I had belief in myself,” Ponko said. “I saw an opening and scored. We all believed in each other and trusted each other. We knew we could come back.”
Tyler Boss, who assisted on the game-winning bucket, came up with a steal in the closing seconds to seal it for the Warriors.
Penn-Trafford (4-5, 3-1), which has three straight wins, rallied from a 17-point third-quarter deficit to edge the Wildcats (3-5, 1-3), who tied it 65-65 on a 3-pointer by Andy Tatsch with 26 seconds left.
“It’s like a box of chocolates: You don’t know what you’re going to get,” Warriors coach Doug Kelly said. “So many things can happen. Brad (Wetzel) does such a great job with his guys with what they run. I told our guys we needed to make a basketball play. Nick did that.”
The Warriors benefitted from the return of Peyton Mastro, who played his first game of the season following a neck injury.
He had 17 points, and Ethan McDonald added 13 in the win.
“I hit a couple shots, and that got me going,” Mastro said.
Latrobe, which looked to be in control midway through the third despite foul trouble, had four players score in double figures. Dom Scarton hit five 3s and scored 17, while Ian DeCerb had 13, Sawyer Butina fouled out with 12 and Tatsch had 12.
The momentum started to build for Penn-Trafford when Ben Lenart made a halfcourt shot to end the third quarter and close the gap to 55-47.
The Warriors went on an 11-0 run, with 3s by Lenart and Mastro to get within 55-54.
“There were a host of events,” Wetzel said. “We had foul trouble, technicals, halfcourt shots. (Penn-Trafford) battled until the end.
“We lacked composure when they came after us. That’s on me.”
Last year, each team won on the other’s home court with tight finishes.
Latrobe took a 53-50 victory in Harrison City before the Warriors used a late basket by Brayden Stone for a 54-52 win at Latrobe.
Penn-Trafford chisled a 17-point second-half lead down to one early in the fourth before finally going ahead inside the final three minutes.
Zach Feldman slashed down the lane and scored to give the Warriors a 61-60 lead with 2:40 to go.
Feldman then blocked a shot before delivering an assist to Nick Ponko for a layup for a 63-60 edge.
Another Feldman-to-Ponko scoring play made it 65-62 before the Wildcats tied it.
Penn-Trafford outscored the Wildcats 20-10 in the fourth.
“We’re starting to show we can play different ways,” Kelly said. “The Loudoun Valley game after the Franklin Regional loss helped us to get away, and we played well against Albert Gallatin and Uniontown. Our guys are embracing playing on the road.”
Scarton hit a 3 midway through the third to stretch the Wildcats’ advantage to 44-27.
Latrobe closed a fast-paced first quarter with a one-handed dunk by Ian DeCerb to take a 20-14 lead.
Tatsch had seven points in the opening frame for the Wildcats.
An 8-0 run early in the second quarter allowed the Wildcats to push the margin to double figures. DeCerb had two dunks in the quarter, and Scarton hit two 3s, the second just before the halftime buzzer to make it 39-24, the Wildcats’ largest lead of the first half.
Latrobe 6-7 forward Rob Young did not play for the Wildcats. He was on break from Adelphoi Village and visiting family in Pittsburgh.
Latrobe has dropped 5 of 6.