SOUTH ABINGTON TWP. — Coming off a loss to division rival Scranton Prep two days earlier, Abington Heights wanted to make sure it didn’t suffer a similar fate Jan. 13 against West Scranton.
Mission accomplished.
The Comets scored the first 10 points of the game and rolled to a 56-24 win over the Invaders in a Lackawanna League Division 1 boys basketball game.
Abington Heights (11-2, 3-1 Div. 1) outscored West Scranton (7-4, 1-2), 13-5, in the first quarter and 26-11 in the first half.
“Last game, we didn’t do things the way we should have,” Abington Heights head coach Ken Bianchi said. “We wanted to get off to a good start (tonight) and fortunately we did. I thought our defense played well.”
Junior forward Jackson Danzig sparked the Comets offense early, scoring 16 of his game-high 18 points in the first half. Danzig also contributed seven rebounds and two assists.
“We wanted to come back and make a statement because that was a tough loss to Prep,” Danzig said. “Seeing a couple shots go in early helped both me and the team get into the flow of the game.”
Abington Heights’ George Tinsley picked up two fouls in the first quarter, but the sophomore forward made a big contribution in the third, scoring 11 of his 15 points.
After West Scranton cut the Comets lead to 12 with five minutes left in the third, Tinsley scored nine points during a 13-0 Abington Heights run to end the quarter.
“They don’t have any weaknesses,” West Scranton head coach Jack Lyons said of the Comets. “They have the size and ability to create mismatches all over the place. We got it to within 12, but we don’t have the firepower to stay with them.”
West Scranton converted just 10 of 44 field goal attempts and Bianchi credited the play of 6-foot-10 center Seth Maxwell for making it tough for the Invaders to score.
“He was a force inside (on defense),” Bianchi said. “He may not have had a lot of blocks, but he altered a ton of shots which kept them from scoring in the lane. He made a big difference for us.”
Sophomore guard Trey Koehler added 10 points for Abington Heights.
Danzig believes the team’s balance on offense will pay dividends throughout the rest of the season.
“It helps us out immensely because each one of us is a threat and any one of us can go off on any single night,” he said.
Matt Williams led West Scranton with nine points and six rebounds. Cole Stetzar added eight points and three assists for the Invaders.
Abington Heights will host Scranton in a Lackawanna League Division 1 game at 7:15 p.m. Jan. 20.
