SOUTH ABINGTON TWP. — Balanced scoring has been a hallmark of the Abington Heights boys basketball team all season.
The Comets have four players – George Tinsley (14.1), Trey Koehler (12.3), Jackson Danzig (11.8) and Seth Maxwell (11.2) – who average at least 11 points per game and each one made contributions, once again, during a 51-39 win over Scranton in a Lackawanna League Division 1 game Jan. 20.
Danzig scored five of his nine points in the first quarter when the Comets held a one-point advantage. The junior forward also finished with 11 rebounds and six assists, despite picking up two first-half fouls.
“We were worried because he got two early fouls,” Abington Heights coach Ken Bianchi said. “We just told him to be careful and he played very well for us.”
Tinsley, a sophomore forward, who missed the previous game with a foot injury, scored 11 of his game-high 18 points in the first half as the Comets jumped out to a 27-20 lead.
“We knew we couldn’t let them back in the game,” Tinsley said. “We had a small lead, but we wanted to expand on it and play aggressively.”
Scranton coach Tony Battaglia felt his team competed well, especially early, but some lapses in judgment proved costly for the Knights.
“In the first half, we missed like five assignments and they knocked down three 3-pointers,” Battaglia said. “They have great shooters and, if you give them that much space, they’re going to hurt you. They played a solid offensive game and didn’t make a lot of mistakes.”
Koehler, a sophomore guard who scored nine points, knocked down a 3-pointer to start the second half and stretch the Comets lead to double digits.
Maxwell, a 6-foot-11 center who finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and four steals, scored six in the third quarter when Abington Heights (13-2, 5-1 Div. 1) increased its lead to 11.
“We just had to run through our offense,” Maxwell said. “We were shooting too quick; we wanted to wait until we got something good and that helped us score more points.”
Bianchi agreed the team’s ball movement helped created easier opportunities on the offensive end of the court.
“We tell them it’s not the first open shot, it’s the first good shot that you should be taking,” he said. “We knew it was going to be a battle; we just got a couple more breaks than they did.”
An 8-2 run by Abington Heights in the third quarter helped the Comets separate themselves in the contest.
“We stopped going to the basket as much,” Battaglia said. “It was hard to get in there. (Maxwell) is a big kid and we’re not used to shooting over someone of his size. Our decision making in the second half wasn’t quite the same as in the first.”
Scranton (8-6, 4-2) pulled within seven with 6:55 left in the game after a dunk by Matt Hart, who finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, but Abington Heights scored nine straight points to regain control.
