Luke Kopetchny scored 21 points and joined Lukas Burakiewicz and Mitchell Rusinchak in leading a late-game comeback that allowed Wyoming Area to rally past host Nanticoke 62-59 Tuesday night in a non-league boys basketball game.
The Warriors trailed by as many as 10 points in the fourth quarter and were still down seven in the last four minutes. Their last seven points in a game-ending, 9-2 run came at the foul line where they hit their last five attempts.
Kopetchny’s second three-point play in less than two minutes started that run.
Burakiewicz ended a second-half Wyoming Area drought and scored eight of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.
Rusinchak was a big part of the late-game defense that allowed Wyoming Area to limit Nanticoke to four points over the final 3:25 and force five fourth-quarter turnovers while not committing any.
Anthony DeLucca’s 3-pointer gave the Warriors a 36-32 lead with 6:04 left in the third quarter, but then they went cold and the Trojans used their control of the boards to move in front.
Nanticoke scored the next 13 points and grabbed the first six rebounds of the fourth quarter.
The lead grew to 46-38 after three quarters and the Trojans added the first basket of the fourth as the Warriors went 4:27 without scoring and 7:36 without a field before Burakiewicz hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
Kopetchny not only gave Wyoming Area its first rebound of the fourth quarter, but he took it the length of the floor, weaving between players in the lane for the three-point play with 3:40 left to cut the deficit to 53-49.
The remaining three Warriors field goals all came from within the paint, including Kopetchny’s next three-point play on a floater down the left side of the lane.