WILKES-BARRE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The PIAA State Basketball Playoffs tip off Tuesday. 57 local teams will play in 42 games over the next two days. One of those is the Scranton boys team. The Knights took Williamsport's best shot in the District II/IV Class 6A Sub-regional title, but the they were able to hold on for a 5-point win. That was one of only a handful of district title games where only the champion advanced to the state bracket. So it was a true, win-or-go-home game. Our top-ranked team won and they're moving on to play Wednesday night against West Chester East.
"It's awesome," Scranton senior center Joshua Williams said. "We had to execute you know to take care of the ball and everything. I don't know what to say it's a big celebration moment. We did what we did and we came out with a win. It's a big thing back-to-back."
RELATED: No. 1 Scranton Holds Off Williamsport 47-42 in District II/IV Class 6A Subregional Championship
"It was a great thing for us to pick up in the 2nd quarter," Scranton senior guard Arvel Chandler added. "We held them to 2 points and that probably won us the game honestly giving us the lead so we had some leverage throughout the game. It feels great to have another game. I think playing at home is going to be a great feeling once again. I didn't think that we would be able to so it's a great thing."
"We are so excited," Scranton Boys Basketball Coach tony Battaglia said. "I am just so proud of the guys. They came out and they gave us a really good punch but we responded. And then Jason just played awesome the rest of the game. Every guy stepped up and did their thing. We felt like we could get back in it. They have to hit a lot of shots here to beat us. So we just stayed with the game plan and things went our way."
"The atmosphere here is crazy," Scranton senior forward Jason Shields said. "It's always a good time to play here. Even though these rims are a little tough to shoot at but I am just proud of the way that we handled their pressure and came out with a win.">