By Tom Robinson, NEPASportsNation.com
CLARKS SUMMIT – Mason Fedor led four Abington Heights players in double figures with a double-double and more Friday night as the Comets remained unbeaten by pulling away from visiting Scranton Prep, 66-51, in a meeting of ranked Lackawanna League Division 1 boys basketball rivals.
Fedor finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and a blocked shot.
Abington Heights, the No. 1 Big School boys team all season in the Riverfront Sports Super Six Basketball Power Rankings of District 2 teams, improved to 9-0 overall. No. 4 Scranton Prep dropped to 6-3, including 1-1 in the division.
The Comets use the win to set up a No. 1-vs.-No. 2 battle Tuesday at home for sole possession of first place. Both Abington Heights and Valley View (9-1) are 2-0 in the league.
Ryan Nealon (15), Robby Lucas (14) and Will Marion (10) joined Fedor in double figures. Lucas also had six rebounds and three assists.
Roman Cutrufello came off the bench and grabbed seven rebounds.
James Pettinato led a balanced Scranton Prep attack with 10 points.
Brycen Martin and Keith Pritchyk added nine each while coming off the bench. Ambrose Rossi, who grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, and Daniel Santaniello added eight points and three blocked shots each. Roman Valvano, another sub, missed his only shot, but provided six rebounds and a team-high four assists.
The inside combination of Rossi and Santaniello helped Scranton Prep to a lead after one quarter.
Abington Heights started 3-for-3 on 3-pointers in the first 4:02, including two in the first 1:54 by Marion. The Comets, however, went 0-for-9 from inside the arc in the first quarter with six of the shots blocked.
Rossi had four points, four rebounds, two blocks and a steal in less than four minutes to open the game. He sat down a minute later, but after returning with 15 seconds left in the quarter, he scored with five seconds remaining to give the Cavaliers a 14-12 lead.
Abington Heights scored 11 straight points in the second quarter when Patrick Walsh hit a 3-pointer to erase the last deficit and force a 16-16 tie with 6:58 left in the half. Mason Fedor’s spinning drive with 5:30 left was the first of his two straight baskets before Marion scored in transition and on a cut to the basket.
After Santaniello hit a 19-footer to snap a scoreless spell of more than five minutes, Scranton Prep went another 3:57 without scoring.
Abington Heights scored eight more in a run for what became a 19-2 run.
Fedor’s buzzer-beating tip-in gave the Comets a 26-18 halftime lead
Nealon, scoreless for the first 17 minutes, then scored 11 in 2:15. His back-to-back 3-pointers completed the run to a 32-18 lead. Nealon added a spin move for a three-point play and another drive for the game’s biggest lead, 37-21, with 4:45 left in the half.
Scranton Prep answered with a 14-3 run to get within 40-35.
Lucas then helped lock up the game, scoring 13 points in the final 6:07, making his three shots from the floor and going 7-for-9 to finish an 8-for-11 game from the line.
The Comets were 17-for-21 from the line while scoring 26 points in the fourth.
