Robby Lucas made two clutch free throws with 23.7 seconds left, then added a clinching steal with two seconds remaining Thursday afternoon as Abington Heights preserved its perfect boys basketball record by surviving an overtime challenge from visiting Emmaus for a 58-55 victory.
Ryan Nealon hit a 3-pointer in each quarter while scoring a game-high 18 points, then Will Marion, Roman Cutrufello, Mason Fedor and Lucas led the Comets through overtime.
The teams needed almost a minute into the four-minute extra session before Cutrufello opened the scoring on a drive, breaking the 48-48 tie.
Emmaus rallied for two more ties during overtime, but Marion put Abington Heights ahead each time.
Marion’s drive for a score while being fouled with 1:01 left put the Comets ahead to stay, 54-52, even though he was unable to convert the three-point play.
When Lucas made his free throws, Abington Heights had its only two-possession lead of the day.
That proved valuable when Dylan Darville turned a long rebound into a 3-pointer to bring the Green Hornets back within 56-55 with 10.3 seconds left.
Fedor added two free throws with 9.3 seconds remaining and Emmaus tried to work the ball up court for a tying 3-pointer.
Abington Heights made it difficult to advance the ball and Lucas came up with a steal near midcourt, then held on until the buzzer sounded.
Marion added 15 points in the win.
Fedor finished with 12 points, 10 of which came after halftime when he was 6-for-6 from the line.
Emmaus (7-2) led 13-9 after one quarter and 29-24 at halftime.
Marion, Nealon and Cutrufello hit 3-pointers during the second quarter to keep the Comets in the game. Marion had seven points in the quarter and Nealon had five.
Nealon had five points each in the third and fourth quarters.
Abington Heights closed the deficit to 37-36 through three quarters and led 44-43 on a Cutrufello 3-pointer with 4:30 left in regulation.
From there, the teams were not separated by more than two points as Emmaus took leads and Abington Heights forced ties.
In Thursday’s other non-league boys basketball game:
Nanticoke 54, Wilkes-Barre Area 36
Nanticoke held Wilkes-Barre to one field goal in the first quarter and got 23 points from Jaidyn Johnson to win on the road.
The Trojans took a 14-5 lead after one quarter.
Johnson had six points in each of the first two quarters, then nine more when Nanticoke extended a 28-16 halftime lead to 44-28.
Ibn Jordan Thomas added 14 points for Nanticoke.
Kaprie Cottle led Wilkes-Barre Area with nine.
