Gabe Gonzales scored a game-high 13 points and led the two biggest runs Saturday afternoon as Holy Cross rolled over Minersville, 47-32 in a Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 2A boys basketball first-round game at the Lackawanna College Student Union.
The Crusaders (20-5) advanced into Wednesday’s second round against District 4 champion Muncy, which improved to 20-6 with a 73-58 victory over Union.
Minersville scored the game’s first four points and also had 6-3 and 9-6 leads in the first quarter.
Gonzales, who committed last week to continue his academic and athletic careers at Wilkes, answered the 4-0 start with a 3-pointer.
Hayden Hosie, who added 11 points, tied the game at 6-6 on a three-point play with three minutes left in the quarter.
Holy Cross took the lead for good with a 10-0 run to end the first and start the second quarter.
Gonzales sandwiched baskets around a score by Cullen Moran, giving him seven points in the quarter, which ended with the Crusaders in front 12-9.
Matt Lyons added the first two baskets of the second quarter to make it 16-9.
Hosie had six points in the second quarter, including the last basket of the half for a 24-17 lead.
Gonzales then hit the first two baskets of the third quarter and Logan Tierney scored to complete an 8-0 run to a 32-17 lead.
Tierney had all seven of his points in the third quarter when the Lackawanna League Division 3 and District 2 Class 2A champion Crusaders expanded their lead to 43-23.
Holy Cross led 47-25 before Minersville scored the game’s last seven points.
Michael Hughes added eight points in the win.
Minersville, the third-place team from District 11, finished 16-10. It was led by seven points each from Haidyn Urquiza, who made two 3-pointers, and Logan Hutsko.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was created from the reporting of NEPA Sports Nation student journalist Spencer Decker.
