WELLSBORO, Pa – The last time Galeton’s boys basketball team competed for a district championship Ronald Reagan was president and the three-point line had not yet been added in Pennsylvania.
That was in 1986 when the Tigers walked away with the gold after defeating Northeast Bradford.
No one knew that it would be 38 years until Galeton had another opportunity to take home the District 4 Class 1A championship, but that chance finally happened this season as Galeton took on Bucktail for the title.
Unfortunately for Galeton, their Cinderella run to the D4 final, and their hopes for a gold medal, fell short to Bucktail by a score of 57-49.
Going into the tournament, Galeton was the sixth seed, but was able to knock off 3-seeded Cowanesque Valley in the quarterfinals, 49-41, and 2-seeded North Penn-Liberty in the semifinals, 68-55. With 4-seeded Bucktail upsetting the 1 seed, Northumberland Christian, the stage was set for a bracket buster showdown at Wellsboro.
To start the game, Galeton took a 7-4 lead to end the first quarter, led by Matthew Zurr scoring four and Braiden Cimino chipping in three. Brody Pentz had all of Bucktail’s points to end the first.
The game remained tight in the second quarter, ending with a halftime score of 20-19 with Bucktail in the lead. Zach Pagano led Galeton in the quarter, scoring eight. Also in this quarter, Bucktail’s Braylon Fantasky was able to score his 1,000th point.
The third quarter saw Bucktail grab a 29-23 lead. As the quarter came to an end, Bucktail and Galeton traded baskets, with Bucktail leading 40-35. Also, during this quarter, the Buck’s Brody Pentz scored his 1000th career point.
As the fourth quarter began, Galeton showed signs of life and gave another surge towards the title. After two three-pointers from Pagano, Galeton was right back in it, trailing only 44-43.
The Bucks answered with an old-fashioned, three-point play by Pentz. As time ran down, with the Tigers being forced to foul, Bucktail was able to build one last lead, and bring home the gold. The Bucks won the game.
Scoring leaders for Galeton included 15 points from Pagano, and 12 points from Corey Anderson. For Bucktail, they were led by 15 points by Fantasky and 34 points from Brody Pentz.
While the game did not end the way the Tigers were hoping it would, they still put up a hard fight, and a good show. They have qualified for the state tournament, and will take on the Region 2, (Districts 2 and 11), runner up, either MMI Prep or Notre Dame-East Stroudsburg, at a site and time to be determined on Friday, March 8.
