ST. MARYS, Pa. – Luke Lasko’s layup from the right baseline with three seconds left in the second overtime lifted St. Marys past visiting Punxsutawney, 44-42, in the District 9 Class 4A boys’ semifinals.
Lasko took a pass from Mitchell Reiter, who appeared to be bumped prior to passing the ball, and found himself wide open for the go-ahead layup.
Watch the play unfold via the St. Marys YouTube Live Feed
Following a timeout by Punxsutawney, the Chucks got the ball to Nick Humble, but his shot from halfcourt was short.
The Chucks trailed by three, 41-38, early in the second overtime thanks to an old-school 3-point play by Bryce Walker of St. Marys.
But Gabe Kengersky hit two free throws with 2:20 to play to make it 41-40.
After Holden Housler hit one of two charity shots for St. Marys with 1:53 to go, Kengersky tied the game with a jumper with 1:40 left from just inside the 3-point line at the left elbow.
Punxsutawney had shots at the end of regulation and the end of the first overtime to win the game but came up short both times.
At the end of regulation with the score knotted at 34, Humble missed a layup with 2.6 seconds left, and at the end of the first overtime with the score tied at 38 Kengersky missed a floater with 2.7 seconds to play after Walker had been called for a walk with 23 seconds left.
Punxsutawney led by five, 30-25, with two minutes to play in the third quarter but trailed by two, 34-32, following a Lasko basket with 3:49 left in regulation.
Kengersky got the final points of regulation with a basket with 2:14 left in the fourth quarter.
In overtime No. 1, St. Marys went ahead by four, 38-34, when Housler hit two of four free throws and Lasko scored with 1:51 left.
But Ethan Presloid got Punxsutawney within two, 38-36, with a basket at the 1:34 mark, and Humble hit two free throws with 1:04 to play to tie the game at 38.
Humble led Punxsutawney with 13 points and was 11 of 11 from the free-throw line with Kengersky scoring 11, six from the fourth quarter on.
St. Marys will play at Clearfield in the championship game Saturday, March 13, at a time to be determined. Clearfield, the top seed, beat No. 4 Bradford, 60-41.
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ST. MARYS 44, PUNXSUTAWNEY 42, 2 OVERTIMES
Score by Quarters
Punxsutawney 8 14 8 4 4 4 – 42
St. Marys 14 7 8 5 4 6 – 44
PUNXSUTAWNEY – 42
Nick Humble 1 11-11 13, Andrew Young 2 1-5 6, Ethan Presloid 3 1-2 7, Graham Lott 0 0-0 0, Gabe Kengersky 3 4-4 11, Noah Weaver 2 0-0 5, Ryan Heigley 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 17-22 42.
ST. MARYS – 44
Holden Housler 2 5-8 10, Vinni Nunes 1 0-0 3, Mitchell Reiter 2 2-6 6, Luke Lasko 6 1-2 13, Bryce Walker 3 1-2 7, Drake Caskey 1 0-0 3, Isaac Schlimm 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 9-18 44.
Three-pointers: Punxsutawney 3 (Presloid, Kengersky, Weaver). St. Marys 3 (Housler, Nunes, Caskey).
