SCRANTON - In the chaos of trying to hold back a fourth-quarter comeback by a five-time defending champion, Austin Cowperthwait calmly stepped to the foul line at Scranton High School.

Cowperthwait converted seven straight attempts in the final 1:19 Friday night, ending more than a half-century of waiting by locking up the District 2 Class A boys’ basketball championship for Susquehanna with a 53-45 victory over Old Forge.

“He had missed (three) earlier,” first-year Sabers coach Lawrence Tompkins said. “But, when that first one went down, he just had that look like ‘I’ve got it’.”

The district title was the first for a Susquehanna boys’ team since taking the championships in the former District 12 in 1961.

“It’s one of those things where our students and our community were behind us all year,” Tompkins said. “We had a great crowd.

“People following Susquehanna basketball a long time were all pumped up about it, as they should be.”

There were also celebrations in Montrose.

While the Sabers were winning, the Lady Meteors were 15 miles away in Carbondale bringing an end to the longest active title run in District 2 basketball, stopping Dunmore’s six-year Class AA girls’ streak with a 49-45 victory.

SUSQUEHANNA BOYS

The Sabers shot 14-for-17 from the line in the fourth quarter and 23-for-31 for the game.

Andrzej Tomczyk, who led the way with 15 points, was 4-for-4 in the quarter. Cole Mallery, who finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, was 2-for-2.

Cowperthwait finished with 11 points.

The Sabers took the lead by scoring the last 12 points of the first half, then remained in front.

Old Forge had been ahead for all but 20 seconds when it pushed the advantage to 20-13 with 3:28 left in the half.

Mallery, whose midseason addition on a transfer back from Seton Catholic in Binghamton had solidified the lineup, was already on the bench with two fouls and Dan Biegert headed there as well.

Brandon Soden and Tomczyk had five points each and Zach Vaughn had the other two as the Sabers surged to a 25-20 lead.

Soden picked up a loose rebound and tied the game with a minute left then hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer on an in-bounds play that started with a second left. Tomczyk also hit a 3-pointer and made two free throws with 41 seconds left to put the Sabers ahead to stay.

“We had every reason in that situation to make excuses and not execute,” Tompkins said, “but Brandon Soden came in and gave us five points and Zach Vaughn, our back-up post player, grabbed two defensive rebounds and hit a hook shot in the lane.

“We’re not just one or two players.”

The Susquehanna defense, which held Old Forge to 16-for-53 shooting (30.2 percent) and 2-for-13 (15.4 percent) on 3-pointers, limited the Blue Devils to just six points in the third quarter.

“We wanted to switch defenses up and give them a lot of different looks,” Tompkins said. “When they get comfortable, they’ll find a place to beat you.”

The lead climbed to 39-28 with 5:28 left before Old Forge used its pressure defense to move back within two with 2:54 to play.

“They’re a five-time district champion because they’re tough,” Tompkins said. “No matter what their record is, they’re going to play tough.”

The Sabers, who committed seven of their 14 turnovers in the fourth quarter, settled back in when Soden connected from the right wing with 2:36 left.

Tomczyk took a steal coast-to-coast for a 44-39 lead with 1:55 left and, after Cowperthwait’s seven straight free throws, added two more free throws with 12 seconds left to cap the scoring.

The Sabers reached the final and clinched their state tournament berth in the Feb. 28 semifinals when Tomczyk scored 20 points in a 41-38 victory over MMI Prep at North Pocono.

MONTROSE GIRLS

Dallas Ely and Sara Krupinski led the Lady Meteors to the title.

Dunmore shut out Ely in two of the first three quarters, but she broke loose for 13 of her 20 points in the second quarter then went 7-for-8 from the line in the fourth.

“She is such a good player that she can get her shot off whether you play good defense or not,” Dunmore coach Ben O’Brien said. “In the second quarter, she made some plays on defense that allowed her to get out in transition.

“In the other quarters, we did a better job of protecting the ball and not allowing that to happen.”

Krupinski added 14 points, matching the production of Dunmore scoring leader Jillian Korgeski.

Alexa Gerchman had 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Lady Bucks.

Montrose reached the final and clinched its state playoff spot by beating Riverside, 51-42, in the semifinals at the Lackawanna College Student Union in Scranton.

Ely led the way with 27 points and six steals.

Krupinski added 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Meghan Gilhool had six rebounds, three assists and four steals.

The Lady Meteors limited Riverside to 25 points in the first three quarters.

“We had some letdowns in the fourth quarter, but for 3 1/2 quarters, we did a real good job defensively,” Montrose coach Al Smith said.

The Lady Vikes shot just 12-for-53 (22.6 percent) from the floor and 1-for-11 (9.1 percent) on 3-pointers.

“We work on our defense the most and that helps us get our offense started,” Krupinski said.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Forest City reached the district final before struggling offensively and settling for second place in the District 2 Class A girls’ basketball tournament.

Old Forge held Forest City without a field goal for more than 17 minutes to start the game on the way to a 29-14 victory

The Lady Devils led 15-4 before Carly Erdmann scored on a drive with 6:22 left in the first quarter.

The Lady Foresters had been 0-for-11 from the floor, including eight tries from 3-point range, with 19 turnovers before Erdmann scored the team’s first field goal.

Lauren Carey finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds to lead Old Forge to a 42-26 rebounding advantage. Morgan Malia added nine rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots.

Erdmann led Forest City with 11 points. Cassandra Bendyk blocked five shots.

Forest City reached the finals with a 47-20 win over MMI Prep in the semifinals.

Erdmann had 26 points in the romp, including 11 in the second quarter to open a 23-10 lead.

Bendyk had 10 points. Liz Heller did not score, but produced 11 steals, five rebounds and three assists.

In high school swimming, Elk Lake’s Adam Phillips won two gold medals at the District 2 Class AA Swimming Championships.

Phillips won the 200-yard individual medley by five seconds Friday and the 100 breaststroke by almost three seconds Saturday.

Phillips led the Warriors to a fourth-place finish in the 15-team field.

Dallas won the title over Holy Redeemer, 283-246. Scranton Prep was third with 203 points. Elk Lake had 155.

The Warriors also scored well in the relays, taking third in the 200 medley, fifth in the 200 freestyle and second in the 400 freestyle.

The 400 freestyle relay team was made up of Cody Mowry, Alex Manzek, Brad Grosvenor and Phillips.

The Lady Warriors were ninth out of 17 teams with 48 points.

Holy Redeemer outscored Scranton Prep, 329-235, for the title.

Abby Zdancewicz finished fourth in the 200 freestyle, was seventh in the 500 freestyle and was part of the seventh-place 400 freestyle relay team.

In high school wrestling, Zach Edwards of Blue Ridge reached the consolation semifinals of the Class AA Northeast Regional Tournament in Williamsport before having his season come to an end.

Edwards, the District 2 champion, pinned Carmen Mauriello of Wyoming Area, in 3:32 in the first consolation round Saturday. He was eliminated with a 6-0 loss to Southern Columbia’s Kent Lane.

Blue Ridge’s Thomas Maby (138) and Elk Lake’s Derrick Smith (145) each lost two straight and were eliminated.

COLLEGE RECAP

Brandon Stone got one minute of playing time and committed a foul Friday when Misericordia University had its season come to an end in the first round of the NCAA Division III men’s basketball tournament.

New York University downed Misericordia, 84-65.

Stone is a 6-foot-2 sophomore guard from Susquehanna.

The Cougars finished 21-7.

THE WEEK AHEAD

The Susquehanna boys and Montrose girls will be part of a doubleheader Friday at Scranton High School, beginning at 6 p.m.

The Sabers (8-15) play District 1 runner-up Faith Christian (23-4) in the Class A opener.

The Lady Meteors (24-2) will play District 4 runner-up Wyalusing (23-2) in Class AA at 7:30.

The Forest City girls qualified for a preliminary round Class A game against Hershey Christian. A win would send the Lady Foresters (12-11) into Saturday’s game against District 1 champion Delco Christian (14-11) at Spring-Ford High School in Royersford at 6 p.m.

TOM ROBINSON writes a weekly local sports column for the Susquehanna County Transcript. He can be reached online at RobbyTR@aol.com and followed on Twitter at @tomjrobinson.

Hamlin Wins Fuel Battle At Phoenix

PHOENIX, Ariz. - It looked like the finish of Sunday’s Sprint Cup Subway 500 was going to be a nail biter between Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick.

With five laps to go in the 312-lap race, Hamlin was leading, but Harvick was nearly on his rear-bumper and getting ready to make a move. With the white flag in sight, Harvick went low to pass, but his No. 29 Chevrolet began to sputter.

His fuel tank was empty.

Hamlin went on to his 18th victory, while Harvick, who had led the most laps in Saturday’s Nationwide race had to settle for the bridesmaid position.

Denny Hamlin wins at Phoenix. Furnished by Toyota.

“At the beginning of the race I would gladly have taken a 15th-place finish,” said Hamlin. “The only way we did it was because Darian (crew chief Darian Grubb) and the team kept working on the car.”

Grubb was signed on by Hamlin’s team after being released by Tony Stewart at the end of the 2011 season.

“We were nervous at the beginning of the race, because we had a 25th-place finish here last year,” said Harvick. “We had a good car, things just didn’t fall our way.”

Greg Biffle was third.

“We were good at the beginning, but we lost something during the middle part of the race,” said Jimmie Johnson, who came in fourth. “We were coming on strong and fighting at the end, we just couldn’t get there.”

Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, and Joey Logano were the remaining top-10 finishers.

The track’s outside wall received quite a few hits. Kasey Kahne, Clint Bowyer, Casey Mears, Paul Menard, and Ryan Newman were some of the drivers that became acquainted with it.

Top-10 leaders after 2 of 36: 1. Hamlin-89, 2. Biffle-83, 3. Harvick-81, 4. Kenseth-79, 5. Earnhardt-72, 6. Truex-71, 7. Martin-71, 8. Logano-70, 9. Kyle Busch-66, 10. Edwards-63

SADLER IS BACK AFTER 14 YEARS

Elliott Sadler returned to victory lane in the Nationwide series after an absence of 14 years.

Sadler took the lead with 25 laps remaining and held off Brad Keselowski to win for the first time at Phoenix and the sixth time in his Nationwide series career. His last win came in 1998 at Rockingham.

“Honestly, it feels like three or four years ago,” said Sadler. “Last year (at Phoenix) was last year, and yes, what happened here could have affected how the championship played out, but this year, it’s a whole new deal. We’ve got a whole new season, a whole new outlook with a different team, so honestly, what happened here last year feels like a long time ago.”

Keselowski closed on Sadler near the end of the race, but ran out of laps.

“I obviously wanted to get one more spot and pick up the win, but Elliott was a little stronger there at the end,” said Keselowski. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of running second, and we’ll keep pushing. If we keep putting ourselves in this position, we’ll get a win.”

Defending series champion Ricky Stenhouse ran third, followed by rookie Austin Dillon and Kevin Harvick, who dominated the race, but fell victim to pit strategy in the latter part of the race.

Sam Hornish, Trevor Bayne, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, and Michael Annett were the remaining top-10 finishers.

Top-10 leaders after 2 of 33: 1. Sadler-89, 2. Austin Dillon-79, 3. Bayne-72, 4. Whitt-71, 5. Stenhouse-66, 6. Hornish-63, 7. Malsam-62, 8. Annett-51, 9. Benny Gordon-49, 10. Nemechek-42.

NASCAR NOTES: Penske racing will switch from Dodge to Ford in 2013. The team fields Dodge Chargers for No. 2 Brad Keselowski and No. 22 A.J. Allmendinger. When Penske returned to NASCAR in 1991, he ran Pontiacs through the 1994 season. He switched to Fords for the next eight seasons, 1995 through 2002, before forming his alliance with Dodge. All told, he’s won 96 poles and 71 races, but never a Cup championship. The teams have 18 wins in 768 starts dating back to 2004.

Jimmie Johnson went into this past weekend’s Phoenix Cup race with a points deficit.

His crew chief Chad Knaus was suspended for six weeks and five-time champion Johnson was docked 25-points for illegal C-posts found on their car during opening-day inspection for the Daytona 500.

The car chief Ron Malic was also suspended for six weeks while Knaus was fined $100,000 and the team lost 25 owner points.

Johnson’s 42nd-place finish at Daytona earned him only two points. With the 25-point penalty, he had minus-23 points going into Phoenix.

The penalty dropped him to 49th in the points standings, 58 points out of the top-10 and 46 out of the top-20. Johnson does not have to worry about the team falling out of the top-35 in the owner standings because he has access to a past champion’s provisional.

Hendrick Motorsports has appealed NASCAR’s decision, allowing Knaus to remain with his team at Phoenix.

Rating and viewership for the Daytona Nationwide race were up 37 per cent from ESPN’s telecast of the 2011 race, but viewership of the rain-delayed Daytona 500 on Fox was off six per cent from last year.

While Danica Patrick’s pole position in the Daytona Nationwide race, and subsequent wreck were splashed across the national headlines, quiet Johanna Long of Pensacola, Florida became the youngest woman in history to drive in the Nationwide series. And, Long raced to a respectable 21st-place finish in the wild race.

Weekend Racing: The Cup and Nationwide teams are at the 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The truck teams do not race again until March 31.

Mark Martin won the inaugural NASCAR race in 1998. The track also holds IndyCar and Champ car races. In addition to the big track, there is a shorter “bull-ring,” where the K&N series and World of Outlaw races are held.

Jimmie Johnson has the most wins (4), while Roush Racing holds the record for team victories (7), with Ford holding an edge over other car manufacturers’ (7). Ken Schrader has the misfortune of running 2,415 laps without ever leading one.

Sat., Mar. 10, Nationwide Sam’s Town 300, race 3 of 33; Starting time: 5 p.m. ET; TV: ESPN2.

Sun., Mar. 11, Sprint Cup Kobalt Tools 400, race 3 of 36; Starting time: 2:30 p.m.; TV: FOX.

Racing Trivia Question: Where is Kevin Harvick’s hometown?

Last Week’s Question: What was the year Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Daytona 500? Answer. It was 2004.

You may contact the Racing Reporter at hodges@race500.com.