SCRANTON – Abington Heights and Scranton Prep have a long and storied rivalry, no matter the sport.
Both schools have outstanding athletic programs and rich championship traditions that generations of athletes take great pride in being a part of and contributing to through the years.
When the two schools collide, it draws legions of fans and a high level of energy from a charged-up student body, creating an exciting atmosphere.
On Thursday night, in another important game on the basketball court inside the Xavier Center on the Scranton Prep campus, Abington Heights came away the victor for the second time this season.
Jordan Shaffer scored 27 points and had seven rebounds. Andrew Kettel had 14 points and five rebounds. Cooper Manning scored 11 points, swished three important 3-pointers, and had six rebounds as the third-ranked Comets earned a 69-58 win over No. 4 Scranton Prep in a Lackawanna League Division I matchup.
Abington Heights (15-5, 12-0) is in the driver’s seat now for the division championship. The Comets hold a two-game lead with two games to play. Scranton Prep (14-5, 9-2) needs to win out and then get some help to force a tie.
“They are a great team, and we know all of those guys, because we have played them our whole lives,” said Shaffer, a senior, who had 62 points and 17 rebounds in his final two games against Scranton Prep. “We knew what was at stake. We knew what we wanted to get done, and we went out and did it.”
Kettle knows a thing or two about the intensity of the Abington Heights-Scranton Prep rivalry.
He spent a lot of time in his youth around the Scranton Prep program when his father was the head coach. He also played for the Cavaliers as a freshman, forging friendships with the players who are now his fiercest opponents.
In the two meetings, Kettle showed the poise of a senior and displayed the leadership qualities that helped the Comets to two wins. He had 16 points, three assists, and three steals in the first game, an 84-61 win that sent a notice that Abington Heights was a serious contender for the league crown.
This time, in a hostile environment, Kettel provided Abington Heights a spark by scoring six points to help establish a 17-15 lead. He came back with five points in the second quarter and three in the second half, while also elevating his defensive pressure.
“We knew this game was going to be tough,” Kettle said. “We had to stick together and face adversity. Obviously, emotions are high. The match is one of the best rivalries in the state. I think everybody came to play. We knew that we had to stay together to win this game because we knew it was going to be a dogfight.”
Abington Heights also got a jolt from sophomore Cooper Manning. The 6-foot-3 sophomore, who is coming of age, drilled three key 3-pointers and finished with 11 points. He also had an impact in the first win over Scranton Prep, scoring 12 points with two 3-pointers.
His first 3-pointer came in the first quarter, giving Abington Heights an early 13-7 lead. Manning had one of the Comets’ four makes from beyond the arc in the second quarter as they held onto a 31-30 lead. Kettel, Thomas Reese, and Finn Goldberg each had 3-pointers in the quarter for the Comets.
“Coach JC (Show) had a great game plan coming in,” Manning said. “My teammates did a great job finding me, and I just knocked them down.
“My teammates and coaches have a lot of trust in me. I just try to get better every day. My teammates mean everything to me, and as long as they believe in me, I believe in myself.”
Scranton Prep fought back. Charlie Skoff slammed one home to finish a steal that gave the Cavaliers some momentum heading into halftime, trailing 33-31. But they couldn’t sustain it.
Abington Heights became more deliberate in its attack. Goldberg, Manning, and Shaffer combined to score the first eight points of the second half, and the Comets had a 41-31 advantage they never relinquished.
The closest that Scranton Prep could get was 46-43 on a layup by Liam Haggerty. Kettel, however, showed patience, then drove through the lane and pirouetted in for a layup and a 48-45 lead.
“Our decision-making was much better,” Kettel said. “We did a good job hunting the glass. We played inside-out instead of chucking up shots that would have allowed them to get into transition. They play a really fast game, and they are a really good team. We had to keep the momentum on our side.”
Abington Heights stymied every surge Scranton Prep had in the fourth quarter. Chicky Skoff had five of his seven points, Packy Doherty had four of his 17 points, and Brody Martin had three of his 16 in the final 8 minutes.
In addition to executing at the offensive end, the Comets made 9 of 10 free throws in the final 46.8 seconds to seal the win. Shaffer was perfect, making all six of his attempts, slamming the door on an 11th straight win.
“We are a confident team,” Shaffer said. “We have a lot of older guys who understand what we need to do to win big games, especially late in games. With a team like theirs, we knew they were going to come out swinging and keep punching. We had to stay level-headed and stay grounded to finish the job.”