Antietam can’t hold lead, falls to Holy Cross in state opener

Antietam went cold in the second half after leading by as many as seven points and fell to Holy Cross 57-49 in a PIAA Class 2A Tournament opener Wednesday night at Lackawanna College Student Union.

The Mounts (20-6), back in the state tournament for the first time in three years, got nine second-quarter points from Josh McKoy and surged ahead 25-18 with 3:21 left in the half.

The Crusaders’ Hayden Hosie hit a halfcourt shot at the halftime buzzer to cut Antietam’s lead to three and Holy Cross carried that momentum into the second half.

The game was tied 42-42 entering the final period but the District 3 runner-up Mounts managed just one field goal in the final quarter, when they were outscored 15-7.

Gabe Gonzalez scored six of his 16 points in the final quarter to help the Crusaders (20-6) pull away and head to the second round, where they’ll play Church Farm, a 70-61 winner over Sankofa Academy.

Hector Tiburcio scored a team-high 17 points for Antietam but went scoreless in the final period. McKoy finished with 13 points and Jovan Hollis with 11.

Logan Tierney scored a game-high 19 for Holy Cross. Hosie finished with 12.

Kaeden Carr’s 3-pointer ignited an 11-2 run to open the fourth for Holy Cross, the District 2 champs.

Antietam opened the second quarter with a 14-4 run and led 25-18 lead. Tiburcio had seven points in the second quarter.

Tiburcio finished his career with 1,426 points, second-most in program history. Fred Wittich, a 1972 grad, scored 1,495 points. Tiburcio last season became the 11th player in program history to reach 1,000 points.

The start of the game was delayed 30 minutes because the Mounts encountered a traffic delay on the way to Scranton.

The Mounts won 20 games this season for the first time since 1994, and for just the fifth time in program history.

Antietam’s last state tournament win came in 2011, against Susquehanna. Overall, it is 3-10 in state tournament play since the school name was changed to Antietam.

Mount Penn went 16-7 in PIAA play, with state championships in 1968, 1971, and 1972.

Holy Cross is a nine-time District 2 Class 2A champion and is in the state tournament for the 14th time in 15 seasons.