At Souderton High School, Pittston Area weathered an early Penncrest run, put together a run of its own, and eventually won its opening round Class 5A state playoff game in the fourth quarter.
The Patriots trailed by 12 at the end of the first quarter, but battled back to tie the game, 19-19, at the half. Down by two heading to the fourth quarter, the Patriots made their surge.
Brennan Higgins and Andrew Krawczyk each scored five points in the fourth quarter. The Patriots trailed by one with 43.7 seconds left, but Krawczyk scored down low and was fouled.
Penncrest had a chance but missed and had to foul. After a missed front end of a one-and-one, Penncrest got one more chance to tie or take the lead, but a missed shot at the rim as time expried allowed the Patriots to hold on.
Logan Booth led Pittston Area with 17 points. Krawczyk added 11 and J.J. Walsh six. Pittston Area (18-9) will play Archbishop Wood, the No. 1 seed out of District 12 on Tuesday at a site and time to be announced.