By Ben Magnotta, NEPABasketball.com
OLD FORGE – Gabe Gonzales scored 18 points Thursday night to lead the way as Holy Cross defeated Old Forge, 42-34, in the Devil’s Den in a Lackawanna League Division 3 boys game.
The win was the fourth straight for Holy Cross while advancing its records to 3-2 in the division and 8-5 overall.
Ayden Davitt and Joe Macciocco led Old Forge with 10 points each.
Old Forge scored first while Holy Cross struggled through a handful of miscues to begin the game.
The Crusaders were whistled for traveling twice, had the ball stolen twice, lost the ball out of bounds, were called for an illegal screen and missed a layup, all in a matter of four minutes.
Holy Cross shook off the sloppy start to take the lead in the closing seconds of the quarter on a Gonzales basket after running the clock down. However, Old Forge acted fast and got a Davitt layup before time expired to tie it, 8-8.
Nick Calciano and Kaeden Carr scored back-to-back baskets for Holy Cross to open the second quarter and Gonzales took it from there.
Gonzales hit a 3-pointer for the half’s biggest lead, 22-14, with three minutes left and scored nine points in the quarter, giving him 13 in the half.
The Blue Devils closed the gap to 24-19 at the break, then scored the first three points of the second quarter as the teams battled through a series of fouls.
Davitt’s late 3-pointer allowed Old Forge to gain some ground in the quarter, which ended at 31-27.
The fourth quarter featured more fouls – 13, including 9 on Old Forge – and another offensive dry spell.
Neither team scored for four minutes until Hayden Hosie connected for Holy Cross.
Logan Tierney opened the lead back to two possessions with two free throws with 2:00 left for a 37-32 advantage.
Old Forge was left with no choice but to keep fouling and Holy Cross put the game away by going 5-for-8 the rest of the way.
