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HAZLETON — There was no championship celebration after Tuesday night’s game.
“We didn’t get any trophies tonight,” Hazleton Area coach Mike Joseph said. “A tremendous, fantastic effort. Super win. But we still have four games to go. Our motto is to win every quarter, win every game.”
But based on who is remaining on the Cougars’ schedule, Tuesday’s 55-48 victory over Crestwood went a long way to winning the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 boys basketball championship.
Hazleton Area (9-0 Div. 1, 14-3 overall) opened a two-game lead over Crestwood (7-2, 12-5) with both teams having four games remaining. Hazleton Area defeated its next four opponents the first time around by an average of 29.5 points.
Crestwood coach Mark Atherton didn’t congratulate Hazleton Area on unseating his team as divisional champions. But he did pretty much concede the inevitable.
“No one’s going to beat them,” Atherton said.
Crestwood came close Tuesday. The Comets jumped to a 9-0 lead before Hazleton Area scored its first points with just over two minutes left in the first quarter. They led throughout the second quarter before taking a 20-15 lead into halftime.
But in the second quarter, Hazleton Area was able to pick up the tempo a notch with more defensive pressure. The Cougars tied the score 20-20 early in the third quarter when sophomore Josh Samec made a block at one end and then raced down court to nail a 3-pointer from the corner.
“When they’re going in, he puts me out there,” said Samec, whose 6-foot-6 size usually suit Hazleton Area better inside the paint. “And when they’re going in, they’re going in.”
Samec popped in three shots from behind the arc in the third as Hazleton Area took a 38-35 lead into the fourth quarter. His offense and that of fellow sophomore Joey Grula were needed with leading scorer Bobby Planutis in foul trouble throughout the game. Grula had three 3-pointers in the first half to account for nine of the Cougars’ 15 points.
“It was a similar type of game (as the first meeting),” Joseph said. “First quarter, they controlled the tempo. We missed some shots down our end. The second quarter, even though we didn’t get the lead at halftime, we started doing some things defensively to help us.
“We had constant pressure on them — full court, half court — for the final 24 minutes of the game.”
The pressure led to 13 second-half turnovers by Crestwood. Seven in the third quarter caused a 10-point swing. One of them early in the fourth quarter led to a three-point play by Samec and a 44-37 lead.
“We knew what we had to do,” Atherton said. “We turned over the ball in the third quarter and didn’t do a good job of taking care of the basketball. Obviously, that press hurt us a lot in the third quarter.”
Crestwood moved within 49-46 with 57 seconds left on a short jumper by Kyle Gegaris. Hazleton Area, though, pushed the ball down court for an easy basket by Jeff Planutis.
Grula led Hazleton Area with 12 points followed by Jeff Planutis (11) and Dante Biasi (10).
Lance Blass had 12 for Crestwood. Josh Malkemes added 10.
Wyoming Valley West 61,
Pittston Area 58
Aaron Austin scored 18 points while Sean Judge and Tyler Yankosky added 13 apiece to help the Spartans hold off a late rally.
Valley West shot 15 for 19 from the foul line in the fourth quarter to stay on top as the Patriots scored 24 points in the final frame. Jordan Black finished with a game-high 22 points for Pittston Area.
GAR 70, Lake-Lehman 41
Keyshawn Palmer (18 points) led four GAR players in double figures as the Grenadiers jumped out to a 22-4 lead in the first quarter and kept control from there. Dajon Rush (14 points), Justin Crosby-Smith (12) and Will Johnson (10) also contributed.
Jake Corey scored 13 points to top the Black Knights.
Meyers 51, MMI Prep 40
The host Mohawks took control of a close game with a 20-point effort in the third quarter. Matt Dessoye and Raheem Twyman scored 15 and 14 points, respectively.
Ed Herbener hit five of the Preppers’ nine 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 17 points. Herbener, John Stish (13) and Andrew Alday (10) combined to score all of MMI’s points.
Wyoming Area 65,
Holy Redeemer 57
Tony Saitta’s 15 points helped lift the Warriors to a road win. Anthony Nardell and Anthony Shaver scored 12 apiece for Wyoming Area.
Jason Stachokus led the Royals with 19 points while John Carr had 15.
Coughlin 49, Tunkhannock 46
The Crusaders outscored the Tigers 16-11 in the last quarter to pull off the victory.
Elisha McAllister led Coughlin with 14 points, while Melvin Robinson added 12 points and Jose Rivera chipped in 10.
Tony Maloney and Avery Newhart each scored 11 for the Tigers.
Berwick 57, Dallas 47
Berwick’s Tyler Evans dropped 19 points to lead all scorers and help the Bulldogs nab the victory.
Tanner Gattuso led Dallas with 13 points, and Jay Bittner netted 11.
Jude Goodard tossed in 10 points for Berwick.
Nanticoke 49, Wyoming Seminary 25
The Trojans nearly doubled up the Blue Knights thanks to Scott Stout and Luke Butczynski each scoring 12 points to lead the team to the win.
For Sem, Tyler Maddock scored eight points.
Hanover Area 61, Northwest 49
The Hawkeyes pulled away from the Rangers in the third quarter outscoring them by 10.
Nick Minich poured in a game-high 24 points to lead Hanover Area, while Tyler Diggs tossed in 15 points.
Mitchell Mazonkey scored a team-high 22 points for the Rangers, and Jaxson Yaple netted 13.
Hazleton Area 55, Crestwood 48
CRESTWOOD (48) – Robbie Hopkins 3 1-2 8, Lance Blass 4 3-5 12, Jason Klusewitz 2 0-1 4, Mendell Foreman 3 0-0 6, Josh Malkemes 2 6-8 10, Kyle Gegaris 2 0-1 4, Tim McCue 0 0-0 0, Josh Kaminski 0 0-0 0, Kyle Richards 2 2-2 6. Totals 18 12-19 48.
HAZLETON AREA (55) – Josh Samec 3 0-0 9, Michael Custatis 1 0-0 2, Dante Biasi 2 6-6 10, Bobby Planutis 3 3-3 9, Jeff Planutis 4 3-5 11, Joey Grula 3 3-4 12, Da’Mir Faison 0 0-0 0, Isaiah Santiago 0 0-0 0, Shane Planutis 0 0-0 0, Nolan Genasevich 0 2-2 2. Totals 16 17-20 55.
Crestwood`9`11`15`13`—`48
Hazleton Area`3`12`23`17`—`55
Three-point goals – CRE 2 (Hopkins, Blass), HA 6 (Samec 3, Grula 3).
Valley West 61, Pittston Area 58
WYOMING VALLEY WEST (61) — Sean Judge 4 3-4 13, Aaron Austin 5 5-6 18, Draig Ruff 3 5-6 11, Tyler Yankosky 3 7-9 13, Amistad Hackett 3 1-2 7, Noah Frace 0 0-0 0, Savion Saunders 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 21-27 61.
PITTSTON AREA (58) — Jordan Black 10 2-3 22, Dylan Osticco 4 2-2 13, Colin Smith 1 0-0 2, Chris Klein 1 3-3 5, Matt Ambrose 0 0-0 0, Pat Mitchell 2 0-0 4, Matt McGlynn 3 0-1 8, Michael Mazurkivich 2 0-0 4, Naseem Guillauame 0 0-0 0, Jalen Williams 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 7-9 58.
Valley West`9`18`17`17`—`61
Pittston Area`13`13`8`24`—`58
3-point goals — WVW 4 (Austin 3, Judge); PA 5 (Osticco 3, McGlynn 2)
GAR 70, Lake-Lehman 41
LAKE-LEHMAN (41) — John Pelton 2 0-2 5, C.J. Cercone 2 0-0 4, Jake Corey 6 0-0 13, Adam Motovidlak 1 0-0 2, Cole Spencer 2 4-6 8, Walkker Shaw 0 0-0 0, Donny Thompson 0 0-0 0, Garrett Weston 0 1-2 1, Joey Vigil 0 0-0 0, Nate Labar 0 0-0 0, Mahmoud Dabsheh 2 0-0 5, Ben Brooks 1 0-0 3. Totals 16 5-10 41.
GAR (70) — Keyshawn Palmer 7 4-6 18, Dajon Rush 5 0-0 14, Tino Altavilla 1 0-0 3, Justin Crosby-Smith 6 0-0 12, Antwone Easter 2 1-2 6, Will Johnson 4 2-4 10, Aaron Hyppolite 1 0-0 2, Noah Edwards 0 0-0 0, Simon Peter 2 0-0 5, Mufee Burney 0 0-0 0, Andrew Campbell 0 0-0 0, Khalil White 0 0-0 0, Anthony Hawk 0 0-0 0. Totals 28 7-12 70.
Lake-Lehman`4`7`16`14`—`41
GAR`22`18`17`13`—`70
3-point goals — LL 4 (Pelton, Corey, Dabsheh, Brooks); GAR 7 (Rush 4, Altavilla, Easter, Peter)
Meyers 51, MMI Prep 40
MMI PREP (40) — Ed Herbener 6 0-0 17, Jay Solgama 0 0-1 0, John Stish 4 3-4 13, Kyle Williams 0 0-0 0, Andrew Alday 3 2-3 10, Nick Young 0 0-1 0, Brenden Drusda 0 0-0 0, Kisan Patel 0 0-0 0, George Palermo 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 5-8 40.
MEYERS (51) — Simran Mangat 1 0-0 2, Matt Dessoye 5 5-7 15, Raheem Twyman 7 0-1 14, Ryan Gilgallon 3 0-0 6, Ryan Wasley 1 0-4 2, Khalil Saunders 1 0-0 2, Julian Maffei 0 0-0 0, Levaugn Soules 5 0-2 10. Totals 23 5-14 51.
MMI Prep`12`5`14`9`—`40
Meyers`13`5`20`13`—`51
3-point goals — MMI 9 (Herbener 5, Stish 2, Alday 2); MEY 0
Wyoming Area 65, Holy Redeemer 57
WYOMING AREA (65) — Anthony Nardell 3 3-4 12, Kyre Zielinski 2 4-4 8, Tony Saitta 5 2-4 15, Sam Greenfield 3 4-6 10, Kyle Musto 1 3-4 6, Matt Wright 0 0-0 0, Anthony Shaver 3 6-6 12, Mike Bonita 0 2-2 2, P.J. Angeli 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 24-30 65.
HOLY REDEEMER (57) — Jason Stachokus 7 4-4 19, Joe Layaou 0 0-0 0, Zack Brennan 3 4-10 10, James Kosik 0 0-0 0, John Carr 7 1-1 15, Sal Aiello 3 3-3 9, Luke Nealon 2 0-0 4, Anthony Khoudary 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 12-18 57.
Wyoming Area`20`12`16`17`—`65
Holy Redeemer`13`5`19`20`—`57
3-point goals — WA 7 (Nardell 3, Zielinski 3, Musto); HR 1 (Stachokus)
Hanover Area 61, Northwest 49
NORTHWEST (49) — Tyler Stevens 1 0-0 2, Neno Agnello 0 0-0 0, Sam Saxe 3 0-0 9, Caleb Diltz1 0-0 3, Jaxson Yaple 5 1-1 13, Nick Levandowski 0 0-0 0, Mitchell Mazonkey 8 6-10 22. Totals 18 7-11 49.
HANOVER AREA (61) — Brandon Chafin 1 2-2 4, Nick Minich 8 5-8 24, John Morgan 0 0-0 0, Luis Rivera 3 2-2 10, Tyler Diggs 5 4-6 15, Andrew Vallaro 0 0-0 0, Brian Rodriguez 0 0-0 0, Connor Bowers 0 1-4 1, Justin Kopko 2 3-3 7. Totals 19 17-25 61.
Northwest`7`7`12`23`—`49
Hanover Area`7`12`22`20`—`61
Three-point goals — NW 2 (Yaple 2); HAN 7 (Minich 3, Rivera 2, Diggs 1).
Nanticoke 49, Wyoming Seminary 25
NANTICOKE (49) — Rich Wiaterowski 1 0-0 2, Ed Lukowski 0 0-0 0, Scott Stout 4 2-2 12, Cody Piestrak 1 0-0 3, Brent Piontkowski 4 2-4 10, Luke Butczynski 5 0-0 12, Zack Cardone 1 0-0 2, Tyler Thomas 0 0-0 0, Matt Piontkowski 1 0-0 2, Ben Sersen 0 0-0 0, Alec Norton 0 0-0 0, Justin Casey 3 0-0 6. Totals 20 4-6 49.
WYOMING SEMINARY (25) — Tyler Maddock 3 0-0 8, Noah Munley 0 2-2 2, Ryan Anderson 0 0-0 0, Patrick Ganter 1 0-0 3, Marshall Bursis 0 2-2 2, Sam Sweitzer 0 0-0 0, Jake Ridilla 0 0-0 0, Johnny Kehl 2 1-2 5, Nicholas Ganter 1 0-0 2, Jeff Bevaqua 0 3-4 3. Totals 7 8-10 25.
Nanticoke`13`16`7`13`—`49
Wyoming Seminary`7`10`6`2`—`25
Three-point goals —NAN 5 (Stout 2, Butczynski 2, Piestrak); WS 3 (Maddock 2, P. Ganter).
Berwick 57, Dallas 47
DALLAS (47) — Ben O’Connell 0 0-0 0, Collin Pertl 0 0-0 0, Mason Gattuso 2 1-2 7, Nick Kocher 1 0-0 2, Dalton Gattuso 0 0-0 0, Tanner Gattuso 4 5-5 13, Ben Donahue 2 2-2 6, Alex Charlton 0 0-1 0, Matt Mathers 0 0-0 0, Andrew Kovalick 0 0-0 0, Jay Bittner 3 5-7 11, Jay Parsons 2 4-4 8, Ethan Szczencinski 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 12-17 47.
BERWICK (57) — Ken Marshman 4 0-0 12, Matt Champ 0 0-2 0, Alec Markle 0 0-0 0, Justin Groshek 0 0-0 0, Damon Beckhorn 1 2-2 4, Max Melito 3 0-5 7, Tyler Evans 7 3-5 19, Jude Goodard 3 3-4 10, Kyle McMillian 2 1-2 5. Totals 20 9-20 57.
Dallas`10`12`10`15`—`47
Berwick`16`19`12`10`—`57
Three-point goals — DAL 2 (M. Gattuso 2); BER 8 (Marshman 4, Melito 1, Evans 2, Goodard 1).
Coughlin 49, Tunkhannock 46
COUGHLIN (49) — Elisha McAllister 4 5-7 14, Jose Rivera 3 1-3 10, Devin Rajza 3 0-0 9, Nick Cerep 0 0-0 0, Melvin Robinson 6 0-2 12, Charles Cobbs 1 2-2 4, Manny Adams 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 8-14 49.
Tunkhannock (46) — Avery Newhart 4 0-0 11, Sean Harder 3 4-4 10, Ethan Hoefert 0 2-4 2, Tyler Faux 3 1-1 8, Tony Maloney 4 0-1 11, Matt Goodwin 0 0-0 0, Avery Billings 0 0-0 0, Evan Turner 2 0-0 4. Totals 16 7-10 46.
Coughlin`15`11`7`16`—`49
Tunkhannock`13`15`7`11`—`46
Three-point goals — COU 7 (McAllister, Rivera 3, Rajza 3); TUN 7 (Newhart 3, Maloney 3, Faux).
