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Toward the end of the 2015-16 basketball season, Meyers coach Pat Toole saw a change in Jawane Buckner. The sophomore guard was starting to come into his own despite being mainly a reserve.

“The final two or three games of the season, he was played really well,” Toole said. “He was probably the only kid who played well for us when we played Camp Hill (in the state playoffs) in Pottsville. As the season progressed, I thought he got better and better.”

Buckner continued to improve his junior season, so much so he was named the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 MVP and the Times Leader Player of the Year.

Buckner finished with a 14.8 scoring average 3.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. He also shot 82 percent from the foul line. Those stats were part of a three-game stretch to end the regular season that still has Toole talking.

“He was unguardable,” Toole said. “At GAR, Berwick and Hazleton, he really put a show on the last three games of the season.”

Meyers needed it and Buckner knew it. The Mohawks were trailed Wilkes-Barre rival GAR in the standings and needed to sweep their final three games.

“Yeah, definitely,” Buckner said. “I was in the gym and I was focused and we lost Omar (Kelly) not too long before. I was in the gym because I knew I had to step up.”

Buckner netted 20 on the road in a 75-62 win against Berwick, while at the same time Wyoming Area did the Mohawks a big favor by bumping off GAR. Then came the GAR game where Buckner scored 23 in a 66-55 win, outdueling GAR guard Will Johnson who had 21.

Afterward, Buckner said the victory was even sweeter because it came on GAR’s court. He and Johnson jawed at times as they battled in the backcourt, but that was the competitiveness coming out in both. Buckner and Johnson attended Dodson Elementary together and were at GAR until Buckner moved during the eighth grade.

“We lift together to this day,” Buckner said. “We’re friendly, but we’re competitive. On the court, there are no friends. I even tell my teammates that — there are no friends. We can talk after the game.”

Buckner saved his best for last against Hazleton Area, hitting the winning 3-point shot in the final seconds as Meyers rallied from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win 56-55 and clinch the division title.

“It was crazy because the play wasn’t even for me. It was for Ryan Gilgallon,” Buckner said. “But he wasn’t open, so we swung it around a couple times and it found me. I wanted it. I knew it in my head.”

The District 2 Class 4A playoffs didn’t go as well. GAR got its revenge in the semifinals, winning 57-51 despite a 29-point effort from Buckner. A chance at a state berth ended a few days later with a loss to Nanticoke where Buckner came in weakened from an illness and scored just three points.

“Big disappointment,” Buckner said. “That was a tough loss. I had a stomach virus. I didn’t go to school for two days. I was throwing up every night. I was slow, I didn’t have all my strength, I wasn’t thinking clearly. It was just bad.”

Come next season, Toole wants Buckner to take on a bigger role as the only returning starter. Buckner is preparing and listed several aspects he needs to improve.

“My jumpshot, my handles, my free throws,” Buckner said.

Oh, and another said the 5-foot-11 senior-to-be.

“And I want to be dunking by next season. I’m close.”

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Meyers junior guard Jawane Buckner was selected as the Times Leader Player of the Year in boys basketball.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_TTL04XX17Basketball-Boy.jpg.optimal.jpgMeyers junior guard Jawane Buckner was selected as the Times Leader Player of the Year in boys basketball. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader
The junior averaged 14.8 points, 3.8 rebounds per game

By John Erzar

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Reach John Erzar at 570-991-6394 or on Twitter @TLJohnErzar