Hazleton Area’s Josian Guerra goes to the basket between Wilkes-Barre Area’s Bryan Clark (35), Waarithi Oseni and Nyquon Santos-Hollman during the first quarter Thursday night.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
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Wilkes-Barre Area’s Nyquon Santos-Hollman pulls down a rebound in front of Hazleton Area’s Chris Catrone during the first quarter Thursday nigh.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Wilkes-Barre Area’s Jacob Horga (22) reaches for the ball as it goes out of bounds with Bryan Clark (35) behind him during the first quarter Thursday night.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Hazleton Area’s Josian Guerra (22) goes up for two points as Wilkes-Barre Area forward Waarithi Oseni (4) defends in the second quarter Thursday night.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Hazleton Area’s Luke Gennaro (bottom) and Wilkes-Barre Area’s Samir Hill battle for a loose ball in the second quarter Thursday night.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
PLAINS TWP. — Hazleton Area took a big step Thursday night, but another step remains.
And that step might not be as easy as it appears.
Hazleton Area used 17-point performances from Josian Guerra and Luke Gennaro and some timely foul shooting to defeat Wilkes-Barre Area 57-50 in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 boys basketball game.
Hazleton Area (11-2 Div. 1, 17-4 overall) can force a tie with Dallas for first place with a win Saturday night against rival Crestwood. Dallas completed its divisional season at 12-2 Thursday with a victory over Crestwood.
Should Hazleton Area and Dallas tie for first, there will be a special playoff game next week to decide the divisional title.
Then there’s the matter of the District 2/4 Class 6A playoffs where Hazleton Area was third in the power rankings entering the game behind Scranton and Williamsport. If the standings stay that was at the end of the season, the Cougars will be heading to Willliamsport.
“Tonight’s a big win, it’s a 6A win,” Hazleton Area coach Tim Barletta said. “(Williamsport) passed us. We both have four losses, but the passed us a guess on strength of schedule. Anyone who has to go to Williamsport, that won’t be fun. We hope we get a break somewhere. They have some tough games left, Scranton has some tough games left.”
WBA (7-7, 10-11) was fourth in the D2/4-6A power rankings after being near the top early in the season. The Wolfpack’s fifth consecutive loss probably means that’s where they’ll end up.
“I thought this was the best we’ve played in the last five games,” WBA coach Pat Toole said. “The effort is always there. Our problem has always been execution. We missed a couple layups early in the game that hurt us and uncharacteristically we gave up way too many offensive rebounds.”
Hazleton Area outscored WBA 9-4 over the final two minutes, with the Cougars’ first points in the spurt coming after the Wolfpack missed three shots in one possession. Gennaro hit four free throws in the final 22 seconds.
Hazleton Area won the first meeting 53-51 in overtime and it appeared Thursday’s game wasn’t going to be that close. Chris Catrone nailed a corner 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Hazleton Area a 28-21 lead at halftime.
The Cougars held a double-digit lead throughout most of the third quarter, but WBA went on a 7-0 run to close the period. Jacob Horga’s three-point play cut the deficit to 40-36 entering the fourth.
Horga opened the final quarter with a jumper to move the Wolfpack within two. Hazleton Area answered with consecutive 3-pointers by Gennaro and Guerra.
“Every time we went up eight or 10 points, they came right back,” Barletta said.
Hazleton Area 57, Wilkes-Barre Area 50
HAZLETON AREA (57) — Khalid Morrieson 0 1-2 1, Nikoli Santiago 0 2-4 2, Luke Gennaro 5 5-6 17, Sammy Guzman 1 1-1 3, Josian Guerra 7 2-2 17, Eliud Lopez 0 0-0 0, Chris Catrone 3 4-4 12, Joe Marshall 2 1-2 5. Totals 18 16-21 57.
WILKES-BARRE AREA (50) — Kaprie Cottle 0 0-0 0, Markell Parnell 1 1-2 3, Waarithi Oseni 4 0-0 8, Brandon Benjamin 3 2-2 8, Samir Hill 1 3-4 5, Jacob Horga 6 3-8 16, Bryan Clarke 2 0-1 4, Nyquon Santos-Hollman 3 0-0 6. Totals 20 9-17 50.
Hazleton Area`10`18`12`17 — 57
Wilkes-Barre Area`8`13`15`14 — 50
Three-point goals — HAZ 5 (Gennaro 2, Catrone 2, Guerra); WBA 1 (Horga)
