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EXETER — If the Feb. 15 rematch with Hazleton Area is to have even more significance, the Dallas boys basketball team needs to take care of business between now and then.
Like on Tuesday night at Wyoming Area.
Dallas used a 10-0 burst to end the first half and then kept pushing Wyoming Area away every time the Warriors closed the gap for a 72-51 win in a Wyoming Valley Conference interdivisional game.
Dallas improved to 6-1 in Division 1 and 11-2 overall, keeping on the tail of Hazleton Area (7-0, 11-1). After winning its first six games, Wyoming Area has lost four of its last seven. The Warriors fell to 5-4 in Division 2 and 9-4 overall.
“We’re focused on (District 2) 5A. We are trying to get to where we need to get to,” Dallas coach Mark Belenski said. “One day at a time. We have Meyers on Friday. You can’t look by anybody. Anybody can beat anybody. Look what MMI did (by defeating Berwick). We’re going one game at a time.”
Good philosophy since Wyoming Area made a run at Dallas in the second quarter behind Sam Greenfield and overtook the Mountaineers for a 25-20 lead with about three minutes until halftime. Dallas, though, regrouped and finished off the half with 10 consecutive points.
The run continued into the third as Jay Bittner scored the quarter’s first seven points to push the advantage to 37-26. Wyoming Area’s Aaron Zezza kept his team within reach with three 3-pointers, but Bittner led a 6-0 burst to end the period.
Joey Parsons steered the offense in the fourth, scoring 13 of his 20 points as Dallas seized control by the midway point. Nick Kocher finished the third quarter and started the fourth with steals that led to baskets.
“On those types of plays when they run a high pick-and-roll like that, I found out hedging that is the best way to stop it,” Kocher said. “Either they’ll lose the ball or turn it over. Once I got it, I knew Jay was going to finish. He does it every time.”
Bittner ended up with 18 points, with 13 coming in the second half. Matt Mathers had the reins of the offense in the first quarter and finished with 12. Kocher added 10, putting four starters in double figures.
“We’ve had multiple guys score 20 points,” Bittner said. “I think there has been three of us score 20 points many times. There’s been games where I’ve scored 20 and Joey has scored two. There has been games where Joey has scored 29 and I’ve scored five.”
A caveat was turnovers. Dallas had 22. Wyoming Area, though, had 26 and Dallas seemed to make the Warriors pay for them.
Greenfield paced Wyoming Area with 18, Zezza had 17 and Kyre Zielinski added 10.
Meyers 45, Pittston Area 42
Jawane Buckner scored all of his team-high 13 points in the second half to help the Mohawks hold off the Patriots at Coughlin High School.
Naseem Guillaume topped Pittston Area with 17 points.
Hazleton Area 83, Nanticoke 65
Joe Grula hit five of the Cougars’ 12 threes to finish with 27 points while Josh Samec and Da’mir Faison scored 15 apiece.
Nanticoke’s Nate Kreitzer led all scorers with 29.
Crestwood 55, Tunkhannock 39
Camden Boris and Mike Palmiero led a balanced Comets attack with 11 points apiece in a road win.
Tyler Faux scored a game-high 15 points for the Tigers.
Wyoming Seminary 49, MMI Prep 23
Dimitri Gnall hit 10 of his 17 points in the first half as the Blue Knights built a 20-point halftime lead and cruised to victory.
Matt Marchetti led the Preppers with 10 points.
GAR 64, Coughlin 53
Will Johnson poured in 27 points to lead four Grenadiers in double figures while pacing GAR’s win. Tyler Young scored 13 points in the victory, Simon Peter hit for 11 and Jared O’Day scored 10.
Tony Egidio led Coughlin with 20 points and Dom Flippin finished with 14.
Berwick 69, Valley West 48
Damon Beckhorn led a balanced Berwick attack with 19 points as the Bulldogs surged to victory. Alec Markle added 17 points for Berwick, Ken Marshman had 16 and Zach Evans had 13.
Draig Ruff led the Spartans with a game-high 25 points.
Northwest 52, Lake-Lehman 41
Tyler Stevens scored 14 points to spark Northwest’s victory. Jaxson Yaple added 12 points in the victory and Bryce Koser finished with11.
Max Paczewski led Lehman with 12 points.
Holy Redeemer 68, Hanover Area 54
Collin Cook scored 24 points as the Royals defeated Hanover Area.
Joey Judge added 13 and J.D. Turosky scored 12 for Redeemer.
Dallas 72, Wyoming Area 51
DALLAS (72) — Alex Charlton 1 4-6 6, Nick Kocher 4 1-2 10, Joey Parsons 6 3-3 20, Matt Mathers 5 1-4 12, Jay Bittner 7 3-3 18, Ben O’Connell 1 0-0 2, Brody Strickland 0 0-0 0, Sam Nocito 1 0-0 2, Luke DelGaudio 0 0-0 0, Dylan Schuster 0 2-2 2, Jack Farrell 0 0-0 0, Justin Finarelli 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 14-20 72.
WYOMING AREA (51) — Dylan Melberger 0 0-0 0, Aaron Zezza 6 0-0 17, Kyre Zielinski 3 4-4 10, Sam Greenfield 6 5-8 18, Matt Wright 1 1-2 3, Dom Deluca 0 0-0 0, Justin Alder 0 0-0 0, Alex Gonzalez 0 0-0 0, Dan Wiedl 0 0-0 0, Jake Greenfield 0 0-0 0, Nick Rubino 1 o-0 3, Cole Coolbaugh 0 0-0 0, Riley Rusyn 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 5-6 51.
Dallas`15`15`21`21 — 72
Wyoming Area`9`16`15`11 — 51
Three-point goals — DAL 6 (Kocher, Parsons 3, Mathers, Bittner), WA 7 (Zezza 5, S.Greenfield, Rubino).
Meyers 45, Pittston Area 42
PITTSTON AREA (42)— Trevor Tigue 0 0-0 0, Nassem Guillaume 7 0-0 17, Keemar Woodruff 2 2-4 6, Andrew Krawczyk 5 1-1 13, Brian Miller 3 0-0 6, Sevion Leak 0 0-0 0, Kolton Zaffuto 0 0-0 0, Logan Booth 0 0-0 0, Brennan Higgins 0 0-0 0, Mike George 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 3-5 42.
MEYERS (45) — Kendall Brewster 2 0-0 4, Keegan Brewster 2 1-1 5, Cole Walker 2 2-4 8, Jawane Buckner 3 6-8 13, Najese Hood 1 5-6 7, Tanner Nilon 3 0-0 8, David Kasper 0 0-0 0, Blake Masker 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 14-19 45.
Pittston Area`10`9`11`12 — 42
Meyers`8`13`13`11 — 45
Three-point goals — PA 5 (Guillaume 3, Krawczyk 2); MEY 5 (Walker 2, Nilon 2, Buckner)
Hazleton Area 83, Nanticoke 65
HAZLETON AREA (83) — Josh Samec 6 1-2 15, Sparky Wolk 2 0-0 6, Jeffrey Planutis 4 2-2 10, Joe Grula 11 0-1 27, Da’mir Faison 5 2-2 15, Andrew Vayda 0 2-2 2, Alex D’Angelo 0 0-0 0, Kyle Franek 0 0-0 0, Adrian Otero 3 0-0 6, Scott Shamany 1 0-2 2, Warren Seigendall 0 0-0 0. Totals 32 7-11 83.
NANTICOKE (65) — Nate Kreitzer 8 10-10 29, Colby Butczynski 6 2-3 19, Trahjan Krupinski 2 3-4 7, Jake Krupinski 0 1-2 1, Dylan Szychowski 0 0-0 0, Collin Brown 0 0-0 0, John Chernowsky 0 0-0 0, Luke Myers 1 0-0 2, Andy Kozlofski 1 0-0 3, Tyler Rushton 0 0-0 0, Joe Fox 0 1-2 1, Brandan Fontaine 0 0-0 0, Sincere Shiloh 1 0-0 3. Totals 19 17-21 65.
Hazleton Area`19`20`21`23 — 83
Nanticoke`24`15`5`21 — 65
Three-point goals — HAZ 12 (Grula 5, Faison 3, Samec 2, Wolk 2); NAN 10 (Butczynski 5, Kreitzer 3, Kozlofski, Shiloh)
Crestwood 55, Tunkhannock 39
CRESTWOOD (55) — Ryan Petrosky 4 1-2 9, Sean Murphy 3 2-2 9, Camden Boris 5 0-0 11, Evan Knapp 4 0-1 10, Mike Palmiero 5 0-0 11, Frank Casarella 1 0-0 3, Kevin Klusewitz 0 2-2 2, Adam Gegaris 0 0-0 0, Mike Wyda 0 0-0 0, Corey Chalk 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 5-7 55.
TUNKHANNOCK (39) — Ryan Harder 0 0-0 0, Sean Harder 1 1-2 3, Tyler Faux 5 2-2 15, Avery Billings 0 1-2 1, Evan Turner 6 1-2 13, Jack Chilson 0 0-0 0, Nick Reposa 1 0-0 2, Zach Rogers 0 0-0 0, Matt Goodwin 2 0-0 5, C.J. Wright 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 5-8 39.
Crestwood`14`14`15`12 — 55
Tunkhannock`7`9`12`11 — 39
Three-point goals — CRE 6 (Knapp 2, Murphy, Boris, Palmiero, Casarella); TUN 4 (Faux 3, Goodwin)
Wyoming Seminary 49, MMI Prep 23
WYOMING SEMINARY (49) — Tyler Maddock 0 0-0 0, Andrew Maddock 1 2-2 4, Jake Koretz 1 3-4 5, Nic Bufalino 0 0-0 0, AlexMeuser 0 0-0 0, Todd Phillips 2 0-0 4, Jeremy Callahan 3 1-2 9, Ethan Meuser 1 0-2 2, Dimitri Gnall 7 3-4 17, Nick Ganter 3 2-2 8, DanPaglia 0 0-0 0, Shawn King 0 0-0 0, Gavin Flanley 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 11-16 49.
MMI PREP (23) — Zach Young 0 0-0 0, Matt Marchetti 3 2-2 10, George Palermo 0 0-0 0, Marcus Kassick 1 1-2 3, Mike Badamo 2 0-04, Dave Antolick 1 0-0 2, Keefer Hoover 1 1-2 4, A.J. Jordan 0 0-0 0, John Debelis 0 0-0 0, Harry Kress 0 0-0 0, Ryan McNelis 0 0-0 0.Totals 8 4-6 23.
Wyoming Sem`15`18`7`9 — 49
MMI Prep`7`6`6`4 — 23
Three-point goals — SEM 2 (Callahan 2); MMI 3 (Marchetti 2, Hoover).
GAR 64, Coughlin 53
COUGHLIN (53) — Dom Flippin 7 0-0 14, Aaron Bennett 2 1-1 6, Jahsim Hall 3 0-0 6, Tony Egidio 8 3-4 20, JasonRodriguez 0 0-0 0,Shawn Valenzuela 3 1-2 7, Najeeb Bilal 0 0-0 0, Matt Egidio 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 5-7 53.
GAR (64) — Will Johnson 9 6-9 27, Jared O’Day 5 0-1 10, Tyler Young 3 6-7 13, Simon Peter 4 0-0 11, Kahlil White 1 1-2 3, TyreekGreen 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 13-19 64.
Coughlin`15`12`12`14 — 53
GAR `11`20`18`15 — 64
Three-point goals — COU 2 (Bennett, T. Egidio); GAR 7 (Johnson 3, Peter 3, Young).
Berwick 69, Valley West 48
VALLEY WEST (48) — Issac Sosa 1 2-2 4, Davian Gonzales 2 2-2 7, Ricky Leon 0 0-0 0, Justus Simpson 2 1-2 5, Draig Ruff 10 1-4 25,Roland Hamad 0 0-0 0, Devon Rhodes 0 0-0 0, Austin Sinkewicz 0 0-0 0, Tyler Gillespie 0 0-0 0, Danny Gibbons 0 0-0 0, MasonMendygral 0 0-0 0, Sammy Solomon 2 1-2 5. Totals 17 7-12 48.
BERWICK (69) — Devon Smith 0 0-2 0, Ken Marshman 4 7-8 16, Alec Markle 6 2-2 17, Jarret Groshek 0 0-0 0, Maliek McMillian 0 0-00, Damon Beckhorn 6 6-6 19, Jake Seely 0 0-0 0, Connor Hanson 0 0-0 0, Naquon Smith 0 0-0 0, Zach Evans 6 1-3 13, Denver Knorr 00-0 0, Kevin Tenribilir 0 0-0 0, Joe Norce 2 0-0 4, Blane Cleafer 0 0-0 0, Eric Mordos 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 16-21 69.
Valley West`6`5`15`22 — 48
Berwick`13`18`12`26 — 69
Three-point goals — WVW 5 (Ruff 4, Gonzales); BER 3 (Marshman, Markle, Beckhorn).
Northwest 52, Lake-Lehman 41
NORTHWEST (52) — Matt Pierontoni 2 0-0 5, Tyler Stevens 3 7-11 14, Sam Saxe 4 1-3 9, Matt Saxe 0 1-2 1, Jaxson Yaple 4 3-4 12,Bryce Koser 4 3-4 11. Totals 17 15-24 52.
LAKE-LEHMAN (41) — Donald Thompson 3 0-0 7, Max Paczewski 4 3-3 12, Nate Salus 2 0-0 4, Alex Magdalinski 2 0-0 4, IbrahimDabsheh 0 0-0 0, Danny Kutz 1 0-0 2, Sean Sabaluski 2 0-1 4, C.J. Cercone 3 2-4 8, Nate O’Donnell 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 5-8 41.
Northwest`13`16`9`14 — 52
Lake-Lehman`6`10`18`7 — 41
Three-point goals — NW 3 (Stevens, J. Yaple, Pierontoni); LL 2 (Thompson, Paczewski).
