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WILKES-BARRE — After waiting 15 years, what’s another eight minutes?

That’s how long it took Nanticoke Area — eight minutes, or the first quarter — to heat up in the sweltering GAR gymnasium. Once the Trojans did, they were one their way to the school’s first Wyoming Valley Conference boys basketball divisional championship since the 2002-03 season.

Nate Kreitzer led the attack, scoring a game-high 19 points as Nanticoke Area defeated the Grenadiers 58-39 to lock up the WVC Division 2 title.

The Krupinski brothers — junior Trahjan and freshman Jake — added 11 points each, with Jake grabbing 10 rebounds for a double-double. Nanticoke Area improved to 13-2 in the division and 17-3 overall with two games to play until the District 2 Class 4A tournament.

“It was very, very competitive. Any team could have won,” Nanticoke Area coach John Beggs said of Division 2. “And I think any of the teams can win the district title, even the teams fighting for the seventh and eighth seeds are very competitive and could beat any team at any time.”

GAR (7-8 Div. 2, 9-11) falls into that category. The Grenadiers entered Friday in 11th in the D2-4A standings. Eight teams make the postseason. Third-year coach Jerry Altavilla, who was also a long-time assistant under former coach Paul Brown, said he didn’t know the last time the team failed to make the postseason.

Plus, GAR had three starters dismissed from the team in January for an out-of-school incident, and only one was allowed to return. Yet, the Grenadiers led 12-8 after one quarter on the strength of five points from Tyler Young.

“I give my kids an A for effort,” Altavilla said. “They play hard.”

Things, though, started to dissolve in the second quarter. Offensive rebounds by Trahjan Krupinski and Dylan Szchowski were kicked out to Kreitzer for wide-open 3-pointers. The Trojans flipped the scoreboard, taking a 28-23 lead into the locker room.

“We just didn’t move the ball well,” Kreitzer said of the first quarter. “They went into a zone and we threw the ball around a little bit. But once we got some offensive rebounds and made those kickout threes, it really got us going.”

GAR was able to salvage something from the two quarters on a pair of 3-pointers from Mufee Burney. Not so in the third when the Grenadiers shot 1-of-11 from the field as Nanticoke Area built its lead to double digits and kept it there.

The third quarter also featured a couple interesting battles between Kreitzer and GAR guard Will Johnson, who are two of the top ballhandlers in the WVC.

As Johnson was guarding Kreitzer in the backcourt, he pointed to Kreitzer’s left and said, “Go this way, go this way.” Instead, Kreitzer spun to his right and was stopped the first time by Johnson but beat him off the dribble the second time for a layup.

Kreitzer said the exchange was a friendly one as he knows Johnson and competes against him in AAU tournaments.

Wyoming Seminary 58, MMI Prep 20

Jeremy Callahan led Wyoming Seminary with 11 points as the Blue Knights clinched at least a tie for the WVC Division 3 title.

Matt Marchetti led all MMI Prep scorers with seven points.

Dallas 68, Pittston Area 49

The Mountaineers were led by Joey Parsons’ 26-point performance.

Matt McGlynn scored 24 points for Pittston Area on eight 3-pointers.

Wyoming Valley West 95, Coughlin 71

Draig Ruff erupted for 50 points to lead the Spartans to victory.

Anthony Egidio scored 21 points for Coughlin.

Tunkhannock 49, Meyers 39

The Tigers were led by Sean Harder’s 18-point performance.

Cole Walker had 13 points to lead all Mohawks scorers.

Northwest 52, Lake-Lehman 38

Tyler Stevens led the Rangers with 14 points.

Lake-Lehman’s Max Paczewski led the team in scoring with 11 points.

Wyoming Area 65, Berwick 57 (OT)

Sam Greenfield and Aaron Zezza combined for 49 points for Wyoming Area.

Damon Beckhorn paced Berwick with 29 points.

Hazleton Area 54, Crestwood 43

Josh Samec and Jeff Planutis combined for 31 points for the Cougars, who clinched at least a tie for the WVC Division 1 crown.

Camden Boris had 12 points for the Comets.

Holy Redeemer 62, Hanover Area 51

J.D. Turosky scored 19 points, Collin Cook added 14 and Jake Adonizio had 10 for Holy Redeemer.

Desmond Cannon paced Hanover Area with 13 and Mike Piscotty scored 12.

Nanticoke Area 58, GAR 39

NANTICOKE AREA (58) — Nate Kreitzer 7 3-3 19, Colby Butczynski 3 2-2 9, Trahjan Krupinski 4 3-4 11, Jake Krupinski 4 0-2 11, Dylan Szychowski 3 0-0 6, Collin Brown 0 2-2 2, Luke Myers 0 0-0 0, Andy Kozlofski 0 0-0 0, Tyler Rushton 0 0-0 0, Brandon Fontaine 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 10-13 58.

GAR (39) — Anthony Hawk 4 0-1 8, Will Johnson 3 5-6 11, Jared O’Day 1 1-2 3, Tyler Young 2 0-0 5, Kahlil White 1 0-0 3, Simon Peter 0 0-0 0, Mufee Burney 2 0-0 6, George Placencio 0 0-0 0, Curon Smith 0 0-2 0, Curtis Smith 1 0-0 3, Jean Carlos-Rodriguez 0 0-0 0, Tyreek Green 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 6-11 39.

Nanticoke Area`8`20`16`14 — 58

GAR`12`11`5`11 — 39

Three-point goals — NAN 6 (Kreitzer 2, Butczynski, J.Krupinski 3), GAR 5 (Young, Burney 2, White, Cu.Smith).

Wyoming Seminary 58, MMI Prep 20

MMI PREP (20) — Matt Marchetti 1 5-6 7, George Palmero 1 2-2 4, Mike Badamo 2 0-0 4, Dave Antolick 1 1-2 3, Marcus Kassick 1 0-0 2, Keefer Hoover 0 0-0 0, John Debellis 0 0-0 0, Marcus Danchinson 0 0-0 0, Tyler Degnehart 0 0-0 0, Chris Badamo 0 0-0 0. Totals 6 8-10 20.

WYOMING SEMINARY (58) — Jeremy Callahan 4 0-0 11, Todd Phillips 4 1-2 10, Nick Ganter 3 1-2 7, Ethan Meuser 3 0-0 6, Dimitri Gnall 3 0-0 6, Dan Paglia 2 1-1 5, Tyler Maddock 1 2-2 5, Jake Kortez 1 0-0 3, Alex Meuser 1 0-0 3, Shawn King 1 0-0 2, Gavin Flanley 0 0-0 0, Andrew Maddock 0 0-0 0, Nic Bufalino 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 5-7 58.

MMI Prep`5`4`7`4 — 20

Wyoming Seminary`15`12`23`8 — 58

Three-point goals — SEM 7 (T. Maddock, Kortez, A. Meuser, Phillips, Callahan 3).

Dallas 68, Pittston Area 49

PITTSTON AREA (49) — Matt McGlynn 8 0-0 24, Andrew Krawczyk 3 0-0 7, Naseem Guillaume 3 1-2 7, Logan Booth 2 0-2 4, Adam Penxa 1 0-0 2, Keemar Woodruff 1 0-3 2, Dylan Lukachko 0 2-3 2, Brennan Higgins 0 1-2 1, Trevor Tigue 0 0-0 0, Ryan Hartigan 0 0-0 0, Mike George 0 0-0 0, Brian Miller 0 0-0 0, Shamique Stevens 0 0-0 0, Noah Lis 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 4-12 49.

DALLAS (68) — Joey Parsons 9 4-5 26, Jay Bittner 5 3-4 14, Matt Mathers 6 0-0 12, Alex Charlton 2 0-0 5, Ben O’Conner 1 2-2 5, Brody Strickland 1 1-2 3, Nick Kocher 1 0-0 2, Andrew Kovalick 0 1-2 1, Sam Nocito 0 0-0 0, Luke DelGaudio 0 0-0 0, Jack Farrell 0 0-0 0, Steve Finarelli 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 11-15 68.

Pittston Area`6`12`19`12 — 49

Dallas`17`9`26`18 — 68

Three-point goals — PA 9 (Krawczyk, McGlynn 8); DAL 7 (Charlton, Bittner, O’Conner, Parsons 4).

Wyoming Valley West 95, Coughlin 71

COUGHLIN (71) — Anthony Egidio 9 3-5 21, Shawn Valenzuela 5 1-4 11, Matt Egido 4 2-2 11, Aaron Bennett 4 1-3 10, Najeeb Bilal 3 2-3 10, Jahsim Hall 2 2-3 6, Trent Zavada 0 2-4 2. Totals 27 13-24 71.

WYOMING VALLEY WEST (95) — Draig Ruff 19 8-13 50, Austin Sienkiewicz 5 1-2 14, Devon Rhodes 7 0-0 14, Mason Mendygral 3 2-2 9, Sammy Solomon 1 3-4 5, Sam McNeil 1 0-0 2, Tyler Gillespie 0 1-2 1. Totals 36 15-23 95.

Coughlin`11`13`26`21 — 71

Wyoming Valley West`21`30`18`26 — 95

Three-point goals — COU 4 (Bennett, Egidio, Bilal 2); WVW 8 (Mendygral, Sienkiewicz 3, Ruff 4).

Tunkhannock 49, Meyers 39

MEYERS (39) — Cole Walker 5 3-3 13, Kendall Brewster 3 4-4 11, Blake Masker 4 0-0 8, Keegan Brewster 2 0-0 5 David Kasper 1 0-0 2, Tanner Nilon 0 0-0 0, Londell Wright 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 7-7 39.

TUNKHANNOCK (49) — Sean Harder 7 2-3 18, Tyler Faux 4 4-8 13, Matt Goodwin 2 0-0 6, Evan Turner 2 1-2 5, Nick Reposa 1 0-0 3, Jack Chilson 1 0-0 2, Avery Billings 1 0-2 2,Ryan Harder 0 0-0 0, Paul DeMarco 0 0-0 0, Lucas Bucciarelli 0 0-0 0, Jaren Robinson 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 7-15 49.

Meyers`9`9`10`11 — 39

Tunkhannock`7`13`12`17 — 49

Three-point goals — MEY 2 (Kendall Brewster, Keegan Brewster); TUN 6 (Faux, Reposa, Chilson 2, Goodwin 2).

Northwest 52, Lake-Lehman 38

LAKE-LEHMAN (38) — Max Paczweski 4 2-2 11, Donald Thompson 3 0-0 6, Nate Salus 1 3-4 6, CJ Cercone 2 1-2 6, Alex Magdalinski 2 0-0 4, Danny Kutz 1 0-2 3, Sean Sabaluski 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 6-10 38.

NORTHWEST (52) — Tyler Stevens 3 6-7 14, Walker Yaple 4 0-0 12, Bryce Koser 4 2-3 10, Sam Saxe 3 2-5 9, Jason Yaple 2 3-3 7, Matt Pierontoni 0 0-0 0, Matt Saxe 0 0-0 0, Marty Zugarek 0 0-0 0, Ethan Sorber 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 12-20 52.

Lake-Lehman`15`5`6`12 — 38

Northwest`12`7`14`19 — 52

Three-point goals — LL 4 (Paczewski, Salus, Kutz, Cercone); NW 7 (S. Saxe, Stevens 2, W. Yaple 4).

Wyoming Area 65, Berwick 57 (OT)

BERWICK (57) — Damon Beckhorn 6 16-18 29, Denver Knorr 3 0-0 9, Ken Marshman 2 0-0 6, Joe Norce 2 2-3 6, Jarrett Groshek 1 0-0 3, Maliek McMillan 1 0-0 2, Kevin Tanribilir 1 0-0 2, Devon Smith 0 0-0 0, Connor Hanson 0 0-0 0, Blane Cleaver 0 0-0 0, Eric Montes 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 18-21 57.

WYOMING AREA (65) — Sam Greenfield 9 8-10 27, Aaron Zezza 10 1-2 22, Matt Wright 0 6-9 6, Kyre Zielinski 1 2-3 4, Alex Gonzales 1 0-2 3, Dylan Melberger 1 0-0 3, Justin Adler 0 0-1 0, Dan Wiedl 0 0-0 0, Cole Coolbaugh 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 17-27 65.

Berwick`12`9`11`16`9 — 57

Wyoming Area`14`15`10`9`17 — 65

Three-point goals — BER 7 (Markle, Beckhorn, Marshman 2, Knorr 3); WA 4 (Gonzales, Greenfield, Melberger, Zezza).

Hazleton Area 54, Crestwood 43

HAZLETON AREA (54) — Josh Samec 6 2-2 6, Jeff Planutis 4 6-8 15, Joe Grula 2 3-3 7, Da’Mir Faison 2 2-6 6, Andrew Vayda 2 2-2 6, Ryan Wolk 1 0-0 3, Scott Shamany 0 1-4 1, Adrian Otero 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 16-25 54.

CRESTWOOD (43) — Camden Boris 4 1-2 12, Kevin Klusewitz 4 2-2 11, Sean Murphy 3 2-3 9, Mike Palmiero 3 1-1 7, Evan Knapp 0 4-6 4, Ryan Petrosky 0 0-2 0, Frank Casarella 0 0-0 0, Brandon Niemenski 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 10-16 43.

Hazleton Area`15`6`15`18 — 54

Crestwood`10`3`9`21 — 43

Three-point goals — HA 4 (D’Angelo, Planutis, Samec 2); CRE 5 (Klusewitz, Murphy, Boris 3).

Holy Redeemer 62, Hanover Area 51

HANOVER AREA (51) — Desmond Cannon 3 4-4 13, Mike Piscotty 4 1-2 12, Tyler Thomas 1 3-4 5, Evan Materna 4 2-2 10, Asad Whitehead 4 1-2 9, Devin Senk 1 0-0 2, Lamarr Nelson 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 14-16 51.

HOLY REDEEMER (62) — Bryce Yencha 3 0-2 6, Derek Answini 1 0-0 3, Joey Judge 0 2-2 2, Eli Tucker 0 0-0 0, Jake Adonizio 3 1-2 10, JD Turosky 6 7-9 19, Collin Cook 5 0-0 14, Sean Wills 2 1-2 6, Gavin Claherty 0 0-2 0, Devin Dougherty 1 0-0 2. Totals 21 11-19 62.

Hanover Area`15`7`16`13 — 51

Holy Redeemer`10`23`16`13 — 62

Three-point goals — HA 6 (Cannon 3, Piscotty 3), HR 9 (Answini, Adonizio 3, Cook 4, Wills).

https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_basketball-1-.jpeg.optimal.jpeg
Victory gives Nanticoke Area first crown since 2003

By John Erzar

[email protected]

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