Yule Greeting Warmed The Soul At Least

After The Big Day

By KURT KNAPEK
kknapek@leader.net
 Sunday, December 28, 2003 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1C 





PLYMOUTH - There's a reason the Northwest Area and Wyoming Valley West
boys basketball teams are headed in opposite directions. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Rangers know how to win close games. The Spartans don't. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Northwest outscored Valley West 12-5 during the final 5 1/2 minutes to down
the host Spartans, 48-46, on Saturday night in the semifinals of the 22nd
annual Crossin Tournament. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We stepped it up and did what we had to on defense," said Northwest coach
Jerry Blazick, whose team improved to 9-2 and has won seven consecutive games. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Northwest will face Dallas in the championship game at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Dallas doubled up Lake-Lehman 64-32 in the other game Saturday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Valley West, which has lost four consecutive games and fell to 2-7, will
play Lake-Lehman at 6:30 p.m. in the consolation game. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We're right there, but we're having a problem finishing games," said
Valley West coach Dan Messinger. "It's pretty much that simple." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Spartans, who led by 12 points in the second quarter, scored the first
five points in the fourth quarter (all by Jason Mikus) to take a 41-36 lead
with 5:56 remaining. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But Valley West missed its next eight shots and Northwest responded with 11
consecutive points to take a 47-41 lead with 1:02 left. Eric Rogers made a
three-pointer with less than a second to go to get Valley West within two. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We've won a couple of close games this year," Messinger said. "But now we
have to get over the hump." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Paul Connolly scored nine points in the first quarter as Valley West broke
out to a 16-7 lead. Jason Hinz scored seven consecutive points in less than a
minute to help the Rangers cut the lead to 25-21 by halftime. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A basket by Nick Buerger gave Northwest its first lead, 28-27, with 5:51
left in the third quarter. Valley West led by as many as six points in the
third quarter, but the Rangers scored the final six to tie the game at 36. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "They hung in there," Northwest coach Jerry Blazick said of his team. "Even
when we were in foul trouble and the ball didn't bounce their way, they hung
in there." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 After Valley West took the five-point lead in the fourth quarter, Northwest
got baskets from Jon Kelly and Vince Scalzo to cut the lead to 41-40 with 4:46
remaining. A three-pointer by Keith Mazonkey gave Northwest the lead for good,
43-41, with 3:58 left. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Kelly led Northwest with 12 points and Mazonkey added 11. Mikus scored a
game-high 22 points for Valley West and Connolly added 13. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Dallas 64, Lake-Lehman 32 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 PLYMOUTH - Matt Wilson scored 14 points and Robbie George added 13 as
Dallas ran away from Lake-Lehman. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Dallas scored 13 consecutive points in the first quarter to break a 4-4 tie
and ended the quarter with a 20-8 lead. Wilson made three three-pointers and
George scored seven points in the first eight minutes. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Mountaineers put the game away in the third quarter when they outscored
the Black Knights 17-4 and led 52-25 heading into the fourth quarter. George
had six points in the quarter and finished with a game-high seven rebounds. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Caleb Piatt led Lake-Lehman with 14 points. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 cutline: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TIMES LEADER STAFF PHOTO/DON CAREY &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Wyoming Valley West's Zach Cohen drives past Northwest Area's Jason Hinz
during Saturday's game at the 22nd annual Crossin Tournament in Plymouth.
Northwest defeated Valley West 48-46 to advance to Tuesday's championship game
against Dallas. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TIMES LEADER STAFF PHOTO/DON CAREY &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Northwest's Keith Mazonkey looks for a teammate to pass to with Valley
West's Zach Cohen guarding him during Saturday's Crossin Tournament at Wyoming
Valley West High School. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Northwest Nips Wvw The Rangers Will Meet Dallas In The Championship Game Of The Crossin Tournament.