`mockingbird's' Appeal Endures

Actions Of Man At Root Of Disasters Occurring Worldwide

By DAVE KONOPKI dkonopki@leader.net
 Saturday, January 22, 2005 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1B 





NANTICOKE - For most of the second quarter of Friday night's game, Hazleton
Area assistant coach Mike Joseph implored his boss to go with a pressure
defense against Greater Nanticoke Area. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 At halftime, Cougar head coach Bruce Leib decided to heed the advice of his
assistant. And the switch provided a remarkable turnaround. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Hazleton Area (10-7) scored 11 points in a span of 1 minute, 16 seconds -
nearly equaling its offensive output in the entire first half - to pull away
from the Trojans, 50-34, in a non-league game. Mike DeMarco led the way for
the Cougars, finishing with a season-high 23 points. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Both teams struggled to a 15-15 tie at halftime, shooting a combined
11-for-34 from the floor. Hazleton Area was 5-for-19, while Nanticoke Area
made six of 15 shots. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 That changed for the Cougars in the second half. Led by DeMarco, Hazleton
Area shot a blistering 7-for-11 (64 percent) in the third quarter and made 13
of its first 18 shots (72 percent) in the second half. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "In the second half, we were able to extend the floor with our press and
that opened things up for our offense," said Leib. ``Coach Joseph kept bugging
me to press and he was right. Extending the floor was the right thing to do.
It got us moving around and created some easy shots." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Cougars came out of the locker room on fire in the second half, hitting
their first four shots during a 13-0 run to take a 28-15 lead. DeMarco scored
six points during the run and 10 of his 23 points in the third quarter.
Anthony Palumbo added a pair of three-pointers in the quarter. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "DeMarco played an outstanding game," said Leib of the sophomore guard.
"The second half was the best half of basketball he's played all year. He
played well on both ends of the court and looked like a complete player." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 While the Cougars were able to solve their offensive problems, Nanticoke
Area (4-13) continued to struggle in the second half. The Trojans made just
one field goal in the third quarter, falling behind by as many as 16 points,
and were 7-for-19 from the floor in the last two quarters. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I thought our zone defense played well in the first half," said Nanticoke
Area head coach Ken Bartuska, who received a team-high 12 points from senior
guard Dan Benick. "I think we kind of surprised Hazleton. They missed shots
they would normally make. But there are two halves in basketball and (Hazleton
Area) showed their true colors in the third quarter." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Both teams played without one of their offensive stars. The Cougars were
without leading scorer Justin Gutsie (17 ppg., lower back), while Nanticoke
Area played without Jack Morris (12 ppg., leg injury). Both players are
expected to return next week. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

`d' Shines As Cougars Down Gna