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Al Boscov — One of a kind: Community eulogizes beloved businessman

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Children get crafty at West Pittston Library

<p>DALLAS TWP. &#8212; His team trailing at halftime, Willie Chandler elected to ditch his tie when returning from the locker room.</p><p>&#8220;It was getting a little tight around my neck,&#8221; the Misericordia coach joked after Saturday&#8217;s tense 85-81 win over Wilkes.</p><p>Easy to laugh now that the Cougars are officially headed to the playoffs for an impressive eighth straight season.</p><p>The area&#8217;s other program&#8217;s didn&#8217;t make it easy on them this week. King&#8217;s pushed Misericordia to overtime on Wednesday and Wilkes led by as many as nine points on Saturday before the Cougars fired back for the win.</p><p>With just one spot left in the Freedom Conference tournament field, Misericordia grabbed it at Wilkes&#8217; expense, eliminating the Colonels from contention.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s been a stressful year,&#8221; Chandler said. &#8220;But I love this group of guys and I love the senior group. &#8230; It&#8217;s great. I just want to keep it rolling now. That&#8217;s it. Get hot at the right time.&#8221;</p><p>The atmosphere will settle down a bit for the Cougars (16-7, 7-5 Freedom) now that they&#8217;re assured of a playoff spot, most likely as the No. 4 seed for the semifinals on Feb. 22.</p><p>League-leading scorer Jason Kenny poured in a game-high 28 points, hitting 5 of 6 from behind the arc. Most importantly, he went 9 for 9 from the foul line on a day when the Cougars struggled badly with free throws &#8212; the rest of the team was just 3 of 14.</p><p>Freshman Tony Harding added 23 points while Griffin Sponaugle finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists off the bench. The senior hit a runner in the lane with 3:22 left for the game&#8217;s 11th and final lead change.</p><p>Wilkes (11-12, 5-7) had charged in front 61-52 with 12:35 to play, but Misericordia quickly responded with a 9-0 run to tie it up.</p><p>&#8220;We missed shots and they made shots,&#8221; Colonels coach Izzi Metz said. &#8220;They have really good shooters. It&#8217;s a game of runs, and it&#8217;s hard to keep them down for long because they shoot the ball well.</p><p>&#8220;I thought the game came down to that we didn&#8217;t make some makeable shots. We had a couple layups right around the rim that didn&#8217;t go.&#8221;</p><p>Misericordia also elected to use a five-guard look down the stretch that made a difference on defense.</p><p>&#8220;I had to get our bigs out,&#8221; Chandler said. &#8220;They were doing the pick-and-pop, and we couldn&#8217;t match up. I went &#8216;small&#8217; &#8212; but my guards are 6-4, 6-5. It worked out.&#8221;</p><p>Both teams actually shot better from behind the arc than inside it. Misericordia was 13 of 28 on threes (46.4 percent) compared to 17 of 41 (41.4) on two-point field goals. Wilkes went 9 of 21 (42.9) and 18 of 45 (40), respectively.</p><p>Wilkes guard Connor Evans hit 4 of 5 3-pointers and led the Colonels with 24 points. Zach Brunner and Tommy Bowen each scored 16.</p><p>The Cougars recognized six players before the game on senior day. Sponaugle was joined at midcourt by James Hawk, Jamie Egan, Earl Chang, Michael Brunson and Tyler Bernath.</p><p><strong>DeSales 77, King&#8217;s 65</strong></p><p>Connor Callejas led the Monarchs with 15 points to close out the team&#8217;s home slate.</p><p>King&#8217;s went with an all-senior starting lineup of Nate Oliver, John Fazzini, John Dini, Dan Rutecki and Derek Wilkins for the final home game of their careers. Rutecki scored 11 to go with six rebounds and five assists.</p><p><strong>WOMEN</strong></p><p><strong>Misericordia 69,</strong></p><p><strong>Wilkes 39</strong></p><p>One of the Freedom Conference&#8217;s top scorers in February, Rachel Carmody turned in another big game for the Cougars, smashing her previous career-high with 28 points.</p><p>Justin Seely recorded another double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds and was honored for senior day along with Shannon Croasdale.</p><p>Missy Oertner finished with 15 points to lead the Lady Colonels.</p><p>Misericordia remained tied with DeSales for second place with the two teams set to play Tuesday in Center Valley. A Cougars&#8217; win would earn them a home game in the conference tournament.</p><p><strong>DeSales 81, King&#8217;s 54</strong></p><p>Up just three at halftime, the visiting Bulldogs took control in the third quarter, outscoring King&#8217;s 24-11.</p><p>Freshman Rebecca Prociak led three Lady Monarchs in double figures with 15 points. Olivia Hoffman (seven blocks) and Erin Schmidt each scored 10.</p><p>It was the final home game for King&#8217;s seniors Kasey Seitz, Kayla Feairheller and Shae Grim.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>MEN</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Misericordia 85, Wilkes 81</strong></p><p><strong>WILKES (81)</strong> &#8212; Connor Evans 6-9 8-8 24, Tommy Bowen 4-11 8-8 16, Marcus Robinson 3-9 0-0 9, Mark Mullins 2-8 1-2 5, Zach Brunner 8-12 0-0 16, Rob Pecorelli 1-7 0-0 3, John Goffredo 0-0 0-0 0, Johnny Bamford 0-1 0-0 0, Clay Basalyga 1-3 0-0 3, Quin Parsons 0-2 0-0 0, Zach Walser 2-4 1-2 5. <strong>Totals 27-66 18-20 81.</strong></p><p><strong>MISERICORDIA (85)</strong> &#8212; Alec Rodway 1-2 0-0 2, Tre Fields 4-15 3-6 13, Jason Kenny 7-13 9-9 28, Tony Harding 10-19 0-1 23, Noah Rivera 1-5 0-3 2, Jamie Egan 0-1 0-0 0, Stone McCreary 1-2 0-0 3, Griffin Sponaugle 6-10 0-4 14, Earl Chang 0-1 0-0 0, James Hawk 0-1 0-0 0. <strong>Totals 30-69 12-23 85.</strong></p><p><strong>Halftime </strong>&#8212; Wilkes, 40-39</p><p><strong>Three-point goals</strong> &#8212; WU 9-21 (Evans 4-5, Robinson 3-6, Basalyga 1-2, Pecorelli 1-5, Mullins 0-1, Bowen 0-2); MU 13-28 (Kenny 5-6, Harding 3-7, Sponaugle 2-5, Fields 2-7, McCreary 1-2, Rodway 0-1)</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Misericordia&#8217;s Tre Fields follows through on a free throw against Wilkes Saturday afternoon in Dallas Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_Miseri-WilkesBB_1-1-.jpg</photo0><caption0>Misericordia&#8217;s Tre Fields follows through on a free throw against Wilkes Saturday afternoon in Dallas Township. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_Miseri-WilkesBB_2-1-.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes&#8217; Tommy Bowen is doubleteamed by Misericordia&#8217;s Tony Harding, right, and Noah Rivera Saturday afternoon in Dallas Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_Miseri-WilkesBB_2-1-.jpg</photo1><caption1>Wilkes&#8217; Tommy Bowen is doubleteamed by Misericordia&#8217;s Tony Harding, right, and Noah Rivera Saturday afternoon in Dallas Township. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_Miseri-WilkesBB_3-1-.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Misericordia's Griffin Sponaugle, left, tries to get past Wilkes defender Tommy Bowen Saturday afternoon in Dallas Township.  Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_Miseri-WilkesBB_3-1-.jpg</photo2><caption2>Misericordia's Griffin Sponaugle, left, tries to get past Wilkes defender Tommy Bowen Saturday afternoon in Dallas Township.  Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader</caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_Miseri-WilkesBB_4-1-.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Misericordia&#8217;s Tre Fields puts up a shot as all five Wilkes players converge on the basket during Saturday afternoon&#8217;s game. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_Miseri-WilkesBB_4-1-.jpg</photo3><caption3>Misericordia&#8217;s Tre Fields puts up a shot as all five Wilkes players converge on the basket during Saturday afternoon&#8217;s game. </caption3><photoCredit3>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_Miseri-WilkesBB_5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Misericordia&#8217;s Tony Harding drives to the hoop against Wilkes&#8217; Tommy Bowen. The freshman finished with 23 points. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_Miseri-WilkesBB_5.jpg</photo4><caption4>Misericordia&#8217;s Tony Harding drives to the hoop against Wilkes&#8217; Tommy Bowen. The freshman finished with 23 points. </caption4><photoCredit4>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Derek Levarse</p><p>dlevarse@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Derek Levarse at 570-991-6396 or on Twitter @TLdlevarse</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Misericordia men’s basketball outlasts Wilkes to clinch playoff spot