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St. Patrick’s Parade in Pittston was a chilly one this year

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College roundup: Holy Redeemer grad Alexis Lewis helps Iona advance

<p>WILKES-BARRE TWP. &#8212; Momentum kept coming within GAR&#8217;s grasp Saturday afternoon. Each time, it slipped through the Grenadiers&#8217; fingers.</p><p>GAR just couldn&#8217;t get that game-changing basket despite cutting deeply into Scranton Prep&#8217;s lead three times. The result left Prep with its third consecutive district championship and GAR still seeking an elusive title.</p><p>Prep&#8217;s 64-45 victory in the District 2 Class 4A boys basketball championship game gave the Cavaliers their third consecutive trip to the state playoffs as a champion. They won the D2-3A crowns in 2015 and 2016. Meanwhile, GAR lost for a fifth consecutive time in a District 2 title contest. The Grenadiers lost in the the 3A championship games in 2013 and 2015 and in the 2A title contest in 2004 and 2008. Their last district title came in 2003 at the 2A level.</p><p>Both teams advance to the PIAA Class 4A state playoffs on March 12. Prep (22-3) will face District 11 third-seed Salisbury Township (19-6). GAR (18-7) will play the District 4 runner-up, either Selinsgrove (20-5) or Lewisburg (18-6). Those teams played Saturday night for the District 4 championship.</p><p>Prep and GAR will be joined in states by Nanticoke (18-7), which captured District 2&#8217;s third spot earlier in the week with a victory over Meyers. Nanticoke gets District 11 champion Bethlehem Catholic (21-6).</p><p>&#8220;It was very frustrating,&#8221; said GAR senior center Keyshawn Palmer, who scored 17 points. &#8220;In the beginning, we thought we were good. Everything was working out. We were having good ball movement. We expected Scranton Prep to score. They&#8217;re a scoring team one through five. They can all put it in the basket, so we had to play defense and have everyone rebound.</p><p>&#8220;But everyone wasn&#8217;t rebounding and they were tipping the ball to each other. It was like they were playing catch and there was nothing we (could) really do.&#8221;</p><p>It seemed like that all game as Prep led wire-to-wire and seemingly grabbed every critical rebound. Palmer moved GAR within 20-18 early in the second quarter with a rebound basket only to see Prep score the next four points.</p><p>A bit later, GAR&#8217;s Andrew Campbell nailed a 3-pointer to cut Prep&#8217;s lead to 24-21. The Cavaliers came right back, and Logan Bailey&#8217;s rebound basket bumped the lead to 30-21.</p><p>Bailey and Paddy Casey, who each scored 18 points, led a burst to close out the first half and give Prep a 35-25 advantage.</p><p>GAR made one final run at the Prep lead to start the third. Palmer started the quarter with two inside baskets, the second on an inlet pass from Herman Suazo. Andrew Campbell then drilled a corner 3-pointer to move GAR within 35-32 at the 4:59 mark.</p><p>But Campbell, GAR&#8217;s top shooter from behind the arc, couldn&#8217;t connect again. And again, Prep regained the momentum, this time for good.</p><p>&#8220;We had that three there,&#8221; GAR coach Jerry Altavilla said. &#8220;Campbell had a look and I thought if it fell we would get the momentum to get over that hump. It&#8217;s was really hard to get over it. They&#8217;re a really good team and once you fall behind against them it&#8217;s tough to claw back and get the lead.&#8221;</p><p>Prep ran off the next seven points and never looked back. The Cavaliers demonstrated they were able to come at GAR from different angles throughout the game. Nick Dende started the run with a 3-pointer. Leo O&#8217;Boyle, a 6-foot-7 sophomore pressed into action due to an injury to Wes Simons (ankle), connected from short range. And Bailey closed out the run with an outside jumper.</p><p>&#8220;It was pick your poison,&#8221; Altavilla said. &#8220;There was a different guy each quarter hurting us.&#8221;</p><p>Greg Bormes was the poison in the fourth, coming off the bench with eight of his 10 points to seal the win. His 3-pointer to start the final eight minutes triggered a 12-2 run.</p><p>&#8220;Part of our game plan was we knew we had a deeper bench than them and hopefully we would wear them down,&#8221; Prep coach Andrew Kettel said. &#8220;We withstood some runs. They&#8217;re a very good team and have some guys who can make some shots.&#8221;</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>District 2 4A Championship</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Scranton Prep 64, GAR 45</strong></p><p><strong>GAR (45) &#8212;</strong> Keyshawn Palmer 8 1-2 17, Will Johnson 3 4-6 1, Andrew Campbell 3 0-0 8, Herman Suazo 4 0-0 9, Khalil White 0 0-0 0, Anthony Hawk 0 0-0 0, Mufee Burney 0 0-0 0, Eli Ruiz 0 0-0 0, Tyler Young 0 0-0 0, Jared O&#8217;Day 0 0-0 0. <strong>Totals 18 5-8 45.</strong></p><p><strong>SCRANTON PREP (64) &#8212;</strong> Logan Bailey 9 0-0 18, Paddy Casey 5 6-7 18, Leo O&#8217;Boyle 5 0-0 10, Bret Para 1 0-0 2, Nick Dende 2 0-1 6, Jake Brown 0 0-0 0, Greg Bormes 4 1-1 10, Alec D&#8217;Elia 0 0-0 0, Mike Greco 0 0-0 0, Brin Boland 0 0-0 0, Sam Bednarz 0 0-0 0. <strong>Totals 26 7-9 64.</strong></p><p><strong>GAR`13`12`10`10`&#8212;`45</strong></p><p><strong>Scranton Prep`18`17`9`18`&#8212;`64</strong></p><p><strong>Three-point goals &#8212;</strong> GAR 4 (Johnson, Campbell, Suazo). SP 5 (Casey 2, Dende 2, Bormes).</p><p><ins>For other sports stories, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/category/sports" target="_blank">click here</a>.</ins></p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">GAR&#8217;s Keyshawn Palmer shoots over Scranton Prep&#8217;s Leo O&#8217;Boyle in the District 2 Class 4A boys basketball championship at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday afternoon. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_D2GAR-PrepBB_1-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>GAR&#8217;s Keyshawn Palmer shoots over Scranton Prep&#8217;s Leo O&#8217;Boyle in the District 2 Class 4A boys basketball championship at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday afternoon. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_D2GAR-PrepBB_2-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">GAR&#8217;s Herman Suazo shoots over Scranton Prep&#8217;s Leo O&#8217;Boyle. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_D2GAR-PrepBB_2-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>GAR&#8217;s Herman Suazo shoots over Scranton Prep&#8217;s Leo O&#8217;Boyle. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_D2GAR-PrepBB_3-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">GAR&#8217;s Will Johnson drives to the basket between Scranton Prep defenders in the District 2 Class 4A boys basketball championship at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday afternoon. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_D2GAR-PrepBB_3-2.jpg</photo2><caption2>GAR&#8217;s Will Johnson drives to the basket between Scranton Prep defenders in the District 2 Class 4A boys basketball championship at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday afternoon. </caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_D2GAR-PrepBB_4-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">GAR&#8217;s Andrew Campbell shoots over Scranton Prep. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_D2GAR-PrepBB_4-2.jpg</photo3><caption3>GAR&#8217;s Andrew Campbell shoots over Scranton Prep. </caption3><photoCredit3>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_D2GAR-PrepBB_5-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">GAR head coach Jerry Altavilla gives out a District 2 Class 4A boys basketball silver medal to a somber Keyshawn Palmer after the Grenadiers lost to Scranton Prep. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_D2GAR-PrepBB_5-2.jpg</photo4><caption4>GAR head coach Jerry Altavilla gives out a District 2 Class 4A boys basketball silver medal to a somber Keyshawn Palmer after the Grenadiers lost to Scranton Prep. </caption4><photoCredit4>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Prep holds off several Grenadiers&#8217; comeback bids</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By John Erzar</p><p>jerzar@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach John Erzar at 570-991-6394 or on Twitter @TLJohnErzar</p></shirttailMeta></div>

GAR falls to Scranton Prep in D2-4A title game