web1_TTL02XX18Detect2.jpg

Longtime friends part of Geisinger study on new way to find cancer

web1_WB-City-logo.jpg

Former WB official suspended from practicing law to return to City Hall

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; As a freshman reserve, Jack Bova insists, he&#8217;s just trying to find a way to help his college basketball team.</p><p>As the postseason resumed Friday, that meant playing to his strength.</p><p>Bova came off the bench and led a Wilkes onslaught of long-range bombs, drilling career highs of four 3-point field goals and 14 points that helped the Colonels pull away from Penn State Behrend 77-62 in an ECAC quarterfinal game at the Marts Center.</p><p>&#8220;After I made that first three, I kind of got a rhythm going,&#8221; said Bova, who had the second-most 3-pointers in New York&#8217;s Section 3 as a senior at West Genesee High School last year. &#8220;My teammates did a great job finding me. Coming from high school, that&#8217;s what I did &#8212; I shot threes the whole time.&#8221;</p><p>That&#8217;s pretty much what Wilkes did from start to finish during a victory over 21-8 Penn State Behrend &#8212; the No. 1 seed in the ECAC Pod 3.</p><p>Landon Henry drilled three treys in the first half, Rob Pecorelli hit two more and Bova, Marcus Robinson and Mark Mullins each added a three as Wilkes flooded the first half with long-distance shooting. And the Colonels rode it to a 33-29 advantage at intermission, as both teams finished the opening 20 minutes with 11 baskets and three converted foul shots &#8212;but Wilkes swished four more three-pointers than the Lions in the first half.</p><p>Then Bova came off the bench to rip three of the Colonels&#8217; five 3-pointers in the second half as Wilkes finished shooting 38.2 percent (13 of 34) from 3-point range.</p><p>&#8220;We haven&#8217;t taken a ton of threes this year,&#8221; said Wilkes coach Izzi Metz, whose Colonels improved to 19-8 overall and will face Widener &#8212; a forfeit winner when Baruch College couldn&#8217;t make it through difficult travel conditions to play at Wilkes later Friday &#8212; in an ECAC semifinal at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Marts Center.</p><p>&#8220;But when you come out of conference play,&#8221; Metz continued, &#8220;maybe they don&#8217;t know you quite as much (as more familiar foes). I just think we got some open shots we don&#8217;t usually get.&#8221;</p><p>The Colonels were quick to take advantage.</p><p>Although they had trouble controlling Lions center Dan Wanker, who finished with game highs of 19 points and nine rebounds, the Colonels rode their rapid-fire perimeter offense to gain some control.</p><p>Mark Mullins hit two 3-pointers among his team-high 16 points, Pecorelli added three treys to get to 15 points, and Tommy Bowen went inside and outside to score 14 more.</p><p>&#8220;We shot the ball really well,&#8221; said Bova, who averaged 3.1 points and hit 21 of his 57 attempts from 3-point land entering Friday, &#8220;especially when they were going zone on us.&#8221;</p><p>Bova, though, broke things open.</p><p>He hit a trio of 3-pointers in a 3:34 span of the second half, fueling a 16-2 run that boosted a six-point Wilkes lead to 64-44.</p><p>Bova&#8217;s 3-pointer with under 10 minutes remaining took Wilkes into a double-digit lead, and he followed that with another 3-ball on the next trip down the floor to pump the lead to 56-42. With 6:54 to play, Bova buried another trey for a 64-44 advantage.</p><p>&#8220;He created plays and was an excellent player in high school,&#8221; Metz said. &#8220;Through this season, he&#8217;s become a much better player. He took it to the basket, got fouled, handled the ball. And he&#8217;s gotten more confident.&#8221;</p><p>Now, the confidence of the Colonels is growing.</p><p>After being eliminated from contention for an NCAA Division III playoff berth with a semifinal loss in the Freedom Conference Tournament &#8212; but receiving a first-round bye into the ECAC quarterfinals as the tournament&#8217;s host team &#8212; Wilkes has its sights set on winning a championship.</p><p>&#8220;I think it means a lot to our guys,&#8221; Metz said. &#8220;Any time you can play postseason basketball beyond your conference tournament, it&#8217;s a great opportunity for your program. The NCAA is so difficult to get into. Just to be able to play in another postseason tournament, against teams of this caliber &#8212; that was a good, 20-win team we played &#8212; it means a ton.</p><p>&#8220;Hopefully we can play for a championship on our home court.&#8221;</p><p>In the first two games on Friday at the Marts Center, Neumann defeated Juniata 65-58 and Medaille outslugged Bethany 101-87. Those two squads will play in Saturday&#8217;s other semifinal at Wilkes, opening the day with a 3 p.m. tip-off.</p><p><strong>WOMEN&#8217;S BASKETBALL</strong></p><p><strong>Misericordia 79, Lebanon Valley 69</strong></p><p>Rachel Carmody had 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead five players in double figures and the Cougars claimed a spot in the ECAC women&#8217;s semifinals by breaking away from Lebanon Valley.</p><p>Misericordia will face New York University at 2 p.m. Saturday at Washington &amp; Jefferson for the right to play in the ECAC title game.</p><p>Quintessa Zamolyi had 16 points and eight rebounds and Japriya Carroll added 14 points, five rebounds and five assists as the Cougars avenged and opening-day loss to the Dutchmen.</p><p>Paige Wampole had 12 points and 11 rebounds and Erica Haefele added 10 points as the Cougars improved to 18-10.</p><p>Tied 6-6 midway through the first quarter, the Cougars used an 11-0 run over a two-minute span and led the rest of the way.</p><p>After a layup by Kalynn Sefcik, Zamolyi and Carroll both knocked down three-pointers for a 14-6 Misericordia lead. A steal by Sefcik led to another three by Carroll for a 17-6 lead with 3:38 left in the first period.</p><p>Sefcik nailed a three-pointer later in the period and the Cougars led 22-12 after the opening 10 minutes.</p><p>The teams traded baskets throughout the third quarter and Leb Val got within 60-51 on a last-second layup.</p><p>The Dutchmen whittled their deficit to five points three times over the final 10 minutes, but each time, the Cougars answered.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>ECAC men&#8217;s semifinals</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Wilkes 77, Penn State Behrend 62</strong></p><p><strong>PENN STATE BEHREND (62) &#8212;</strong> Malike Brinson 3-4 5-6 14, Andy Niland 1-9 0-0 3, Justin Gorny 2-5 0-0 4, Dan Wanker 7-12 4-4 19, Mike Fischer 3-6 0-0 7, Mitchell King 0-0 0-0 0, Derrick Clark 5-6 3-4 13, Kyle Reese 0-1 0-0 0, Tyler Gates 0-0 0-0 0, Nolan Nuara 1-1 0-0 2, Kenny Fukon 0-0 0-0 0, Nick Wright 0-0 0-0 0, Dorian Connors 0-0 0-0 0, Jack Relihan 0-1 0-0 0, Brandon Thorsen 0-0 0-0 0, Connor McLaughlin 0-0 0-0 0. <strong>Totals 22-45 12-14 62.</strong></p><p><strong>WILKES (77) &#8212;</strong> Landon Henry 3-4 2-2 11, Marcus Robinson 1-11 0-0 3, Rob Pecorelli 4-12 4-4 15, Mark Mullins 5-7 4-4 16, Zach Brunner 2-7 0-0 4, Mason Gross 0-4 0-0 0, Tommy Bowen 6-11 2-2 14, Jack Bova 4-8 2-2 14, Zach Walser 0-0 0-0 0, John Goffredo 0-1 0-0 0, Clay Basalyga 0-0 0-0 0. <strong>Totals 25-65 14-14 77.</strong></p><p><strong>Halftime &#8212; </strong>Wilkes, 33-29</p><p><strong>Three-point goals</strong> &#8212; PSUB 6-19 (Brinson 3-4, Fischer 1-2, Wanker 1-3, Niland 1-6, Reese 0-1, Relihan 0-1, Gorny 0-2); WU 13-34 (Bova 4-8, Henry 3-4, Pecorelli 3-7, Mullins 2-2, Robinson 1-9, Goffredo 0-1, Gross 0-1, Bowen 0-2).</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_TTL030318WilkesBasketball1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes guard Rob Pecorelli takes a shot against Penn State Behrend&#8217;s Dan Wanker (41) at the Marts Center in Wilkes-Barre in an ECAC quarterfinal game Friday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_TTL030318WilkesBasketball1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wilkes guard Rob Pecorelli takes a shot against Penn State Behrend&#8217;s Dan Wanker (41) at the Marts Center in Wilkes-Barre in an ECAC quarterfinal game Friday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_TTL030318WilkesBasketball2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Former Pittston Area standout Mason Gross flies to the hoop for Wilkes as he dodges the defense of Penn State Behrend&#8217;s Dan Wanker at the Marts Center. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_TTL030318WilkesBasketball2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Former Pittston Area standout Mason Gross flies to the hoop for Wilkes as he dodges the defense of Penn State Behrend&#8217;s Dan Wanker at the Marts Center. </caption1><photoCredit1>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_TTL030318WilkesBasketball3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes&#8217; Zach Brunner (33) looks for a pass against Penn State Behrend&#8217;s Dan Wanker (41) and Andy Niland (10) at the Marts Center. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_TTL030318WilkesBasketball3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Wilkes&#8217; Zach Brunner (33) looks for a pass against Penn State Behrend&#8217;s Dan Wanker (41) and Andy Niland (10) at the Marts Center. </caption2><photoCredit2>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Paul Sokoloski</p><p>psokoloski@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Freshman Bova leads 3-point barrage that carries Wilkes to ECAC semifinals