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D2 basketball: Toomey lead Dunmore past Holy Redeemer to 3A title

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D2 swimming: Dallas squads, Holy Redeemer’s Mahler shine in Class 2A

<p>WILKES-BARRE TWP. &#8212; Shortly after Saturday afternoon&#8217;s 55-39 loss to perennial District 2 power Holy Cross, Northwest junior guard Sam Saxe put the District 2 Class 2A boys basketball game in perspective.</p><p>&#8220;We were what, 0-23 three or four years ago,&#8221; said Saxe, who scored 14 points to pace the Rangers. &#8220;Coach (Dustin) Babcock came in, and he&#8217;s done an awesome job with us. All the credit to him. I&#8217;m really proud of the team.&#8221;</p><p>Then he added something no Northwest team could say since 1993.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re not done yet,&#8221; Saxe said. &#8220;We still have basketball to play. We&#8217;re not satisfied yet. For all the success we&#8217;ve had, we want to achieve more. We&#8217;re still looking to improve.&#8221;</p><p>As the D2-2A runner-up, Northwest (10-15) will play in the PIAA Class 2A playoffs on March 9 against District 4 champion Muncy. Holy Cross (20-6) will get District 4 runner-up Northeast Bradford.</p><p>Northwest&#8217;s Jaxson Yaple opened the game with a drive down the lane, touching his shot off the glass and into the hoop. It was the only lead the Rangers had all game. Holy Cross, which won its sixth district title in its 11-year existence, then used the hot perimeter shooting of Tyler Mozeleski to take control.</p><p>Mozeleski, who resides in the Pittston Area school boundaries, nailed three 3-point baskets and 11 points in all in the first quarter as the Crusaders took a 17-4 lead into the second quarter.</p><p>Northwest never recovered from the mixture of Holy Cross&#8217; big-game experience and seven first-quarter turnovers.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a combination of both,&#8221; said Babcock, who is in his third season leading the Rangers. &#8220;But I&#8217;d rather contribute it to playing a really, really good team. Quick feet, quick hands, and really well coached.&#8221;</p><p>Holy Cross&#8217; only noticeable deficiency was height with no player taller than 6-foot. That didn&#8217;t stop the Crusaders from dominating the boards for the most part, as four players grabbed six or more rebounds.</p><p>&#8220;We work on our rebounding daily because we&#8217;re undersized every time we take the court,&#8221; Holy Cross coach Al Callejas said. &#8220;Fundamentally, we try to be sound.&#8221;</p><p>Northwest chased the double-digit deficit throughout, managing to get within 15 points twice in the third quarter on 3-pointers by Saxe. Holy Cross, though, bumped the lead to 48-26 early in the fourth.</p><p>Mozeleski led Holy Cross with 19 followed by Pat Galvin with 18. Jaxson Yaple added nine for Northwest.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>District 2 Class 2A Championship</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Holy Cross 55, Northwest 39</strong></p><p><strong>NORTHWEST (39) &#8212;</strong> Tyler Stevens 1 1-3 4, Sam Saxe 6 0-0 14, Jaxon Yaple 2 4-7 9, Bryce Koser 3 1-2 7, Matt Saxe 1 0-0 2, Matt Pierontoni 0 0-0 0, Walker Yaple 1 0-0 3, Martin Zugarek 0 0-0 0, Ethan Sorber 0 0-0 0, Brandon Hardiman 0 0-0 0. <strong>Totals 15 6-12 39.</strong></p><p><strong>HOLY CROSS (55) &#8212;</strong> Tyler Mozeleski 6 2-4 19, Pat Galvin 7 3-4 18, Declan Tokash 2 0-0 5, Tom Montefour 1 0-0 2, Keiran Burrier 4 1-3 9, Caleb Callejas 0 0-1 1, Leahy O&#8217;Connor 1 0-0 2, Dom Passanza 0 0-0 0, Angelo Calciano 0 0-0 0, Dan Dougherty 0 0-0 0, John Egan o 0-0 0, James Calciano 0 0-0 0. <strong>Totals 21 6-12 55.</strong></p><p><strong>Northwest`4`7`14`14 &#8212; 39</strong></p><p><strong>Holy Cross`17`9`17`12 &#8212; 55</strong></p><p><strong>Three-point goals &#8212;</strong> NWT 5 (Stevens, S.Saxe 3, J.Yaple, W.Yaple), HC 6 (Mozeleski 4, Galvin, Tokash).</p><style>
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<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>

D2 basketball: Northwest boys fall in 2A championship