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Around Town: A trip to Olde Brook Inn, a stop at Cork and St. Patrick’s fun

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PIAA basketball: Hazleton Area boys advance to Class 6A semifinals

That do-it-all demon wearing number 35 must be the main weapon for the Hazleton Area Cougars.No wait, it has to be the big guy bringing double trouble with the double zero on his back.But look over there, where No. 12 and No. 22 are dunking the ball.Good gosh, which one do you try to stop?Truth is, you can&#8217;t really key on anyone from Hazleton Area&#8217;s state semifinalist team.&#8220;We have four players averaging between 12 and 15 points per game,&#8221; said Da&#8217;Mir Faison, the one flashing the number 35. &#8220;Not many people can come in and shut down all four of those players. When you have that, that&#8217;s just amazing.&#8221;When you have that, you go to the state semifinals, where the Cougars are headed for the first time since 1995 after taking apart Abington and their 6-foot-8 major college recruit Eric Dixon during Saturday&#8217;s 94-86 victory in the PIAA Class 6A boys basketball quarterfinals.&#8220;Our Big Four,&#8221; Hazleton Area coach Mike Joseph called Faison, Josh Samec, Jeff Planutis and Joey Grula.He went on to praise their scoring ability and passing prowess and the way they contained the dangerous Dixon until he scored 18 of his game-high 35 points in the fourth quarter &#8212; when the Galloping Ghosts had pretty much vanished from Liberty High School&#8217;s basketball court.And that&#8217;s not even getting into the work Cougars point guard Sparky Wolk gave Hazleton Area a continued spark by pulverizing Abington&#8217;s fullcourt press.&#8220;He&#8217;s an All-State football quarterback for a reason,&#8221; Joseph said. &#8220;He&#8217;s our quarterback.&#8221;This was their moment, to do something only two other Hazleton Area teams had done since the school was formed in 1992 by reaching the PIAA semifinals.And initially, Faison was stealing it.But it wasn&#8217;t so much the couple steals he made during the first quarter.And it went deeper than the eight points he scored and seven rebounds he pulled down during the game&#8217;s first eight minutes that led the Cougars to a 19-13 lead they never relinquished.It was the moxie he showed while fearlessly flying through the paint and up to the skies, reaching to the rafters to help block shots and views of the rim, darting to the basket for layups off his offensive dribble and running the floor like a cheetah.All of that was important against a strong opponent featuring a fabulously-talented player like Dixon because it told everyone Hazleton Area wasn&#8217;t about to hesitate.&#8220;That was my main focus,&#8221; said Faison, who finished with 20 points. &#8220;I talked to my dad about it, I just wanted to show I have the aggression on offense, defense. Especially working on the big guy Dixon.&#8221;Then Jeff Planutis took over.The No. 12 of the crew threw down two dunks, and both did more than send the large Hazleton Area crowd into delirium. His first one gave the Cougars an 11-point lead in the second quarter and his second one came midway through the third, giving Hazleton Area a 48-36 advantage.&#8220;If one guy isn&#8217;t scoring, somebody else will do the scoring,&#8221; said Planutis, who finished with 16 points. &#8220;It&#8217;s not like all five of us to have an off-night.&#8221;It&#8217;s been like that all season. In a sense, Saturday&#8217;s convincing victory was a whole year for the Cougars wrapped up into four quarters.When Planitis isn&#8217;t hitting the game-high in points, it&#8217;s Faison. Or No. 22 Joey Grula, who played a fabulous defensive game against the Galloping Ghosts, threw down a dunk of his own at the end put up 19 points.Or that double zero Josh Samec, the 6-8 senior forward who had a big defensive hand in keeping Dixon from dominating and who took over the starring role from Faison and Grula in the second half.Samec hit the first two baskets after halftime to restore a double-digit lead, drilled three of his five 3-point field goals over the final two quarters and led the Cougars with 33 points.&#8220;I didn&#8217;t make a three in the last game. Took that personally,&#8221; Samec said. &#8220;I was due for one.&#8221;The best part?To a man, the Cougars seem to shrug if someone else among them winds up with the best game, the brightest moment or the biggest point total.&#8220;We just care about winning. Honestly, that&#8217;s what we do,&#8221; Samec said. &#8220;Because none of us care how much we score in a game. As a team, we&#8217;re probably the most unselfish team I&#8217;ve ever been a part of.&#8220;We just want to win.&#8221;Which is how the Cougars painted a picture of such excellence on Saturday, it not only thrilled their frenzied fans, it electrified their coach.&#8220;I&#8217;ve played in a lot of places, in the NCAA tournament,&#8221; said Joseph, a former standout guard at Bucknell, &#8220;but I&#8217;ve never been part of a victory like that. It was as close to a masterpiece of a game I&#8217;ve ever been involved in.&#8220;They&#8217;ve never been in this stage before.&#8221; From one end of the court to the other, looks like they were all made for it.<style>
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<div class="neCaption">The Hazleton Area Cougars pose for a photo after defeating Abington 94-86 in a PIAA Class 6A boys basketball quarterfinal game at Bethlehem&#8217;s Liberty High School on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_TTL031818HSBB-Hazleton-Abington_11.jpg</photo0><caption0>The Hazleton Area Cougars pose for a photo after defeating Abington 94-86 in a PIAA Class 6A boys basketball quarterfinal game at Bethlehem&#8217;s Liberty High School on Saturday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @TLSports</shirttailMeta></div>

Sokoloski: Cougars share the spotlight, share success at states