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WILKES-BARRE &#8212; So it wasn&#8217;t a wire-to-wire victory Friday night.Just a minor technicality in a major win for Holy Redeemer.The Royals jumped out quickly, led all but 88 seconds of the game and defeated Wyoming Seminary 61-47 to force a tie atop Division 3 of Wyoming Valley Conference boys basketball.Both teams are 11-1 in the division &#8212; Sem is 16-2 overall and Redeemer 15-2 &#8212; heading into the final four games of the WVC season. They have the same opponents remaining on their WVC schedules &#8212; Hanover Area, Lake-Lehman, MMI Prep and Northwest. Redeemer gets MMI on Saturday while Seminary hosts Northwest in a matinee on Super Bowl Sunday.The loss snapped the Blue Knights&#8217; 11-game winning streak. Their other setback was 52-50 on Dec. 18 to defending PIAA Class 5A state champion Abington Heights, which entered Friday night 15-2.&#8220;I tell the guys that Jeff Van Gundy says about the NBA, that it&#8217;s a make-or-miss league,&#8221; Seminary coach Pete Moses said. &#8220;I thought about that tonight. I don&#8217;t have the numbers exactly, but I had us like 4-for-20 from three. The shots weren&#8217;t falling. Even shots we normally make around the basket weren&#8217;t falling for us at all.&#8221;Seminary shot 20-of-60 (33 percent) from the field. But if Todd Phillips&#8217; 8-for-11 performance is removed, the rest of the team shot 24 percent. Standout Dimitri Gnall finished with eight points, and for the first time didn&#8217;t hit double figures in a WVC game. He had 20 in Seminary&#8217;s 45-43 win over Redeemer on Jan. 20.&#8220;Everybody who has played Seminary all year has keyed in on Dimitri,&#8221; Redeemer coach Paul Guido said. &#8220;He&#8217;s having an outstanding year, and we tried our best to contain him the best we could. Definitely one of the factors or keys to the game was to limit him.&#8221;The job was bestowed on Redeemer&#8217;s big men &#8212; 6-foot-9 junior Jared Piontkowski and 6-foot-7 senior Nick Prociak. Piontkowski challenged the Blue Knights vertically with his long arms. Prociak did the same, but also added more bulk to clog up the interior.Piontkowski finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. Prociak topped everyone with 20 points and 12 boards.&#8220;This was big for us,&#8221; Prociak said. &#8220;Sem, they&#8217;ve been our rival. I think we lost four in a row to them. We wanted to come out with a lot of energy and play the way we could.&#8221;The big guys were instrumental in the Royals jumping to a 10-2 lead just past the midway point of the first quarter, Seminary recovered and took its first lead, 15-14, when Ethan Meuser hit a 3-pointer to start the second quarter. Sem lost the lead, but regained it briefly a bit later.But after Josh Andrejko came off the bench to hit his only shot &#8212; a 3-pointer &#8212; Redeemer was up for good 19-18 with 4:51 until halftime.The Redeemer lead eventually reached double digits, but Seminary made things interesting midway through the fourth. Consecutive baskets by Jake Koretz and Phillips sliced the deficit to 43-37, only to have Redeemer three-year starter Collin Cook crush the comeback.He scored on a rebound, grabbed another that led to a fastbreak layup by Prociak and plucked yet another that Piontkowski finished off with dunk.Just like that, Redeemer was back to a 12-point lead and wasn&#8217;t challenged down the stretch.Cook finished with 13 points and a rebound shy of a double-double. Freshman Justice Shoats had 11, including 6-for-6 from the foul line in the final quarter.NOTE: The teams could potentially play three more times &#8212; in a special playoff if they finished tied for the division, in the inaugural four-team WVC playoffs and in the District 2 Class 3A playoffs.Meyers 51, Wyoming Area 37The Mohawks use good games from Kendall Brewster, Cole Walker and Blake Masker to beat Wyoming Area.Breswter had a game-high 12 points, Walker had 11 and Masker had 10.Dan Wiedl led the Warriors with 11 points.Dallas 55, Crestwood 47Dallas used a big fourth quarter to come from behind and beat the Division 1 first-place Comets.Jack Farrell led the Mountaineers with 19.Ryan Petrosky had a game-high 26 points for Crestwood, which remained a game ahead of Hazleton Area.Northwest 53, Hanover Area 51The Rangers used an 18-point fourth quarter to rally past Hanover Area.Tyler Stevens had a game-high 19 points to lead Northwest. Walker Yaple followed with 14 and Bryce Koser had 11.Asad Whitehead led the Hawkeyes with 13 points.Nanticoke Area 75, Berwick 41The Trojans took care of business at home with a win over Berwick.Nate Kreitzer had a game-high 16 points to lead Nanticoke Area.Zach Evans had 15 points to lead the Bulldogs.Hazleton Area 75, Wyoming Valley West 43The Cougars rolled past Wyoming Valley West behind 12 different scorers.Warren Seigendall led all scorers with 15 points for Hazleton Area.Tom Federici had 14 points to lead the Spartans.GAR 70, Tunkhannock 61The Grenadiers beat Tunkhannock in an offensive slugfest.Will Johnson had a game-high 35 points to lead GAR. Tyler Faux had 32 points to lead Tunkhannock.Pittston Area 76, Coughlin 63Pittston Area scored49 second-half points to beat the Crusaders.Logan Booth led the Patriots with 18 points followed by Mike George with 16.Coughlin was led by Brandon Hall with 25 points and Tony Egidio with 23.Lake-Lehman 59, MMI Prep 29The Black Knights jumped out to a 16-point lead after the first quarter on the way to a win.Max Paczewski led Lehman with 14. Abe Dabsheh added 10.Mason Marchetti scored nine to pace MMI Prep.Holy Redeemer 61, Wyoming Seminary 47WYOMING SEMINARY (47) &#8212; Jake Koretz 3 1-2 8, Todd Phillips 8 0-0 17, Jeremy Callahan 2 0-0 5, Dimitri Gnall 4 0-2 8, Nick Ganter 2 2-2 6, Ethan Meuser 1 0-0 3, Ryan Anderson 0 0-0 0, Nick Bufalino 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 3-6 47.HOLY REDEEMER (61) &#8212; Derek Answini 0 0-1 0, Justice Shoats 2 7-7 11, Jared Piontkowski 4 2-2 10, Collin Cook 5 2-3 13, Nick Prociak 6 8-8 20, Matt Prociak 0 0-0 0, Mason Mendygral 0 4-4 4. Totals 18 23-25 61.Wyo. Seminary`12`8`8`19 &#8212; 47Holy Redeemer`14`13`12`22 &#8212; 61Three-point goals &#8212; WS 4 (Koretz, Phillips, Callahan, Meuser). HR 2 (Andjrejko, Cook).Meyers 51, Wyoming Area 37WYOMING AREA (37) &#8212; Dan Wiedl 4 2-2 11, Cole Coolbaugh 4 0-0 10, Nick Rubino 3 0-0 9, Jake Greenfield 2 0-0 4, Sam Solomon 1 0-0 3, Nick Elko 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 2-2 37.MEYERS (51) &#8212; Kendall Brewster 5 1-2 12, Cole Walker 5 0-2 11, Blake Masker 5 0-0 10, Keegan Brewster 4 0-0 8, David Kasper 3 1-4 7, Ryan Casey 1 0-0 2, Najese Hood0 1-2 1, Jordan Diggs 0 0-0 0, Jack Gilgallon 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 3-10 51.Wyoming Area`8`10`11`8 &#8212; 37Meyers`13`11`16`11 &#8212; 51Three-point goals &#8212; WA 7 (Rubino 3, Coolbaugh 2, Wiedl, Solomon); MEY 2 (Kendall Brewster, Walker).Dallas 55, Crestwood 47DALLAS (55) &#8212; Jack Farrell 9 0-0 19, Luke delGaudio 4 4-4 12, Nicholas Nocito 3 2-3 9, Austin Finarelli 3 0-2 9, Dylan Schuster 1 0-0 2, Samuel Nocito 1 0-0 2, Justin Finarelli 1 0-2 2, Logan Evanosky 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 6-10 55.CRESTWOOD (47) &#8212; Ryan Petrosky 9 2-2 26, Camden Boris 3 0-0 6, Jacob Zaleski 2 0-0 5, Brad Papura 2 0-0 4, Mike Palmiero 1 1-1 4, Sean Murphy 0 2-2 2, Marcus Vieney 0 0-0 0, Frank Casarella 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 5-5 47.Dallas`14`11`12`18 &#8212; 55Crestwood`11`16`14`6 &#8212; 47Three-point goals &#8212; DAL 5 (A. Finarelli 3, N. Nocito, Farrell); CRE 8 (Petrosky 6, Zaleski, Palmiero).Northwest 53, Hanover Area 51HANOVER AREA (51) &#8212; Asad Whitehead 4 5-9 13, Khairi Carson 6 0-0 12, Justin Kopko 4 0-0 8, Evan Materna 3 0-0 7, Mike Merth 2 0-0 4, Matt Barber 1 0-0 3, Lamarr Nelson 1 0-0 2, Joe Curcio 1 0-0 2, Auggie George 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 5-9 51.NORTHWEST (53) &#8212; Tyler Stevens 6 3-6 19, Walker Yaple 6 0-0 14, Bryce Koser 5 1-1 11, Jaxson Yaple 4 0-0 9, Sam Saxe 0 0-0 0, Matt Saxe 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 4-7 53.Hanover Area`13`16`11`11 &#8212; 51Northwest`14`9`12`18 &#8212; 53Three-point goals &#8212; HAN 2 (Barber, Materna); NW 7 (Stevens 4, W. Yaple 2, J. Yaple).Nanticoke Area 75, Berwick 41BERWICK (41) &#8212; Zach Evans 5 5-6 15, Naquan Smith 3 3-5 10, Miles Doll 2 1-1 6, Eric Martes 2 0-0 4, Brayden Boone 1 0-0 2, Taylor Tasjer 1 0-0 2, Jake Seely 1 0-0 2, Devon Smith 0 0-0 0, Weston Arndt 0 0-0 0, Jarret Groshek 0 0-0 0, Payton Williams 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 9-12 41.NANTICOKE AREA (75) &#8212; Nate Kreitzer 4 5-6 16, Colby Butczynski 7 0-0 14, Any Kozlofski 4 2-2 14, Jake Krupinski 5 2-2 13, Trathan Krupinski 3 0-0 6, Collin Brown 2 0-0 4, John Chernowsky 1 2-3 4, Luke Myers 1 0-0 2, Tyler Rushton 1 0-0 2, JJ Bielecki 0 0-0 0, Joe Fox 0 0-0 0, Dylan Szychowski 0 0-0 0. Totals 28 11-13 75.Berwick`11`11`5`14 &#8212; 41Nanticoke Area`20`18`19`18 &#8212; 75Three-point goals &#8212; BER 2 (N. Smith, Doll); NAN 8 (Kozlofski 4, Kreitzer 3, J Krupinski).Hazleton Area 75, Wyoming Valley West 43HAZLETON AREA (75) &#8212; Warren Seigendall 7 1-2 15, DaMir Faison 5 4-4 14, Scott Campbell 4 0-0 9, Ramddy Melendez 1 6-7 8, Andrew Vayda 3 0-0 7, Nikolas Norman 2 3-3 7, Jecxander Moronta-Alvarez 2 0-0 4, Kevin Gil 1 0-0 3, Ryan Wolk 1 0-0 2, Kyle Franek 1 0-0 2, Alex D&#8217;Angelo 1 0-1 2, Juwardt Nieves 1 0-2 2. Totals 29 14-19 75.WYOMING VALLEY WEST (43) &#8212; Tom Federici 5 0-0 14, Christian Michak 4 0-0 11, Tyler Gillespie 3 3-4 9, Joe Lombardo 1 2-4 9, Danny Gibbons 1 0-0 3, Cole Gorham 1 0-0 2, Roland Hamad 0 0-0 0, Saquan Portee 0 0-0 0, Anthony Jamison 0 0-0 0, Jamir Jamison 0 0-0 0, Jahmad Patterson 0 0-0 0, Tyler Dalley 0 0-0 0, Brandon Littman 0 0-0 0, Sadiq Ransom 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 5-8 43.Hazleton Area`19`18`19`19 &#8212; 75Wyoming Valley West`4`21`8`10 &#8212; 43Three-point goals &#8212; HAZ 3 (Gil, Vayda, Campbell); WVW 8 (Federici 4, Michak 3, Gibbons).GAR 70, Tunkhannock 61GAR (70) &#8212; Will Johnson 14 4-6 35, Jared O&#8217;Day 4 0-0 14, Curon Smith 5 1-1 11, Tyler Young 1 5-6 7, Shawn Adamson 2 1-2 4, Curtis Smith 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 11-15 70.TUNKHANNOCK (61) &#8212; Tyler Faux 14 1-2 32, Avery Billings 4 0-0 8, Jack Chilson 3 1-2 7, Ryan Harder 2 0-0 6, Nick Reposa 2 0-0 6, Erik Bennett 1 0-0 2, CJ Wright 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 2-4 61.GAR`14`15`21`29 &#8212; 70Tunkhannock`16`10`14`21 &#8212;61Three-point goals &#8212; GAR 7 (O&#8217;Day 4, Johnson 3); TUNK 7 (Faux 3, Reposa 2, Harder 2).Pittston Area 76, Coughlin 63COUGHLIN (63) &#8212; Brandon Hall 10 5-7 25, Anthony Egidio 11 0-3 23, Aaron Bennett 3 0-0 6, Prince Allen 1 3-4 5, Shawn Valenzuela 1 0-0 2, Trens Zavada 1 0-0 2, Matt Egidio 0 0-0 0, Alex Kulikowich 0 0-0 0, Kimmeng Eab 0 0-0 0, Javawn Kinlaw 0 0-0 0, Damon Jones 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 8-14 63.PITTSTON AREA (76) &#8212; Logan Booth 7 4-5 18, Mike George 5 3-4 16, Brennan Higgins 4 6-7 14, Sevion Leak 4 2-7 12, Andrew Krawczyk 4 2-3 10, JJ Walsh 1 1-3 4, MatT Johnson 1 0-0 3, Matt Macaluso 0 0-0 0, David Behm 0 0-0 0, Anthony Thomas 0 0-0 0, Ethan Ganham 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 18-29 76.Coughlin`8`13`21`21 &#8212; 63Pittston Area`17`11`23`26 &#8212; 76Three-point goals &#8212; COU 1 (A. Egidio); PIT 6 (George 3, Leak, Johnson, Walsh).Lake-Lehman 59, MMI Prep 29LAKE-LEHMAN (59) &#8212; CJ Cercone 3 2-4 8, Neil Dougherty 3 1-2 7, Ethan Adams 3 0-0 6, Abe Dabsheh 4 0-0 10, Max Paczewski 7 0-2 14, Donnie Thompson 2 0-2 5, Josh Kane 1 0-0 2, Nate Salus 3 1-3 7, Jacob Prest 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 4-13 59.MMI PREP (29) &#8212; Mason Marchetti 4 1-3 9, AJ Jordan 0 0-0 0, Harry Kress 0 0-0 0, Matt Marchetti 2 3-4 8, Marcus Kassick 2 1-2 6, Connor Spencer 0 0-0 0, Tyler Degenhart 1 2-2 4, Dave Antolick 0 0-0 0, Keefer Hoover 1 0-0 2, Josue Rodriguez 0 0-0 0, Thomas Mauerick 0 0-0 0, Leith Abdulraham 0 0-0 0, Peter Walko 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 7-11 29.Lake-Lehman`21`9`11`18 &#8212; 59MMI Prep`10` 7-11` 29.Three-point goals &#8212; LL 3 (Dabsheh 2, Thompson). MMI 2 (Matt Marchetti, Kassick).<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s Nick Bufalino attempts to block a shot by Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Nick Prociak during Friday&#8217;s WVC Division 3 boys basketball game. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL020219BBHRSem1-1.jpeg</photo0><caption0>Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s Nick Bufalino attempts to block a shot by Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Nick Prociak during Friday&#8217;s WVC Division 3 boys basketball game. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL020219BBHRSem3-1.jpeg">
<div class="neCaption">Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Jared Piontkowski takes the ball to the hoop against Wyoming Seminary on Friday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL020219BBHRSem3-1.jpeg</photo1><caption1>Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Jared Piontkowski takes the ball to the hoop against Wyoming Seminary on Friday night. </caption1><photoCredit1>Sean McKeag | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL020219BBHRSem4-1.jpeg">
<div class="neCaption">Holy Redeemer point guard Justice Shoats dribbles down court against Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s Jeremy Callahan on Friday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL020219BBHRSem4-1.jpeg</photo2><caption2>Holy Redeemer point guard Justice Shoats dribbles down court against Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s Jeremy Callahan on Friday night. </caption2><photoCredit2>Sean McKeag | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL020219BBHRSem2-1.jpeg">
<div class="neCaption">Holy Redeemer guard Derek Answini passes over Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s Nick Bufalino during Friday night&#8217;s game. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL020219BBHRSem2-1.jpeg</photo3><caption3>Holy Redeemer guard Derek Answini passes over Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s Nick Bufalino during Friday night&#8217;s game. </caption3><photoCredit3>Sean McKeag | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Redeemer tops Seminary for share of first place</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By John Erzarjerzar@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach John Erzar at 570-991-6394 or on Twitter @TLJohnErzar</shirttailMeta></div>

H.S. Boys Basketball: Holy Redeemer defeats Seminary for share of first place