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Our View: Everyone’s going to have to pay fair share for state police protection

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Local Roundup: Northwest’s Brenna Babcock scored 1,500th career point

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; If years from now someone says he played for Coughlin in the final boys basketball game in school history, he&#8217;s probably telling the truth.</p><p>On Monday night, anyone healthy enough to put on a Crusaders uniform was able to get a slice of a future memory.</p><p>Of course, the final score might not be mentioned &#8212; Dallas 63, Coughlin 35.</p><p>Five seniors started on Senior Night and the other two subbed in during the first quarter. Twelve Crusaders saw action in the first half and 17 in all played.</p><p>Sophomore Brandon Hall led the offense with 13 points, including a dunk in the second quarter to finish off his steal. Senior Tony Egidio had nine points and tied Hall for the rebound honors with seven.</p><p>&#8220;It was the last game and we started with the seniors,&#8221; said Coughlin coach Mike Day, a 1992 grad and one of 18 1,000-point scorers in school history. &#8220;All the seniors got a chance to play in the first quarter and as the second half rolled around we made sure we got the junior varsity team in.&#8221;</p><p>Coughlin (4-12 Div. 1, 5-16) entered the game with an outside chance of catching North Pocono for the eighth and final spot in next week&#8217;s District 2 Class 5A playoffs. The loss probably ended those chances and the Crusaders&#8217; storied history.</p><p>Wilkes-Barre city schools Coughlin, GAR and Meyers are merging their sports programs for next school year and will play as the Wilkes-Barre Area Wolfpack.</p><p>&#8220;I told the kids after the game they have to embrace the Wilkes-Barre Area Wolfpack,&#8221; Day said. &#8220;This will be the future.&#8221;</p><p>The Crusaders, though, faced an uphill battle from the onset against an opponent that defeated them by 20 points four days prior. Dallas didn&#8217;t help matters as Jack Farrell, Nick Nocito and Justin Finarelli opened the game with 3-pointers as the Mountaineers scored the game&#8217;s first 14 points.</p><p>By the end of the quarter, Dallas was up 24-9 and Farrell was on his way to a double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds. Nick Nocito had 16, Justin Finarelli scored 12 and Austin Finarelli added 11.</p><p>Dallas finished the regular season at 10-6 in Division 1 and 13-9 overall, a solid accomplishment for a program that graduated its top seven players from last season&#8217;s state qualifier. The Mountaineers will likely be the fourth seed in the upcoming D2-5A playoffs.</p><p>&#8220;The kids are working hard. I&#8217;m really proud of them,&#8221; Dallas coach Mark Belenski said. &#8220;We&#8217;re young and they compete everyday in practice for their time and it&#8217;s fun.&#8221;</p><p>Senior Tony Egidio scored nine for Coughlin. He was also presented the Andy Day Spirit Award, given annually since 1981 to a senior player who best exemplifies the virtues of Coughlin basketball. The award was started by former coach John Quinn.</p><p><strong>NOTE: </strong>The game was the final high school boys basketball game at Coughlin. The WBA Wolfpack boys team will play its home games at GAR in 2019-20. The girls will utilize Coughlin.</p><p><strong>MMI Prep 63, Wyoming Area 27</strong></p><p>Matt Marchetti scored 27 points and Mason Marchetti added 11 as MMI pulled away after the first quarter.</p><p>Marcus Kassick added nine for MMI, which finished 3-13 in Division 3 and 8-14 overall. The Preppers will play in next week&#8217;s District 2/11 Class A playoffs.</p><p>Dan Wiedl scored 15 for Wyoming Area, which ended the season at 1-16 in Division 2 and 2-20 overall.</p><p><strong>Lake-Lehman 45, Berwick 40</strong></p><p>Max Paczewski scored 14 points to pace Lake-Lehman, which completed its regular season at 4-12 in Division 3 and 6-16 overall. The Black Knights will be the eighth seed in the District 2 Class 3A playoffs next week.</p><p>CJ Cercone added 12 and Nate Salus scored 10 for Lehman.</p><p>Eric Montes had 12 and Miles Doll had 11 for Berwick, which finished its season at 1-16 in Division 2 and 1-21 overall.</p><p><strong>Northwest 63, Tunkhannock 39</strong></p><p>The Rangers topped Tunkhannock as Walker Yaple scored a game-high 23 points.</p><p>Bryce Koser had 16 points and Jaxson Yaple had 12 for Northwest, which finished 8-8 in Division 3 and improved to 12-9 overall. The Rangers have a non-conference game with Weatherly left and then will play in the District 2 Class 2A playoffs.</p><p>Tyler Faux scored 16 for Tunkhannock (9-8 Div. 2, 13-9). The Tigers will be in the D2-4A playoffs.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Dallas 63, Coughlin 35</strong></p><p><strong>DALLAS (63) &#8212;</strong> Jack Farrell 6 1-2 15, Nick Nocito 6 1-2 16, Sam Nocito 0 0-2 0, Austin Finarelli 4 0-0 11, Justin Finarelli 4 1-2 12, Luke DelGaudio 1 0-0 2, Jake Wienkowski 0 0-0 0, Drew Lojewski 0 0-0 0, Aidan Conrad 0 0-0 0, Chris Killian 2 0-0 5, Bryce Chopyak 1 0-0 2. <strong>Totals 24 3-8 63.</strong></p><p><strong>COUGHLIN (35) &#8212;</strong> Aaron Bennett 1 0-0 2, Tony Egidio 3 3-5 9, Damon Jones 0 0-0 0, Kimmeng Eab 0 0-0 0, Javaun Kinlaw 0 0-0 0, Shane Yearwood 0 0-0 0, Alex Kulikowski 0 0-0 0, Matt Egidio 2 0-0 6, Prince Allen 0 0-0 0, Brandon Hall 5 3-5 13, Henry Avilia 0 0-0 0, LaJean Berry 0 0-0 0, Trent Zavada 0 0-0 0, Joseph Day 2 0-0 5, Shawn Valenzuela 0 0-0 0, Adonis Pena 0 0-0 0, Mike Senape 0 0-0 0. <strong>Totals 12 6-10 35.</strong></p><p><strong>Dallas`24`20`9`12 &#8212; 63</strong></p><p><strong>Coughlin`9`9`10`7 &#8212; 35</strong></p><p><strong>Three-point goals &#8212;</strong> DAL 12 (Farrell 2, N.Nocito 3, A.Finarelli 3, J.Finarelli 3, Killian). COU 2 (M.Egidio).</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>MMI Prep 63, Wyoming Area 27</strong></p><p><strong>WYOMING AREA (27) &#8212;</strong> Dan Wiedl 5 5-10 15, Nick Rubino 0 0-0 0, Cole Coolbaugh 1 0-0 3, Jake Greenfield 1 0-0 2, Sammy Solomon 1 3-4 5, Evan Melberger 0 0-0 0, Jusin Navaedo 0 0-0 0, Jesse Mikoliczyk 1 0-0 2, Jason Wiedl 0 0-0 0, Shayne Lukasavage 0 0-3 0.<strong> Totals 9 8-17 27.</strong></p><p><strong>MMI PREP (63) &#8212;</strong> Mason Marchetti 4 3-4 11, AJ Jordan 0 0-0 0, Zack Young 0 0-0 0, Harry Kress 0 0-0 0, Matt Marchetti 10 4-5 27, Marcus Kassick 3 3-4 9, Tyler Degenhart 1 0-0 2, David Antolick 3 0-0 6, Keefer Hoover 2 2-4 8, Leith Abdulraham 0 0-0 0. <strong>Totals 23 12-17 63.</strong></p><p><strong>Wyoming Area`11`5`5`6 &#8212; 27</strong></p><p><strong>MMI Prep`11`17`20`15 &#8212; 63</strong></p><p><strong>Three-point goals &#8212;</strong> WA 1 (Coolbaugh). MMI 5 (Matt Marchetti 3, Hoover 2).</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Lake-Lehman 45, Berwick 40</strong></p><p><strong>BERWICK (40) &#8212;</strong> Davon Smith 0 0-0 0, Brayden Boone 0 0-0 0, Jarret Groshek 2 0-0 6, Miles Doll 4 1-2 11, NaQuan Smith 0 0-2 0, Zach Evans 2 5-6 9, Peyton Williams 0 2-2 2, Eric Montes 6 0-1 12. <strong>Totals 14 8-13 40.</strong></p><p><strong>LAKE-LEHMAN (45) &#8212;</strong> CJ Cercone 5 2-2 12, Donnie Thompson 2 1-2 6, Ethan Adams 0 0-0 0, Nate Salus 4 1-3 10, Max Paczewski 6 2-2 14, Josh Kane 1 1-3 3, Abe Dabsheh 0 0-0 0. <strong>Totals 18 7-12 45.</strong></p><p><strong>Berwick`8`4`14`14 &#8212; 40</strong></p><p><strong>Lake-Lehman`10`12`8`15 &#8212; 45</strong></p><p><strong>Three-point goals &#8212;</strong> BER 4 (Groshek 2, Doll 2). LL 2 (Thompson, Salus).</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Northwest 63, Tunkhannock 39</strong></p><p><strong>NORTHWEST (63) &#8212; </strong>Walker Yaple 9 1-3 23, Bryce Koser 8 0-1 16, Jaxson Yaple 5 0-0 12, Tyler Stevens 2 1-2 6, Sam Saxe 2 0-0 6, Matt Saxe 0 0-0 0, Chase Biller 0 0-0 0, Mike Crawford 0 0-0 0, Tommy Antolick 0 0-0 0, John Karam 0 0-0 0. <strong>Totals 28 2-6 63.</strong></p><p><strong>TUNKHANNOCK (39) &#8212; </strong>Tyler Faux 4 5-7 16, Erik Bennett 2 1-2 6, Ryan Harder 2 0-0 5, Avery Billings 2 0-0 4, Jaren Robinson 2 0-0 4, Logan Helsel 1 0-0 2, Zach Rogers 1 0-0 2, David Baltrusaitus 0 0-0 0, Nick Reposa 0 0-0 0, Paul Binner 0 0-0 0, CJ Wright 0 0-0 0, Chris Trochak 0 0-0 0, Dylan Cavanaugh 0 0-0 0. <strong>Totals 14 6-9 39.</strong></p><p><strong>Northwest`23`17`12`11 &#8212; 63</strong></p><p><strong>Tunkhannock`7`12`8`12 &#8212; 39</strong></p><p><strong>Three-point goals &#8212; </strong>NW 9 (W. Yaple 4, J. Yaple 2, Saxe 2, Stevens); TUNK 5 (Faux 3, Harder, Bennett).</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Coughlin&#8217;s Tony Egidio keeps the ball away from Dallas&#8217; Nick Nocito during Monday night&#8217;s game. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_coughlin5_faa.jpg</photo0><caption0>Coughlin&#8217;s Tony Egidio keeps the ball away from Dallas&#8217; Nick Nocito during Monday night&#8217;s game. </caption0><photoCredit0>Fred Adams | for Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_coughlin1_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Coughlin&#8217;s Damon Jones (left) and Javaun Kinlaw along with Dallas&#8217; Luke DelGaudio battle for a rebound under the Coughlin basket. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_coughlin1_faa.jpg</photo1><caption1>Coughlin&#8217;s Damon Jones (left) and Javaun Kinlaw along with Dallas&#8217; Luke DelGaudio battle for a rebound under the Coughlin basket. </caption1><photoCredit1>Fred Adams | for Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_coughlin3_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Dallas&#8217; Justin Finarelli has his shot blocked by Coughlin&#8217;s Tony Egidio. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_coughlin3_faa.jpg</photo2><caption2>Dallas&#8217; Justin Finarelli has his shot blocked by Coughlin&#8217;s Tony Egidio. </caption2><photoCredit2>Fred Adams | for Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_coughlin2_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Brandon Hall goes to the basket for Coughlin against Dallas on Monday at Coughlin High School. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_coughlin2_faa.jpg</photo3><caption3>Brandon Hall goes to the basket for Coughlin against Dallas on Monday at Coughlin High School. </caption3><photoCredit3>Fred Adams | for Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_coughlin4_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Coughlin&#8217;s Matt Egidio (right) goes to the basket as Dallas&#8217; Jack Farrell defends Monday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_coughlin4_faa.jpg</photo4><caption4>Coughlin&#8217;s Matt Egidio (right) goes to the basket as Dallas&#8217; Jack Farrell defends Monday night. </caption4><photoCredit4>Fred Adams | for Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Program ends with loss to Dallas</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>

H.S. Boys Basketball: Coughlin plays final boys basketball game