web1_Cuozzo_mug_WEB.jpg

Ex-councilwoman announces run for Hazleton mayor

web1_TTL021519Valentines3.jpg

Valentine’s advice: Make each other laugh, have fun, be patient, listen

<p>Well, the time has finally arrived for the inaugural Wyoming Valley Conference Boys Basketball Championships.</p><p>The idea was banged around for a couple of years, but Friday night at Dallas High School the semifinals will take place.</p><p>Up first at 6 p.m. will be Division 1 champion Hazleton Area (16-6) vs. Division 2 champion Nanticoke Area (18-5). Then at 7:30 p.m., Division 3 champion Wyoming Seminary (20-2) plays wild-card entry Crestwood (18-5), which finished second in Division 1 but earned the wild card via the District 2 Power Ratings.</p><p>The championship game is 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Hazleton Area High School. The girls title game will be played there first at 6 p.m.</p><p>A few things had to happen to get to this point.</p><p>First, the weather had to cooperate. It didn&#8217;t and all schedules &#8212; not in just the WVC but the Lackawanna League and elsewhere &#8212; couldn&#8217;t be completed in time for final Power Ratings. So instead, WVC officials cut off the Power Ratings on Sunday to determine the wild-card team.</p><p>Secondly, the WVC schedule had to be condensed, resulting in three-game weeks, because the District 2 playoffs begin Tuesday.</p><p>But the first seed was planted, possibly inadvertently, after the 2011-12 season when the WVC eliminated first-half and second-half seasons. Remember them? Teams would play half their WVC schedule to determine a first-half champion. Then records would be erased and the rest of the schedule would determine a second-half champion.</p><p>There was lag time built in so there could be a playoff for a first-half, second-half or overall champion in the advent of ties.</p><p>Only Holy Redeemer (18-3) has any gripe about the four teams. The Royals have a better winning percentage than three of them but didn&#8217;t make the field because they weren&#8217;t a divisional champion and lost out to Crestwood in the Power Ratings .716-.709.</p><p>Here&#8217;s a look at tonight&#8217;s games:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Hazleton Area vs. Nanticoke Area</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>6 p.m. Dallas H.S.</strong></p><p>Hazleton Area defeated Nanticoke Area 62-50 on Jan. 3, which is an eternity in high school basketball. Plenty can change over six weeks.</p><p>What hasn&#8217;t changed for Hazleton Area is its go-to guy &#8212; senior forward Da&#8217;Mir Faison. Arguably the most-rounded player in the WVC, Faison is averaging 19.9 points in WVC games and will play at Division I NJIT next season. He bumped up from the third option on offense on a team a win away from playing for the PIAA Class 6A state championship to the first option.</p><p>The problem is nobody has seized the offensive reins after Faison. Guards Andrew Vayda (7.6 ppg) and Sparky Wolk (5.0), wings Scott Campbell (8.1) and Kyle Franek (6.5) and forward Warren Seigendall (6.0) have all stepped up at times. Yet, none has become a true second option.</p><p>While Hazleton Area has put up impressive numbers on occasion, its defense has been stout during a six-game winning streak that includes two victories over Crestwood.</p><p>Nanticoke Area&#8217;s season included a couple of headscratchers. The Trojans had control of Division 2 only to lose it with a 45-44 loss to Tunkhannock. Five days prior to that game, they escaped with a 44-43 win over Meyers (6-15). Nanticoke Area has also lost to all three of the other semifinalists.</p><p>Stopping &#8212; or at least limiting &#8212; senior guard Nate Kreitzer will go a long way to defeating Nanticoke Area. Very few have been able to do that, as Kreitzer is averaging 18.6 points and had 57 3-pointers during the WVC season. He&#8217;s not shy about firing one up from NBA range, so he needs to be monitored even well behind the 3-point line.</p><p>Fellow senior Trahjan Krupinski (10.0) is the opposite. He&#8217;s at home in the paint. Junior Colby Butczynski (10.8) and sophomore Jake Krupinski (8.7) have come up big, especially late in the season. Senior Dylan Szychowski (1.6) does his best work on the defensive side of the court.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Crestwood vs. Wyoming Seminary</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>7:30 p.m. Dallas H.S.</strong></p><p>Coach Pete Moses spent four years putting Wyoming Area back on the basketball map. In his first season at Seminary, he was tasked with keeping the Blue Knights there.</p><p>The job didn&#8217;t require scouring the school&#8217;s Kingston campus for basketball candidates. Moses inherited a ready-made team of four returning starters from the defending District 2 Class 3A champion &#8212; seniors Dimitri Gnall (17.5 ppg) and Nick Ganter (8.9) and juniors Jeremy Callahan (9.8) and Todd Phillips (7.0). Sophomore Jake Koretz (8.8) joined the lineup, but he played a lot as a freshman and the transition was seamless.</p><p>Seminary plays a lot inside the arc, especially Gnall and Ganter. But Callahan, and to a lesser extent Phillips, are very capable 3-point shooters.</p><p>Seminary&#8217;s only losses were 52-50 to Abington Heights (19-2) on Dec. 18 and 61-47 to Holy Redeemer on Feb. 1. The Blue Knights defeated Crestwood 61-49 on Dec. 11.</p><p>Crestwood built a reputation under coach Mark Atherton as a defense-first team. That&#8217;s changed a bit.</p><p>The Comets have four starters back from last season and all appear to be shooting better. The statistics across the board verify it &#8212; Ryan Petrosky (13.7 ppg, 29 3-pointers), Camden Boris (12.6, 25), Sean Murphy (11.3, 25) and Mike Palmiero (9.9, 21). Brad Papura isn&#8217;t a 3-point threat, but as Crestwood&#8217;s tallest starter at 6-foot-3 he&#8217;ll be occupied inside against Sem&#8217;s big guys.</p><p>Besides Seminary, Crestwood&#8217;s other losses have been to Williamsport, Dallas and Hazleton Area (twice).</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/2019/02/web1_TTL010419HSBB-Hazleton-Nanticoke_1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Hazleton Area&#8217;s Da&#8217;Mir Faison (left) and Nanticoke Area&#8217;s Nate Kreitzer lead their teams in scoring as the Cougars and Trojans play in the WVC Championship semifinals at 6 p.m. Friday at Dallas High School. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL010419HSBB-Hazleton-Nanticoke_1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Hazleton Area&#8217;s Da&#8217;Mir Faison (left) and Nanticoke Area&#8217;s Nate Kreitzer lead their teams in scoring as the Cougars and Trojans play in the WVC Championship semifinals at 6 p.m. Friday at Dallas High School. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis file photo | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL012519HSBB-GAR-Sem_2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Dimitri Gnall and the Wyoming Seminary Blue Knights play Crestwood in the WVC Championship semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Dallas High School. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL012519HSBB-GAR-Sem_2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Dimitri Gnall and the Wyoming Seminary Blue Knights play Crestwood in the WVC Championship semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Dallas High School. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis file photo | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></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: Inaugural WVC Championships set for Friday at Dallas High School