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DAR’s Shawnee Fort Chapter selects Outstanding Regent

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WBS Pens lose crucial point in overtime loss to Utica

<p>HAZLE TWP. &#8212; Wyoming Seminary had to weather two storms Saturday night.</p><p>First, there was Nanticoke Area sharpshooter Nate Kreitzer, who rained down a cloudburst of 3-pointers a night earlier in a semifinal game against Hazleton Area.</p><p>Next, there was their own leading scorer Dimitri Gnall, who was having an outstanding game after struggling in Friday&#8217;s semifinal. Gnall left the game late in the second quarter with a knee injury and didn&#8217;t return until late in the third on Saturday.</p><p>The Blue Knights overcame both with a heavy dose of teamwork midway through the fourth quarter to defeat Nanticoke Area, 53-43, in the first-ever Wyoming Valley Conference Boys Basketball Championship game.</p><p>Pressure defense held Kreitzer to five points in the second half and Nanticoke Area (19-6) to 14 total. Sophomore Ethan Meuser played admirably during Gnall absence as Seminary (22-2) didn&#8217;t miss a beat offensively.</p><p>&#8220;We started the second half with Ethan Meuser, who played an exceptional game in back-to-back nights for a kid off the bench who hasn&#8217;t played a ton of minutes,&#8221; Seminary coach Pete Moses said. &#8220;Jeremy (Callahan) and Jake (Koretz) down the stretch were huge offensively and defensively.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s especially hard for Jeremy when on most nights we&#8217;re asking him to guard one of the top scorers on the other team. He spending a ton of energy running off screens and trapping and then we&#8217;re asking him to be a threat at the other end.&#8221;</p><p>Things started to look a bit grim for Seminary in the second quarter when Kreitzer scored on a drive with 2:34 left for a 27-17 Nanticoke Area lead. When Kreitzer turned to head to the hoop, he collided with Gnall. Gnall, who had 12 points at the time, headed to the bench and applied an ice pack to his right knee.</p><p>&#8220;I went to hedge a screen on Nate and he came off the screen,&#8221; Gnall said. &#8220;The front of his knee hit into the side of mine. Just banged knees. I don&#8217;t know if it hit the bone or the muscle, but it was sore.&#8221;</p><p>Just before Gnall returned at 2:28 of the third quarter, Koretz nailed a 3-pointer and Meuser connected on a jumper. Koretz added a 15-footer to cut the deficit to 31-28.</p><p>Seminary took the lead for good, 39-38, on a free throw by Koretz. The big play, though, was made on a miss on the second free-throw attempt when Todd Phillips grabbed the rebound and passed to Callahan for a 3-pointer. Baskets Nick Ganter and Phillips, which came on his 10th rebound, boosted the lead to 46-38 with just over two minutes left.</p><p>Kreitzer finally stopped the bleeding with a 3-pointer, but it was only temporary. Meuser scored uncontested inside while Seminary was attempting to chew up the clock and followed with a pair of free throws to bump the advantage to 50-41.</p><p>&#8220;Our big thing was stopping Kreitzer,&#8221; Ganter said. &#8220;He had a big game (against Hazleton Area), 35 points in that game. In the second half, we really pressured their guards which really helped us. I think they got 14 in the second half.&#8221;</p><p>The outcome was similar to Seminary&#8217;s 51-42 victory over Nanticoke Area on Jan. 2. Nanticoke Area had a double-digit lead in the second quarter in that game before a 16-0 Sem run flipped the momentum.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>WVC Boys Basketball Championship</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Wyoming Seminary 53, Nanticoke Area 43</strong></p><p><strong>NANTICOKE AREA (43)</strong> &#8212; Nate Kreitzer 6 0-0 14, Dylan Szychowski 2 0-0 4, Colby Butczynski 1 0-0 2, Trahjan Krupinski 5 1-1 13, Jake Krupinski 2 0-0 4, Luke Myers 0 0-0 0, JJ Bielecki 2 0-0 6, Collin Brown 0 0-0 0, Andy Kozlofski 0 0-0 0, Brandon Fontaine 0 0-0 0. <strong>Totals 18 1-1 43.</strong></p><p><strong>WYO. SEMINARY (53)</strong> &#8212; Jake Koretz 4 3-4 13, Todd Phillips 1 2-2 4, Jeremy Callahan 3 3-4 12, Dimitri Gnall 6 0-0 12, Nick Ganter 2 0-0 4, Nick Bufalino 0 0-0 0, Ryan Anderson 0 0-0 0, Ethan Meuser 3 2-2 8. <strong>Totals 19 10-12 53.</strong></p><p><strong>Nanticoke Area`15`14`4`10 &#8212; 43</strong></p><p><strong>Wyo. Seminary`13`8`7`25 &#8212;53</strong></p><p><strong>Three-point goals</strong> &#8212; NAN 6 (Kreitzer 2, Bielecki 2, T. Krupinski 2); SEM 5 (Callahan 3, Koretz 2)</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s Dimitri Gnall shoots over Nanticoke Area&#8217;s Colby Butczynski in the WVC boys basketball championship game at Hazleton Area High School on Saturday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL021719HSBB-Sem-Nanticoke_1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s Dimitri Gnall shoots over Nanticoke Area&#8217;s Colby Butczynski in the WVC boys basketball championship game at Hazleton Area High School on Saturday night. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL021719HSBB-Sem-Nanticoke_3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s Jake Koretz passes out of the corner between Nanticoke Area&#8217;s Trahjan Krupinski (left) and Colby Butczynski in the WVC boys basketball championship game at Hazleton Area High School on Saturday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL021719HSBB-Sem-Nanticoke_3.jpg</photo1><caption1>Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s Jake Koretz passes out of the corner between Nanticoke Area&#8217;s Trahjan Krupinski (left) and Colby Butczynski in the WVC boys basketball championship game at Hazleton Area High School on Saturday night. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL021719HSBB-Sem-Nanticoke_5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s Dimitri Gnall ices his right knee on the bench during the WVC boys basketball championship game against Nanticoke Area at Hazleton Area High School on Saturday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL021719HSBB-Sem-Nanticoke_5.jpg</photo2><caption2>Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s Dimitri Gnall ices his right knee on the bench during the WVC boys basketball championship game against Nanticoke Area at Hazleton Area High School on Saturday night. </caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL021719HSBB-Sem-Nanticoke_2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Nanticoke Area&#8217;s Nate Kreitzer shoots a jumper against Wyoming Seminary in the WVC boys basketball championship game at Hazleton Area High School on Saturday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL021719HSBB-Sem-Nanticoke_2.jpg</photo3><caption3>Nanticoke Area&#8217;s Nate Kreitzer shoots a jumper against Wyoming Seminary in the WVC boys basketball championship game at Hazleton Area High School on Saturday night. </caption3><photoCredit3>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL021719HSBB-Sem-Nanticoke_4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s Nick Ganter, left, battles Nanticoke Area&#8217;s Jake Krupinski for a rebound in the WVC boys basketball championship game at Hazleton Area High School on Saturday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL021719HSBB-Sem-Nanticoke_4.jpg</photo4><caption4>Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s Nick Ganter, left, battles Nanticoke Area&#8217;s Jake Krupinski for a rebound in the WVC boys basketball championship game at Hazleton Area High School on Saturday night. </caption4><photoCredit4>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Blue Knights win first-ever WVC boys championship</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: Wyoming Seminary wins first-ever WVC championship