web1_TTL101618Meuser1.jpg

Our View: Meuser showing leadership in stormwater-fee fight

web1_TTL021719GBB-Redeemer-Hazleton_4.jpg

Breaking down the District 2 girls basketball tournaments

<p>Entering the postseason with high expectations, the Penn State Wilkes-Barre men&#8217;s basketball team is ranked No. 3 nationally and No. 1 in its conference.</p><p>But it all starts with a game against another team from Luzerne County.</p><p>The Mountain Lions open the PSUAC tournament at 8 p.m. Tuesday when they host Penn State Hazleton in Lehman Township.</p><p>Wilkes-Barre earned the No. 1 seed in the Penn State University Athletic Conference with an 18-1 conference record this season. Two of the wins came against Hazleton and both were by more than 18 points.</p><p>Kevin Silverberg led the PSU Wilkes-Barre attack in the first meeting with 23 points while going 8-13 from the field and 7-11 from beyond the arc.</p><p>Khalil White scored 33 points off the bench in the second meeting for the Mountain Lions. He shot 11-15 from the field while going 6-10 from 3-point range.</p><p>White has been PSU Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s leading scorer this season averaging 15.2 points per game off the bench.</p><p>LeShawn Hammet, the Mountain Lions head coach, has leaned on Ameer Biddle this season on the defensive end. Biddle has been their leader on the defensive end this season with nearly two and a half steals per game and just under one block per game.</p><p>Hazleton went 9-10 throughout PSUAC play and will look to leading scorer Andy Kwaitkowski. He averages just under 18 points per game with 17.8 and shoots over 47 percent from the field.</p><p><strong>MEN&#8217;S ICE HOCKEY</strong></p><p><strong>Colonels open playoffs</strong></p><p>Wilkes will host its first playoff game Tuesday when the Colonels play fifth-seeded Nazareth in the opening round of the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) tournament.</p><p>The Colonels finished with the No. 4 seed after going 0-2-1 in their final three games. Wilkes is 1-0-1 against the Golden Flyers this season, but they picked up five of six available points in the two games.</p><p>The first-year program, led by coach Brett Riley, was in the running for the top seed headed into the final weekend. The only team the Colonels failed to beat in the conference was top-seeded Utica.</p><p>The Colonels are also led by three freshmen at the Division III level. Donald Flynn averaged 1.44 points per game to lead all freshmen nationally, followed by Tyler Barrow with 1.36 and Nick Fea with 1.21.</p><p>Nazareth did a good job keeping the Colonels at bay in the first two matchups, as goalie Sean Kuhn held Wilkes to just three goals. Kuhn is second in the UCHC among starting goalies in both goals against average (2.38) and save percentage (.929).</p><p>&#8220;We are going to have to do a god job making a a good goalie work hard,&#8221; Riley said. &#8220;We have to force pucks to the net.&#8221;</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_TTL022718PSUWilkes-BarreTournament_1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Head coach LeShawn Hammett has led Penn State Wilkes-Barre to its first 20-win season in more than 25 years. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL022718PSUWilkes-BarreTournament_1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Head coach LeShawn Hammett has led Penn State Wilkes-Barre to its first 20-win season in more than 25 years. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis file photo | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta></shirttailMeta></div>

Penn State Wilkes-Barre basketball opening postseason vs. Penn State Hazleton