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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; String Theory received a dose of reality on Saturday afternoon.</p><p>The reality that trying to stop one option on Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s offense just opens up opportunities for the others.</p><p>With Dimitri Gnall the main focus of String Theory, Jeremy Callahan and Todd Phillips took turns burning the defense in the first quarter as Seminary went on for a 75-41 victory in a PIAA Class 3A boys basketball first-round game at Wilkes University.</p><p>District 2 champion Wyoming Seminary (27-2) plays in the second round Wednesday against District 12 champ Neumann-Goretti (20-7), which has won eight of the last nine PIAA Class 3A state championships. Neumann-Goretti trampled District 3 fourth seed Lancaster Mennonite 83-48 in its second-round game.</p><p>District 12 fourth seed String Theory (9-16) started the game with a box-and-one defense, with special attention paid to Wyoming Valley Conference Division 3 MVP Gnall. The strategy kept Gnall from scoring but not Callahan and Phillips.</p><p>&#8220;When other teams focus on one specific player &#8212; not specifically Dimitri or specifically myself &#8212; it opens up everything for everyone else,&#8221; said Callahan, who finished 7 of 9 from behind the arc and with a game-high 25 points. &#8220;I think we&#8217;re skilled at every position and when teams do that it&#8217;s very dangerous.&#8221;</p><p>Callahan launched in three 3-pointers in the first quarter. Phillips added seven more points, and when Jake Koretz finished off the initial eight minutes with a drive to the hoop Seminary was up 18-9.</p><p>&#8220;Going into most of these games, most teams are going to focus on Dimitri,&#8221; Seminary coach Pete Moses said. &#8220;We feel we have a pretty good compliment of players that could be effective. Todd and Jeremy played extremely well. Jake did a good job getting in the lane for us and getting some layups and finishes at the basket.&#8221;</p><p>String Theory abandoned the special defense against Gnall in the second quarter, allowing the senior to score seven of his 10 points. String Theory made a run at the deficit, cutting it to 22-16 with just under six minutes left until halftime, but the Blue Knights recovered. Gnall finished off the half with a rebound basket for a 32-22 lead.</p><p>Callahan then went to work behind the 3-pointer arc in the third, nailing three more. Two treys came in a 12-0 burst that built the lead to 49-29 midway through the period. The Blue Knights hit on their first six shots and finished 9 of 11 from the field in the quarter.</p><p>The victory put Seminary in the second round for the fourth time in school history. The Blue Knights failed to advance past that point in 1986, 1992 and 2018.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>PIAA Class 3A First Round</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Wyoming Seminary 75, String Theory 41</strong></p><p><strong>STRING THEORY (41) </strong>&#8212; Tyler Spann 9 0-0 20, Lamar Thomas 1 0-0 3, Kylil Turner 2 5-6 9, Joel Quinn 0 0-0 0, Debarrin Norman 2 0-2 4, Mark Starchia 0 0-0 0, Haru Mosley 1 0-3 3, Tim Gravelle 0 0-0 0, Jovace Nelson 1 0-2 2, Bryce Garton 0 0-0 0, Ed Cavanaugh 0 0-0 0, Carlos Astacio 0 0-0 0. <strong>Totals 16 5-13 41.</strong></p><p><strong>WYOMING SEMINARY (75)</strong> &#8212; Jake Koretz 3 0-1 6, Todd Phillips 6 1-2 15, Jeremy Callahan 7 4-4 25, Dimitri Gnall 4 1-2 10, Nick Ganter 1 1-1 3, Andy Maddock 0 0-0 0, John Coates 0 0-0 0, Nick Bufalino 1 1-1 3, Ryan Anderson 0 3-4 3, Aidan Murphy 0 0-0 0, Alex Meuser 1 0-0 2, Ethan Meuser 3 0-0 6, Ben Paglia 1 0-0 2, Gavin Flanley 0 0-0 0. <strong>Totals 27 11-15 75.</strong></p><p><strong>String Theory`9`13`13`6 &#8212; 41</strong></p><p><strong>Wyo. Seminary`18`14`26`17 &#8212; 75</strong></p><p><strong>Three-point goals </strong>&#8212; ST 4 (Spann 2, Thomas, Mosley); WS 10 (Callahan 7, Phillips 2, Gnall)</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s Dimitri Gnall shoots over the String Theory defense in a PIAA Class 3A boys basketball opening-round game at Wilkes University on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_TTL031019HSBB-Sem-StringTheory_2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s Dimitri Gnall shoots over the String Theory defense in a PIAA Class 3A boys basketball opening-round game at Wilkes University on Saturday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_TTL031019HSBB-Sem-StringTheory_3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s Todd Phillips shoots from the corner as String Theory&#8217;s Joel Quinn defends in a PIAA Class 3A boys basketball opening-round game at Wilkes University on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_TTL031019HSBB-Sem-StringTheory_3.jpg</photo1><caption1>Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s Todd Phillips shoots from the corner as String Theory&#8217;s Joel Quinn defends in a PIAA Class 3A boys basketball opening-round game at Wilkes University on Saturday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_TTL031019HSBB-Sem-StringTheory_4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s Jeremy Callahan shoots a three-pointer in a 25-point effort against String Theory in a PIAA Class 3A boys basketball opening-round game at Wilkes University on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_TTL031019HSBB-Sem-StringTheory_4.jpg</photo2><caption2>Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s Jeremy Callahan shoots a three-pointer in a 25-point effort against String Theory in a PIAA Class 3A boys basketball opening-round game at Wilkes University on Saturday. </caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_TTL031019HSBB-Sem-StringTheory_1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s Jake Koretz looks for an opening in the String Theory defense in a PIAA Class 3A boys basketball opening-round game at Wilkes University on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_TTL031019HSBB-Sem-StringTheory_1.jpg</photo3><caption3>Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s Jake Koretz looks for an opening in the String Theory defense in a PIAA Class 3A boys basketball opening-round game at Wilkes University on Saturday. </caption3><photoCredit3>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></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: Wyoming Seminary rolls past String Theory in PIAA 3A opener