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SCRANTON &#8211; As the day progressed, the games in the second annual Conference Challenge at the Lackawanna College Student Union Center got increasingly competitive and interesting.The results, however, were best for the Wyoming Valley Conference at the start.Northwest&#8217;s 42-26 victory in the opener was the only win in the tripleheader pitting WVC teams against Lackawanna League opponents.When the Rangers walked off the floor after the first game, the WVC stood at 4-0 in the second-year event.No team made it to 2-0, however, as Valley View and Holy Cross won rematches of their Conference Challenge losses to Holy Redeemer and Nanticoke a year ago.Valley View downed Holy Redeemer, 44-39, and unbeaten Holy Cross held off Nanticoke, 45-42.Northwest 42, Susquehanna 26 Walker Yaple went 3-for-5 from 3-point range while scoring 18 points to lead Northwest, which held Susquehanna without a field goal for more than 11 minutes, including the entire third quarter.Northwest outscored Susquehanna 13-3 in the third.By the time Garrett Decker broke Susquehanna&#8217;s drought with 6:25 remaining in the game, Northwest had turned an 18-9 game into a 35-13 blowout.&#8220;We knew coming in that they were going to run some stuff and be very patient,&#8221; Northwest coach Sean Miller said. &#8220;We wanted to speed them up and make them play a little faster than what they might be used to.&#8221;Susquehanna missed its first 13 attempts from 3-point range before Spencer Beamer connected with 1:15 left. The Sabers finished 10-for-44 overall (22.7 percent).Northwest, which reached last season&#8217;s state Class 2A tournament with a 47-29 district semifinal victory over Susquehanna, improved to 2-1.Gavin Baker had 10 points and seven rebounds to lead Susquehanna (0-4).Valley View 44, Holy Redeemer 39 Freshman Adam Howanitz and physical 5-foot-11 junior center T.J. Noto helped Valley View overcame a major Holy Redeemer height advantage.Howanitz, a 6-foot-4 forward, scored the game&#8217;s first five points, had seven by the end of the quarter, then finished with 15 points and eight rebounds to lead the Cougars.Noto grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds to help Valley View to a 39-31 advantage on the boards.&#8220;When we went through our keys, number one was rebounding,&#8221; Valley View coach Mike Kurpis said.Nick Tomassoni had six points in a 10-2 Valley View run to end the third quarter and begin the fourth, giving the Cougars a 37-29 lead.Holy Redeemer never led, but Justice Shoats kept bringing the Royals back in the second half. He created three of the game&#8217;s six ties.Shoats had 14 of his game-high 16 points and six of his team-high seven rebounds in the second half. He also finished with three steals and two assists.Jared Piontkowski had seven points and four blocked shots.Holy Cross 45, Nanticoke 42 Defending Lackawanna League Division and District 2 Class 2A champion Holy Cross ran off nine straight points early in the second half to open an 11-point lead.Nanticoke fought all the way back to get two shots at the tying 3-pointer in the final 10 seconds, only to have J.J. Bielecki&#8217;s shot at the buzzer go most of the way around the rim before spinning out.The Trojans, playing under first-year head coach Zach Pientka while John Beggs is out for the season for health reasons, slipped to 1-3 with the three losses coming by a combined 14 points.&#8220;That&#8217;s what we do as a Nanticoke Trojans team; we keep on fighting,&#8221; Pientka said. &#8220;We&#8217;re playing good teams to start the season. We&#8217;re going to be ready when the season goes further.&#8221;Bielecki made three 3-pointers and led the Trojans with 17 points. Colby Butczynski added 10 points while Jake Krupinski had nine points and 11 rebounds.Holy Cross grabbed the first seven rebounds of the second half when Patrick Bennie and Kieran Burrier took over on the inside.Burrier finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds while Bennie had 12 points and 12 rebounds.<style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Tom RobinsonFor Times Leader</bylineMeta></div>

Northwest posts lone WVC boys basketball win in Conference Challenge