AP source: Chicago Cubs, RHP Jake Arrieta agree to reunion

126471868_web1_eryn_harvey_mug

Harvey hired as Luzerne County deputy election director

PLYMOUTH &mdash; If Hazleton Area is going to get back the division title that was snatched away by rival Crestwood last season, there can be no margin for error.
				That was obvious Friday night when the Cougars held off Wyoming Valley West for a second time, 51-50 in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 boys basketball game.
				Hazleton Area scored its final points on a free throw by Angel Cruz with 18 seconds left to make it 51-48. Valley West (2-3 Div. 1, 2-5) got three possessions after that but managed just a pair of free throws by Mason Mendygral with 6.4 seconds remaining.
				The Spartans never got off a final shot after losing the ball in the backcourt just before the buzzer.
				&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve told these kids I can&rsquo;t tell you how many times the importance of focusing for 32 minutes,&rdquo; said Valley West first-year coach Chris Parker, whose team has lost four games by single digits. &ldquo;And we continue to have breakdowns late in the game. It&rsquo;s almost like they&rsquo;re happy to just be in games. Like that&rsquo;s a win for them. Well, that&rsquo;s not a win for me.&rdquo;
				Parker inherited a program that was 10-57 over the last three seasons.
				Hazleton Area (6-2 Div. 1, 6-5) won the first matchup by two points. Meanwhile, Wilkes-Barre Area, which was tied in second place with Hazleton Area, fell to Pittston Area. First-place Crestwood escaped with an overtime victory against Tunkhannock, a team Hazleton Area defeated by 38 points two days earlier.
				&ldquo;Every win is a big win,&rdquo; Hazleton Area first-year coach Tim Barletta said. &ldquo;Our division is very tough this year and balanced and crazy things can happen. We had a great game Wednesday against Tunkhannock and they&rsquo;re pretty good. We were flat yesterday against (Allentown) Central Catholic. We came in here today and said we have to stay in the upper echelon in our division with Wilkes-Barre and Crestwood.&rdquo;
				The task appeared likely early on as Cruz had a strong opening quarter and Josian Guerrero zipped to the basket a couple times, leading to an 18-8 lead. The Spartans, though, rallied to tie the score 25-25 at halftime.
				The Spartans tied it up two more times, but they could never get the lead the entire game.
				Mendygral led a late third-quarter rally to tie the score 40-40 after Hazleton Area&rsquo;s Brett Antolick put on an early burst to give the Cougars a 39-29 lead midway through the period.
				Antolick and Luke Gennaro struck with 3-pointers in the opening minute of the fourth and once again Valley West was chasing the deficit. The Spartans got within 50-48 with 3:40 to play on a rebound basket by Cole Gorham, yet couldn&rsquo;t get over the hump despite holding Hazleton Area to one point the rest of the way.
				Mendygral finished with a game-high 20 points. He had 22 points when the teams played on Jan. 22. Anotlick finished with 15, the only Hazleton Area player in double figures.
				Hazleton Area 51, Wyoming Valley West 50
				HAZLETON AREA (51) &mdash; Abdiel Torre 2 1-2 5, Luke Gennaro 3 0-0 8, Brett Antolick 6 0-1 15, Josian Guerrero 4 1-1 9, Angel Cruz 3 1-3 8, George Mata 0 0-1 0, Jonathan Joseph 2 0-0 6, Chris Garcia 0 0-0 0, Matt Cusatis 0 0-0 0, Daylis Rodriguez 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 3-8 51.
				WVW (50) &mdash; Tyler Dalley 3 0-0 6, Kenny Brown 3 0-0 6, Cole Gorham 3 3-5 9, Mason Mendygral 7 5-5 20, Jonathan Mann 1 0-0 2, Steve Barber 0 0-0 0, Brian Gill 2 0-0 4, Christian Michak 1 0-0 3, Ryan Sullivan 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 8-10 50.
				Hazleton Area`18`7`15`11 &mdash; 51
				Wyo. Valley West`8`17`15`10 &mdash; 50
				Three-point goals: HA 8 (Gennaro 2, Antolick 3, Cruz, Joseph 2). WVW 2 (Mendygral, Michak).

H.S. boys basketball: Hazleton Area hangs on to defeat Wyoming Valley West