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By TOM HOUSENICK; Times Leader Sports Writer
 Wednesday, February 11, 1998 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1B 





WILKES-BARRE- The heart of a champion dies hard. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Alex Hairston provided the dagger. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The junior center's off-balance jumper with 15 seconds left allowed GAR to
return to the top of the mountain with a 48-46 victory Tuesday over four-time
defending Wyoming Valley Conference Division II champion Meyers in front of a
sold-out crowd. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Mohawks' last-chance shot bounced off the front iron and Hairston
smothered the rebound as time expired. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 GAR, winners of 12 consecutive games, finished the regular season at 16-0
and secured the top seed in the District 2 Class AA playoffs. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "This was what we've been thinking about since sixth grade," Hairston said
of winning the division title. "Since we were shooting around on little hoops,
we all of have been dreaming of this night." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Hairston finished with a game-high 17 points and added six rebounds and
four blocked shots. Junior Aubrey Keatts, who had a superb, all-around game
with 12 points, nine boards and five assists, pointed to Grenadier coach Paul
Brown's halftime speech as extra incentive. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "He pretty much screamed at us," Keatts said. "We were playing a little
lackadaisical in the first half. We knew we had to pick things up. Finishing
16-0 in the league, that was beautiful." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The game featured eight ties and eight lead changes. Greg Barrouk had the
second of two outstanding rebound baskets with 58 seconds left to tie the game
at 46-46. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Grenadiers took 30 seconds off the clock before calling a set play for
Hairston. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "(GAR freshman coach John) Snyder came up with this play especially for
Alex," said Brown, who celebrated his first division championship as a head
coach by getting his head shaved after the game. "We ran it a few times
earlier, but didn't get it to the people at the right time. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The idea was to get it into Alex's hands. This time, it happened." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Trailing by two entering the fourth quarter, GAR took a 44-40 lead on Jack
Peters' three-point play off a nice, no-look pass from Keatts with 3:48
remaining. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I thought we played good defense, but we didn't get the truly tough stops
when we needed them," Meyers coach Joe Caffrey said. "Hairston really hurt us.
Our kids did what we wanted them to defensively, but he got the ball and made
some great shots." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Meyers had a six-point lead six times in the third quarter, the last on
Barrouk's two free throws with 3:33 showing, but GAR kept coming back. Mark
Shovlin's rainbow three-pointer triggered a 7-0 run, giving the Grenadiers a
33-32 lead. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Kenny Jordan's short jumper gave the Mohawks a 34-33 lead entering the
final eight minutes. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 GAR shot 33.3 percent in the first half, but trailed by only three (21-18)
at intermission. The Mohawks also forced eight turnovers and got balance
offensively. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Barrouk had 16 points and eight rebounds for Meyers, the defending District
2 AA champions. Rapson added 11 points and nine boards. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Our kids played hard. They have nothing to be ashamed of," Caffrey said.
"We have to get back to practice tomorrow and get focused for the play-in game
with Hoban." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Meyers faces Bishop Hoban in a district play-in game at 7 p.m. at Pittston
Area High School. If the Argents win, they secure the WVC's second guaranteed
playoff berth. Regardless of the outcome, the Mohawks qualified for the post
season. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 MEYERS (46) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Jordan 4 0-0 8, Barrouk 6 4-5 16, J.Gallagher 2 0-0 5, Jo.Fox 1 0-0 2,
Rapson 4 2-2 11, Carlo 2 0-0 4. Totals 19 6-7 46. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 GAR (48) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Keatts 6 0-0 12, Walker 2 0-0 6, Shovlin 2 0-0 6, Hairston 8 1-6 17, Peters
2 1-1 5, Hudock 1 0-0 2. Totals 21 2-7 48. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Meyers 9 12 13 12- 46 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 GAR11 7 15 15- 48 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 3-pt. FGs- J.Gallagher, Rapson, Walker 2, Shovlin 2. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Mohawks &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 (Continued from Page 1B) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 MOHAWKS, Page 7B &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TIMES LEADER/JOHN BATTISTA &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

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