Fast Start Propels Wilkes-Barre Area over Crestwood

 

Wilkes-Barre Area got off to a hot start as they hit back-to-back three pointers by Reylie Ramirez. Their defense held Crestwood to 18 points through three quarters as the Wolf Pack defeated the Comets 53-30 at home. Dave Januzzi had a game high 16 points and Reylie Ramirez added 11 points for Wilkes-Barre Area.

Ramirez started with back to back three pointers then  steal and layup by Januzzi made it an 8-0 lead. The Wolf Pack held Crestwood to a field goal as they took a 15-3 lead after one quarter of play. Wilkes-Barre Area built up a 17 point lead however, four straight free throws by Kell Edwards cut the lead to 23-10 as we hit to halftime. 

A basket by Ayden Agopito cut the lead to 11. However, the Wolf Pack went on a 10-0 run to pull away. They took a 42-18 at the end of the third quarter. Wilkes-Barre Area cruised through the fourth quarter to take a 53-30 victory at home. Ayden Agopito had a team high eight points and Brady Grevera added five points for the Comets. 

Crestwood cruises past Valley West

 

From the opening tipoff to the final buzzer, Crestwood’s defense was impressive. They did not allow a single field goal in the first quarter. The Comets built up a 21-1 lead at the end of the quarter and cruised to a 47-20 victory at Valley West. Ayden Agopito had a game high 13 points and Ryan Sechleer added nine points. Nine different Comets got a field goal and 14 players got in for Crestwood.

The Comets started off strong by getting a 12-0 lead early in the game. Valley West mustered a free throw in the quarter and Crestwood led 21-1 at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, Ryan Sechleer and Connor Wagaman hit back to back threes. Lemar Weatherspoon got the Spartans their first basket of the game but the Comets led 34-6 at halftime. Crestwood cruised through the second half as they got the 47-20 road victory over Valley West. Jaden Estrada had a game high seven points for the Spartans and Lemar Weatherspoon added four points. 

Crestwood gets Convincing Win over Nanticoke

 

After a slow start where the game was tied at 4, Crestwood went on a 8-0 run to end the quarter and didn’t look back as they took a 64-28 victory at home over Nanticoke. Jackie Gallagher had a game high 26 points for the Lady Comets while Charlie Hiller added 10. 

It was a slow start to the game as each team made one of two free throws and each hit a three pointer. Crestwood went on an 8-0 run and Jackie Gallagher scored 6 during the run to make it 12-4 at the end of the first quarter. The Lady Comets scored the first nine points of the second quarter to make it 21-4. The run between the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second quarter was a 17-0 run. Crestwood led 34-15 at halftime. 

Nanticoke cut the lead down to 15 but Crestwood’s defense did not allow a basket until the final seconds of the game. The Lady Comets cruised through the second half to take a 64-28 victory over the Nanticoke Trojanettes. Kate Reed had a team high eight points for Nanticoke. Navaeh Baran, Natalee Atkins and Caitlyn Majiros each added six points for the Trojanettes. 

Johnson scores 31 as Wilkes-Barre Area takes a convincing win at Nanticoke

 

After a back and forth first quarter, Wilkes-Barre Area head coach Jim Lavan challenged his team on defense. They held Nanticoke to a two field goals in the second quarter and three points total in the second quarter to build a 13 point lead at halftime. They then built up a 31 point lead at the end of the third quarter to take a 80-42 victory at Nanticoke. “All five of our guys were engaged defensively. We were able to get some stops and get out in transition which was really effective.” Lavan said. Jacob Johnson had a game-high 31 points. Mike Keating added 20 and David Januzzi had 12. 

The first quarter was a back and forth affair with nine lead changes and the game tied up twice. The Wolf Pack had seven different players score during the quarter. Nanticoke got three 3 pointers from RJ Brogan and two three point plays from Matthias Mitchell as Wilkes-Barre Area lead 22-19 at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter saw Wilkes-Barre Area go on a 10-3 run to start and build a 12 point lead. A three pointer by Ethan Ball cut the lead down to nine but the Wolf Pack got baskets by Donte Robinson and Januzzi. A basket by Mitchell at the buzzer made it 36-25 Wilkes-Barre Area at halftime. 

Baskets by Mitchell and Ethan Yendrzeiwski cut the lead down to 10. However, the Wolf Pack went on a 26-2 run to end the third quarter. Johnson scored 15 points during the quarter and led 65-34 at the end of the third quarter. With a running clock, Wilkes-Barre Area cruised through the fourth quarter to take the 80-42 victory at Nanticoke. Mathias Mitchell scored a game-high 16 points and RJ Brogan added 10 points. 

A team effort as Crestwood gets past Pittston Area

 

Crestwood head coach Mary Mushock-Namey told her team that they needed to give their best defensive game all season. The Lady Comets held Pittston Area to four points in the second quarter and built a 10 point lead at halftime and got a 55-42 victory at home over the Lady Patriots. “I honestly think they had their best defensive effort tonight.” Mushock-Namey said. “To hold them to four points in the second quarter and to shut down one of the best scorers in our league in the first half. We stuck to the gameplan.” Charlie Hiller had a team-high 17 points for the Lady Comets. Kendall Petrosky added 13 and Jackie Gallagher got 12 in the victory. 

Crestwood got off to an early 5-0 lead but Pittston Area answered with a 9-2 run to end the first quarter to lead 14-11. After some back and forth to start the second quarter. The Lady Comets went on a 14-2 run to end the quarter. Holding the Lady Patriots to 4 points in the quarter and Crestwood led 28-18 at halftime. 

Crestwood continued the momentum as the third quarter started. The Lady Comets went on a 9-2 run to make it a 17 point lead. Down 18 points after a basket by Petrosky. Pittston Area went on a 7-0 run to cut down the Crestwood lead to nine. The Lady Comets ended the quarter with a 7-0 run to lead 46-28 at the end of the third quarter. Crestwood led by 21 to start the quarter with a Hiller three pointer. The Lady Patriots cut the lead down to 10 but were unable to mount a comeback as the Lady Comets took a 55-42 victory on their home court. Daniela Raineli scored a game high 22 points and Maddie Karp added 15. 

Thornton scores 35 as Wilkes-Barre Area gets past Nanticoke

As Emily Barrouk tied the game with a three pointer, Diamond Thornton got the steal off the inbounds pass and scored to give Wilkes-Barre Area the lead. Thornton scored a game-high 35 points as the Wolf Pack took a 62-59 home victory over Nanticoke. “I’ve told people around the valley Diamond Thornton’s one of the premier players in the District.” Said Wilkes-Barre Area head coach Dale Rapson. “She does everything, she rebounds, defends, scores. She’s the team leader and I’m very fortunate to coach her and I’m very proud of her.” Rapson continued. Jaida Underwood added 13 points in the win for the Wolf Pack. 

After a back and forth first quarter which Nanticoke lead 9-8 as Caitlynn Majiros scored five points in the quarter. Wilkes-Barre Area took the lead on a Thornton three pointer. The Trojanettes went on a 7-0 run to take a 18-13 lead. A free throw and three pointer by Thornton cut the lead down to one. The Wolf Pack took back the lead with a pair of free throws from Thornton. A basket by Majiros gave Nanticoke back the lead. However, Barrouk and Thornton hit three pointers to make it 27-22. Navaeh Baran hit a basket for Nanticoke. Just before halftime, Thornton hit a three pointer then Kate Reed hit a halfcourt court at the halftime buzzer to cut the Wilkes-Barre Area lead to 30-27 at halftime. 

Jaida Underwood got the lead to five with a basket to start the third quarter. The Trojanettes tied the game with a free throw by Amiah Ceruti and baskets by Ceruti and Baran. Thornton gave the Wolf Pack the lead once again with a three pointer. Reed tied the game at 36 with a basket but a pair of free throws by Thornton gave Wilkes-Barre Area back the lead at 38-36. Reed gave Nanticoke the lead with a three pointer. Hannah McAfee made it 40-39 Wolf Pack as the third quarter came to an end. 

A basket by Majiros and a three pointer by Natalee Atkins made it a 44-40 Trojanette lead early in the fourth quarter. Wilkes-Barre Area started a run by McAfee hit a basket, Barrouk hit a three pointer to tie the game then a steal by Thornton gave the Wolf Pack a 51-49 lead. A basket by Underwood made it 53-49. Majiros hit two free throws to make it a two point game. Underwood hit a three pointer then Thornton hit a basket. After Nanticoke called timeout, a technical foul was assessed on the bench. Thornton hit the technical free throws to have Wilkes-Barre Area a nine point lead with 2:15 to go. Nanticoke attempted to catch up as they got baskets by Baran and Reed to make it a five point game. Thornton got a basket to increase the lead to seven. Ceruti hit back to back baskets to make it a three point game. Nanticoke had a chance to tie the game with 7.1 seconds to go. The Trojanettes last shot at overtime came up just short as Wilkes-Barre Area took a 62-59 victory over Nanticoke. Caitlynn Majiros had a team-high 19 points while Navaeh Baran and Kate Reed each added 12.

  

Holy Cross pulls away in second half for decisive road victory over Holy Redeemer

 

The game was back and forth for almost three quarters until late in the third quarter when Holy Cross went on to score 10 straight points and make the game out of reach as the Crusaders took a 65-52 victory at Holy Redeemer. 

The Crusaders started off leading 7-2 but the Royals got a three pointer by Logan Shrader and a basket by David Popson to tie the game at 7. Shrader gave the Royals the 9-7 lead with a basket. Adam Bodyrcka and Austin Bicking got baskets to make it 11-9 Holy Cross. A Colin Farrel three pointer made it 14-9 Brayden Sock hit a three pointer for Holy Redeemer to make it 14-12 at the end of the first quarter. A three point play by Popson gave the Royals the 15-14 lead early in the second quarter. However, the Crusaders got another three pointer by Farrell made it 17-14. A pair of technical free throws made it 19-14. Holy Redeemer got five straight points by Popson to make it 20-19. Mario Matrone hit a three pointer then Evan Lacari hit a three. Popson hit a free throw to make it a 24-22 Royals lead. A Bodyrka three and a basket by Matt Lyons before halftime made it 27-24 Crusaders at the half. 

The third quarter was a back and forth affair with Holy Redeemer’s deficit only being two points. However, Holy Cross went on a 10-2 run to end the third quarter to make it 44-34. The Crusaders cruised through the fourth quarter to take a 65-52 victory at Holy Redeemer.