Royals take home victory over Nanticoke

The Nanticoke Trojans traveled to Holy Redeemer to take on the Royals. The Trojans are currently tied for first place in Division 2. The Royals are currently second in Division 3 with a big matchup on Friday against top ranked Wyoming Seminary. Who would come out on top in this WVC crossover matchup? Let's find out!
The first quarter would be eventful with several lead changes and the Royals would take a 14-13 lead at the end of the first quarter. Butczynski would get the first basket in the second quarter but Collin Cook would answer with a basket of his own. Kreitzer would hit a three pointer to make it 18-16 but the Royals would go on a 11-2 run at the end of the second quarter to make it 27-20 at halftime. Cook would give the Royals a 10 point lead on a three point play. The Trojans would strike back with a three point play by Trahjan Krupinski and a three pointer by JJ Bielecki to make it a four point game but the Royals would lead 34-28 at the end of the third quarter. The Trojans would cut the lead to three with a three pointer by Trahjan Krupinski but a pair of free throws by Justice Shoats and an inside basket by Prociak would increase the Holy Redeemer lead to seven. The Trojans would cut the lead to two with five straight points from Kreitzer. The Royals would increase the lead to seven with free throws by Shoats, a basket by Cook and Mason Mendygral making one of two free throws. A three pointer by Bielecki and a basket by Kreitzer would make it a two point game. Shoats would make 1 of 2 free throws to make it 46-43 but the next Trojans possession would result in a missed three pointer. However, the Royals would miss both free throws from the double bonus and the Trojans would grab the rebound and call timeout with four seconds to go. The Trojans got a good look from the left corner for a three but would fall short and the Royals would grab the rebound as Holy Redeemer would take the 46-43 home victory.

Thoughts on the game: It was a very good game to say the least. The Royals played fanatastic and were able to keep the Trojans from getting good looks from three point range. Collin Cook had an excellent game with 15 points. Royals freshman Justice Shoats had a great game with 11 points. For Nanticoke, Nate Kreitzer had a good game with 17 points as did Trahjan Krupinski with 10 points.

Nanticoke
Trahjan Krupinski 10
Jake Krupinski 4
Nate Kreitzer 17
Colby Butczynski 4
Dylan Szychowski 2
JJ Bielecki 6

Holy Redeemer
Collin Cook 15
Nick Prociak 10
Derek Answini 3
Justice Shoats 11
Jared Piontkowski 6
Mason Mendygral 1

Crestwood defeats Coughlin to stay undefeated in conference play

The Coughlin Crusaders traveled to Mountain Top to take on the Crestwood Comets. The Comets come into this game unbeaten in conference play. The Crusaders are coming in hoping to get into the District 2 5A playoffs and are currently on the outside looking in as they are in 9th place. Who will come out on top in this WVC Division 1 matchup? Let's find out!
 Mike Palmiero would start with the Comets first five points for a 5-0 lead. The Comets would lead 19-10 after a quarter. After a pair of free throws by Prince Allen, a steal by Jake Zaleski led to a Ryan Petrosky layup. The Comets would lead 47-22 at halftime and would cruise in the second half for a 84-37 victory over Coughlin. They would stay unbeaten in Wyoming Valley Conference play and would get up 2 games as Hazleton Area would lose to Dallas tonight.

Thoughts on the game: Overall, it was a great performance by the Comets. 12 players scored tonight in the victory. Camden Boris led the team with 14 points and Ryan Petrosky followed with 13 points. For Coughlin, Tony Egidio led the team with 11 points.

Coughlin
Aaron Bennett 2
Matt Egidio 7
Tony Egidio 11
Shawn Valenzuela 5
Prince Allen 4
Salem Diop 5
Henry Avilia 2

Crestwood
Mike Palmiero 5
Sean Murphy 12
Brad Papura 8
Ryan Petrosky 13
Camden Boris 14
Frank Casarella 5
Jake Zaleski 7
Adam Gegaris 1
Marcus Vieney 6
Mike Zaleski 6
Paul Feisel 5
Nick Ruggieri 2

Murphy leads charge in Crestwood's victory over Hazleton Area

One of the biggest rivalries in the WVC was renewed on Friday in Mountain Top as the Crestwood Comets took on the Hazleton Area Cougars. Both teams come in undefeated in conference play and looking to be in first place as the night ends. Who would come out on top in this rivalry matchup? Let's find out!
The Cougars would take an early 9-4 with a 7-0 run when Crestwood had a 4-2 lead. After Sean Murphy hit a basket to cut the lead to three, Scotty Campbell would hit a three pointer to make it 12-6. Murphy would proceed to score five straight points as the Comets would trail 12-11 at the end of the first quarter. A pair of free throws by Ryan Petrosky And a basket by Camden Boris would give the Comets a 15-12 lead. The Cougars would get a basket by Warren Seigengall and a three pointer by Campbell to re-take the lead at 17-15. Murphy would get a basket to tie the game on the very next possession. Frank Casarella would hit a three pointer to give the Comets a 20-17 lead but the Cougars would take the lead just before halftime with a putback by Campbell and another basket by Seigengall for a 21-20 Cougars lead at halftime.
 The Cougars would start with a basket by Faison but the Comets would go on a 7-0 run for 27-23 lead. After a pair of Faison free throws, Ryan Petrosky would hit a three pointer. The Cougars would get a basket by Andrew Vayda but the Comets would then get a basket by Petrosky and a three pointer by Camden Boris for a 35-27 lead. The Cougars would cut the lead down to five but Palmeiro would hit a pair of free throws then after a free throw, Palmiero would hit a three pointer to make it 40-31, then Murphy would hit a basket to make it an 11 point lead. The Comets would lead 44-35 at the end of the third quarter. The Comets would make 18 free throws in the fourth quarter and hit two field goals in the final quarter to be in sole possession of first place with a 66-51 home victory over Hazleton Area.

Thoughts on the game: At the end of the first half, I expected more of the same in the second half. However, Crestwood started getting the hot hand shooting. Sean Murphy had a great game with game high 24 points. Ryan Petrosky added 14. For the Cougars, Da'mir Faison had 19 points and Scotty Campbell added 11.

Team Effort propels Blue Knights over Nanticoke

The Wyoming Seminary Blue Knights traveled to Nanticoke High School to take on the Trojans. The Blue Knights are coming off a close victory on Thursday night over Division 3 rival Holy Redeemer. The Trojans were on a two game winning streak by beating Valley West and Dallas. Who would come out on top in this WVC Division 2-3 crossover matchup? Let's find out!
 The Trojans would start off hot at the gate as they would lead 6-2 and the Knights would cut the lead to 8-7 but Nate Kreitzer would hit a three pointer that would break the record for most three pointers in a career. Colby Butczynski would then hit a three pointer. After an Ethan Meuser basket, Colby Butczynski would hit a three pointer just before the buzzer for a 17-9 Trojans lead at the end of one. The Trojans would increase the lead to 11 but the Knights would go on a 10-0 run just before halftime and would trail 25-24 at halftime.
 The Blue Knights would get the first three baskets of the second half to take the lead for the first time in the game for a five point lead. After a Trahjan Krupinski basket, Todd Phillips would make a three point play to make the lead five once again. The Blue Knights would end up leading 35-30 at the end of the third quarter. The Trojans would tie the game early in the fourth quarter at 35 with a pair of free throws by Trahjan Krupinski and a three pointer by Kreitzer. Jake Koretz would give the Blue Knights the lead with a basket. After Butczynski made 1 of 2 free throws to cut the lead to one. Koretz would hit another basket for a three point lead. Jake Krupinski would hit a three to tie the game at 39. However, the Knights would take the lead with a basket by Dmitri Gnall. He would also add a pair of free throws to increase the lead to 4. The Trojans would attempt a three pointer but would be blocked by Phillips, picked up and got the layup to increase the lead to six. JJ Bielecki would hit a three pointer to cut the lead to three. The Blue Knights would hit their free throws and would take the road victory 51-42 over Nanticoke.

Thoughts on the game: A great team effort by the Blue Knights for the road victory. Eight players contributed to the scoring. Dmitri Gnall had a good game with 13 points. Jake Koretz had a great second half with 8 points. Jeremy Callahan added 10 points. For Nanticoke, Nate Kreitzer had a game-high 16 points and Colby Butczynski added 12 points.

Murphy and Petrosky propel Comets past Trojans

The Nanticoke Trojans hosted the Crestwood Comets on Saturday night in a WVC Crossover game. The Trojans are coming off their first loss of the season to Hazleton Area. The Comets are coming off a big win at home against Tunkhannock to stay undefeated in WVC play. Who would come out on top in this matchup of Division contenders? Let's find out!
 Both teams would trade leads during the first quarter. With the Comets and Trojans tied at 9. Crestwood would take the lead on a basket by Sean Murphy and a three pointer by Ryan Petrosky for a 14-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. Murphy would start the scoring with the Comets' fifth three pointer of the game. The Comets' lead would be as high as eight during the second quarter but late in the second quarter, Jake Krupinski would hit a three pointer. After Murphy hit another basket, Nate Kreitzer would hit a three pointer and the Comets lead would only be 30-26 at halftime.
 The Trojans would cut the lead to two on the opening basket by Jake Krupinski. A Palmeiro three pointer would increase the lead to five. The Trojans would get the lead down to two with a pair of free throws by Kreitzer but another three pointer by Palmiero and then a three pointer by Murphy after Kreitzer hit a free throw to increase the lead to 7. The Comets would go on a 12-4 run and would lead 49-39 at the end of the third quarter. The Trojans would try and get back into the game as Nanticoke would go on a 9-2 run to cut the lead to three which forced the Comets to take a timeout. After the timeout, Crestwood would go on a 9-0 run to increase the lead to 12. The Trojans would only be able to cut the deficit to six as the Comets would take a 76-65 road victory at Nanticoke.


Thoughts on the game: It was a really good game by both teams. The Comets were able to hit nine three pointers in the game. Sean Murphy had an excellent game with 24 points as did Ryan Petrosky with 23 points. For the Trojans, Nate Kreitzer had a good game with 23 points as did Jake Krupinski with 16 points. Both teams are going to be in their respective division races come February.

Crestwood dominates second half in home win over Tunkhannock

The Crestwood Comets hosted the Tunkhannock Tigers on Thursday night. The Comets are looking to stay undefeated in conference play. Tunkhannock is currently 1-1 in conference play on the season and looking to get above .500. Who would come out on top in this WVC crossover matchup? Let's find out!
 The first quarter was a back and forth affair early on with teams trading baskets but the Tigers would take a 12-8 lead at the end of the first quarter with an 8-0 run with the Tigers trailing 8-4. Camden Boris would score the first four points of the second quarter to tie the game up at 12. Each team would tie the game twice and with the game tied at 16, Ryan Petrosky would hit a three pointer for a 19-16 lead but back-to-back buckets by Avery Billings would give the Tigers a 20-19 advantage. A three pointer by Sean Murphy would give the Comets the 22-20 lead and then Petrosky would hit a three just before the buzzer for a 25-20 Comet lead at halftime.
 The Tigers would only cut the lead to three when the Comets would go on an 8-0 run to increase the lead to 11. Faux would try and get the Tigers back into the game with a pair of three pointers and would cut the lead to six with a basket by Billings and Jack Chilson. The Comets would answer each time and the lead would be 44-34 at the end of the third quarter. The Tigers would attempt to get back into the game but the Comets would outscore the Tigers 21-4 in the final quarter to take the home victory 65-38 over Tunkhannock.

Thoughts on the game: In the first half, I thought it would be a good game throughout. However, Crestwood dominated in the second half to get the victory. For Crestwood, Ryan Petrosky had a great game with 21 points. Camden Boris added 12 and Mike Palmiero had 10. For Tunkhannock, Tyler Faux had a good game with 15 points and Avery Billings added 10.