District 2 Boys Game Recap (Hazleton Area at Wilkes-Barre Area)

Written by: Jon K on February 3, 2024

February 2, 2024

Hazleton Area Claws Back into Division Race

Hazleton Area 60, Wilkes-Barre Area 54

By Jon K.

WILKES-BARRE – Hazleton Area ended Wilkes-Barre Area’s winning streak at 14 games while extending their own to 5 with a 60-54 victory over the Wolfpack Friday night. There was a playoff-like atmosphere at The Den as both teams, along with Crestwood and Dallas, are fighting for honors in Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 action plus looking to qualify for the four-team WVC Tournament to be played on February 15 (semi-finals at W-B Area) and February 17 (championship at Hazleton Area). The Pack currently leads with a 9-1 mark, Hazleton Area is 9-2, Crestwood is 9-3, and Dallas is at 8-3. The Cougars used their size advantage to get numerous putbacks and score the majority of their points around the paint. The combination of 6-3 Joey Marshall, 6-4 Luis Guzman, and 6-8 James Reimold (who is steadily improving) can be dominating at times. Although Hazleton Area seemingly took complete command in this one, 48-29, late in the third period, the fourth quarter unleashed a barrage of triples for WBA as “Boddie Time” kicked in with a 21-7 run cutting it to 55-50 before the Cougars steadied things in the final minute to preserve the win.

After teams traded missed triples, Hazleton Area used some quickness to grab a few steals and take a 6-0 lead with scores by Nikolii Santiago and Dylan Stish plus free throws by Joey Marshall. Yariel Argueta got Wilkes-Barre on the board before Santiago got another score inside to put the Cougars up 8-4. Midway through the quarter, the fouls began piling up for the Cougars as they picked up their third offensive charge. Kaprie Cottle drained a corner triple to bring WBA within 8-7. Reimold got an inside score followed by Stish getting a layup off another Wolfpack turnover (12-7) but the Pack would respond with back-to-back triples from David Januzzi and Evan Laybourn-Boddie to take their only lead of the game, 13-12 at the 1:41 mark. The Cougars would finish the quarter on a 6-0 run with scores by Stish, Luke Gennaro, and Marshall to go up 18-13.

Hazleton Area completed the 10-0 spurt with baskets by Reimold and Marshall (22-13). The Cougars were content to sit back in a zone and allow Wilkes- Barre to challenge them from long-range, but the Pack would struggle to connect from the perimeter for much of the next 16 minutes. Gennaro and Marshall began to heat up both on offense and defense. Gennaro could not convert his steal at midcourt, but subsequently made a nice fed into Marshall following a miss by WBA (24-15). Marshall then made a strong block on Mike Keating before Stish scored at the 2:07 mark to make it 26-15. Channing Brown gave the Pack an offensive boost scoring 6 of his 10 points in the frame. Januzzi added a pair of free throws to pull WBA within 26-19 before Luis Guzman got a double-bank shot in the lane. Gennaro would add a pair of free throws and a drive at the buzzer wrapped around another Brown score to send Hazleton Area into the locker room leading 32-21.

The Cougars first possession of the second half resulted in five putbacks before Guzman got fouled on the last one and made a free throw. Both teams traded drives to the basket with Gennaro and then Boddie on the baseline. Marshall added a score inside to make it 37-23. A flurry of triples by Argueta, Gennaro, and Boddie plus another score by Marshall inside made it 42-29. Hazleton Area would take their largest lead of the contest, 48-29, under two minutes left in the quarter as Stish, Gennaro, and Marshall continued to penetrate to the hoop. The missed shots and turnovers continued to add up for the Wolfpack. Keating scored to make it 48-31 heading into the final stanza.

Wilkes-Barre finally found their range as they trimmed the deficit to nine points, 53-44, midway through the final period. Boddie and Stish got thing going by trading triples before Boddie added a pair of free throws and Guzman made a terrific lob into Marshall to make it 53-36 at the 5:50 mark. The Pack countered with a quick 8-0 burst via treys by Keating and Boddie plus a layup by Brown (53-44). WBA was feeling the all the momentum but then hurriedly launched a pair of long, off-target treys over the next minute. Guzman made strong drive to the basket to put HA up 55-44, but Januzzi then made a clutch triple from way out. He would then add another one following a Cougar turnover with 1:09 remaining to cut it to 55-50. But, they would draw no closer as Guzman would make the key play as he netted a putback with 50 ticks left to make it 57-50. He would go down hard on their next posession, a drive to the hoop with 39 seconds left (he would leave the game carefully walking to the sideline). Gennaro would secure the 60-54 win with a pair of free throws before Boddie would score the final basket for WBA.

Hazleton Area was led by Joe Marshall (16 points), Luke Gennaro (15 points), and Dylan Stish (13 points). Luis Guzman, Nikolii Santiago, and Jame Reimold teamed up for 16 points. The Cougars netted 3 triples and converted 8 of 13 free throw opportunities.

Wilkes-Barre Area was paced by Evan Laybourn-Boddie (18 points, 4 triples), David Januzzi (13 points), and Channing Brown (10 points). Yariel Argueta, Mike Keating, and Kapri Cottle combined for 13 points. The Wolfpack connected on 10 triples and made 8 of the 14 free throws.

Both teams next face make-up games on their schedule. Hazleton Area hosts Berwick on Sunday afternoon while Wilkes-Barre Area travels to Tunkhannock on Monday.