Get ready for Round 3. And then another Round 3 as Wyoming Valley Conference Tournament championships will be decided Saturday with two games at Hazleton Area High School.
The first game at 1 p.m. features the boys title contest between Division 1 champion Dallas (20-3) and Division 1 runner-up Crestwood (16-7). The girls championship follows at 3 p.m. with Division 1 champion Hazleton Area (21-2) playing Division 1 runner-up Crestwood (21-2).
Admission is $8 for adults and $4 for students. No passes will be honored with the exception of PIAA gold passes. The game will not be livestreamed.
The Dallas boys have won three of the last four championships, with their only loss in 2023 against Holy Redeemer. Crestwood is in the title game for the first time since 2020 when it lost to Wyoming Seminary. That was also the last time the Comets qualified prior to this season.
The Hazleton Area girls have won the last two championships, including a 63-51 victory over Crestwood last season. Crestwood is seeking its first championship.
The games have no bearing on the District 2 power rankings which determine district seedings. The power rankings are based solely on regular-season games.
This will be the final time to see these matchups as the teams will be in different PIAA classifications for the District 2 tournaments.
Crestwood vs. Dallas
WVC Boys Championship
1 p.m. Saturday
Hazleton Area H.S.
Since Dallas moved up from Division 2 to Division 1 for the 2021-22 season, it has dominated games with Crestwood.
The Mountaineers have won nine of the last 10 matchups, including two this season. Both times, they held the Comets to their second-lowest offensive output. Only Bethlehem Catholic, which defeated Crestwood 53-37, held the Comets to fewer points.
Dallas won 53-38 on Jan. 15 and 47-38 on Feb. 5. Dallas led the latter matchup by four after each of the first three quarters, but a 13-4 run to start the fourth was the deciding factor.
Dallas has the highest scoring offense in the WVC with a 62.7 points-per-game average. The issue with stopping the Mountaineers is there is no go-to guy. Everyone can score. Kael Berry (12.9 ppg) and Pat Flanagan (12.9) tied for sixth in scoring in Division 1. Joey Nocito (12.8) was eighth and Tyce Mason (11.3) was 10th.
While Dallas has the WVC’s best offense, Crestwood has the best defense. The Comets surrendered 39.8 points per game during the regular season and have the only defense that didn’t allow an opponent to reach 60 points.
As for the offense, Ayden Agapito (15.1) finished third in Division 1 in scoring. Freshman Miles Metz (10.9) was 11th and led the entire WVC in free-throw shooting (85.4%) and 3-pointers (54). Gio Barna (8.4) had 13 points in the last meeting with Dallas. Senior Connor Wagaman and junior Jack Rodgers are inside players who will have to battle Flanagan and his brother Chris, a pair of 6-foot-4 juniors.
Crestwood vs. Hazleton Area
WVC Girls Championship
3 p.m. Saturday
Hazleton Area H.S.
Hazleton Area has lost two games this season. One of them was to Crestwood.
Back on Feb. 4 in an extremely rare Sunday night game, Crestwood defeated Hazleton Area 63-51 to snap a four-game losing streak to the Cougars. Crestwood senior guard Keira Dougherty tied her season high with 25 points.
Dougherty was a Times Leader All-WVC selection as a freshman and sophomore before missing her junior season with an injury. She also led the Comets in scoring in a 48-18 semifinal win against Nanticoke Area.
Dougherty (15.3 ppg) finished fifth in Division 1 in scoring and fourth in 3-pointers with 35. Crestwood also has a pair of 6-foot juniors in Jackie Gallagher and Charlie Hiller.
Gallagher (18.0) was fourth in the division in scoring and led the entire WVC by hitting 80% of her free throws. She also connected on 31 3-pointers. Hiller, whose actually first name is Charlise, averages 10 points and can also shoot from outside the arc. Jordan Andrews (8.3) and Cameron Vieney (6.3) are veteran guards who were instrumental in Crestwood advancing to the PIAA Class 5A state semifinal a year ago.
Hazleton Area also played in the state semifinals last year, falling in the Class 6A tournament, and returned all but one major contributor.
The Cougars like to jump right into a fullcourt press after scoring, something that was a key in a 63-53 win over Crestwood on Jan. 5. The Cougars forced 17 first-half turnovers in taking a 34-17 lead at the break.
Junior guard Kaitlyn Bindas (19.7) led Division 1 in scoring and was second with 45 3-pointers. The rest of the starters are Alexis Reimold (10.9), Mariah Marolo (8.9), Sophia Benyo (7.2) and Kayla Lagowy (4.9). Benyo is among the best rebounders in the WVC and had 18 boards in a 78-51 semifinal win against Holy Redeemer.
Hazleton Area can go about 10 deep and there’s no discernible dropoff when the subs rotate in.
Dallas Post
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