Wyoming Area’s Anthony DeLucca gets to the basket for two points against Hanover Area in the second quarter on Saturday.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Wyoming Area’s Dane Schutter looks for an outlet as Hanover Area’s Noah Dewey (40) and Andrew Kistner swarm in during the second quarter on Saturday.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Hanover Area’s Lael Hayward drives against Wyoming Area’s Matt Rusinchak in the first quarter.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Hanover Area’s Noah Dewey reaches for the ball as Wyoming Area’s Dane Schutter guards.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Wyoming Area’s Dane Schutter scored a game-high 19 points in Saturday’s victory at Hanover Area.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
HANOVER TWP. — Wyoming Area made sure of two things Saturday afternoon.
First, the game with Hanover Area wasn’t going to go the way it did a few days ago. Secondly, a chance at a rare Wyoming Valley Conference boys basketball title would happen.
The Warriors attacked Hanover Area in the first quarter, racing to a 19-point lead on the way to a 73-52 victory in the WVC Division 2 regular-season finale for both teams.
Wyoming Area (11-1 Div. 2, 16-6) finished tied with Holy Redeemer (11-1 Div. 2, 15-7). The two teams will play at 7 p.m. Monday at Wilkes-Barre Area High School to determine the champion.
Redeemer will be going for its third consecutive Division 2 championship. Wyoming Area has only once won any type of WVC championship, with that coming in 1971.
“We really game planned for this game knowing what was at stake to play Redeemer on Monday,” said Wyoming Area’s Brady Noone, who led the first-quarter blitz. “We really locked in, learned our sets and learned from our mistakes.”
Wyoming Area held off Hanover Area (3-9 Div. 2, 6-16) on Tuesday 60-58. The Warriors were also playing their fifth game in nine days Saturday.
Neither mattered.
Wyoming Area led wire-to-wire, jumping to a 12-0 lead. Noone scored 12 of his 18 points as the Warriors encountered little resistance inside for a 26-7 advantage after the first quarter.
“It was crucial because the last time we came out so sluggish,” said Wyoming Area’s Dane Schutter, who finished with a game-high 19 points. “I think we were actually down after the first quarter. It was great to get out to a good start, but we did get a little too comfortable and we pretty much played a balanced next two quarters which can’t happen again.”
Hanover Area made some inroads in the second quarter as Gernard Williams’ 15-footer moved the Hawkeyes within 33-19 midway through the period. But Schutter and Tyler Sciandra took over inside, and the mild comeback attempt was extinguished.
Schutter scored a pair of inside baskets, including one on a spin move. Sciandra ripped a rebound out of the hands of a Hawkeye and scored with four seconds on the clock, giving Wyoming Area a 45-24 halftime lead.
The rest of the game played out similarly.
Hanover Area moved within 11 in the third quarter and Wyoming Area would then expand the margin. This time it was Matt Rusinchak, Wyoming Area’s shortest player, who kept finding his way to the basket for eight of his 15 points.
Noah Dewey scored 13 and Williams had 10 for Hanover Area, which will next play in the District 2 Class 4A tournament.
PLAYOFF NOTES
Monday’s WVC Division 2 championship game will not have any impact on the District 2 power rankings. The power rankings as based on regular-season games only.
Wyoming Area and Redeemer will also be in the WVC tournament on Thursday at Wilkes-Barre Area High School.
The Division 2 champion will play the Division 1 runner-up, either Dallas or Hazleton Area, at 6 p.m. Second place in Division 1 won’t be determined until Dallas completes its season at Wyoming Valley West on Monday.
The Division 2 runner-up will play Division 1 champion Wilkes-Barre Area at 7:30 p.m.
The WVC championship game is 4 p.m. Saturday at Hazleton Area High School.
Wyoming Area 73, Hanover Area 52
WYOMING AREA (73) — Tyler Sciandra 4 0-0 8, Anthony DeLucca 3 5-10 11, Brady Noone 9 0-1 18, Matt Rusinchak 7 0-0 15, Dane Schutter 7 4-4 19, Luke Kopetchny 0 0-0 0, Dan Feeney 0 0-0 0, Patrick Golden 1 0-0 2, Mitchell Rusinchak 0 0-0 0, Drew Keating 0 0-0 0, Trevor Kruszka 0 0-0 0. Totals 31 9-15 73.
HANOVER AREA (52) — Lael Hayward 0 0-0 0, Malachi Downey 0 1-2 1, Steven Florek 4 0-0 10, Noah Dewey 5 3-4 13, Gernard Williams 4 2-6 10, Andrew Kistner 3 1-2 9, Adyn Ross 0 0-0 0, Joshua Rivera 0 0-0 0, Noah Sabecky 2 0-0 6, Jayden Coleman 1 0-0 2, Trayvon Lucas 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 7-14 52.
Wyoming Area`26`19`15`13 — 73
Hanover Area`7`17`18`10 — 52
Three-point goals — WA 1 (Matt Rusinchak, Schutter). HA 7 (Kistner 2, Sabecky 2, Coleman, Florek 2).
