Wilkes-Barre Area’s Evan Laybourn-Boddie goes up for a basket as the Wolfpack knocked off Wyoming Area during Thursday’s WVC semifinal in Plains Township.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Wyoming Area’s Tyler Sciandra passes from the floor after recovering a loose ball in the second quarter Thursday.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Wilkes-Barre Area’s Yariel Argueta goes up for a basket in the second quarter on Thursday.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Wilkes-Barre Area’s Evan Laybourn-Boddie goes up for a basket on Thursday.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Wilkes-Barre Area’s David Jannuzzi drives for a bucket in Thursday’s win.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
WILKES-BARRE — From the opening whistle, Wilkes-Barre Area was off and running, and the Wolfpack didn’t stop until they ran themselves right into the Wyoming Valley Conference finals.
David Jannuzzi’s 25-point performance capped off a huge night for Wilkes-Barre’s offense, scoring 61 points in the first half on their way to an 87-57 rout of Wyoming Area in Thursday night’s WVC semifinals.
Jannuzzi, only a sophomore but already in complete command of the Wolfpack offense, scored 17 of his 25 in the first quarter, and his court vision and passing led to even more Wilkes-Barre buckets.
“I felt it, in the warmups … once I got going, I knew we would get going,” Jannuzzi said. “I thought (Wyoming Area) gave me a lot of space, I’ve got a lot of shooters on my team too so that made it easier.”
This semifinal, the second of two at Wilkes-Barre Area on Thursday, featured the two top scoring offenses in the conference. It was easy to see why, with a high-paced game played through a lot of transition points going down both ends of the floor.
It just came easier for Wilkes-Barre Area, which scored 30 points in the first quarter and 31 in the second, seemingly unable to miss.
“We have a lot of guys who could step up on any given night,” Wilkes-Barre Area coach Jim Lavan said. “Tonight was Dave, he got hot early.”
Jannuzzi was joined in double-figures by teammates Evan Laybourn-Boddie, with 21 points, and Yariel Argueta chipped in 17. The trio combined for seven three-pointers, and the Wolfpack as a whole knocked down 10 triples.
Add in the easy layups created by the Wilkes-Barre defense, knocking away passes and getting running out in transition, and it created an offensive barrage that Wyoming Area just couldn’t keep up with.
“Most nights, I like our athleticism, it’s definitely our strength,” Lavan said. “We’re not the biggest team, but we’ve got some kids with good hands and getting up and down is definitely to our strength.”
The Warriors were led by Brady Noone, who had 17 points and knocked down the team’s lone three-pointer. Dane Schutter had 16, and freshman Luke Kopetchny added 14 points off the bench for Wyoming Area.
Wilkes-Barre Area will head down to Hazleton on Saturday at 4 p.m. for the WVC championship game, where the Wolfpack will take on Dallas.
Wilkes-Barre Area 87, Wyoming Area 57
WYOMING AREA (57) — Sciandra 1 0-0 2, DeLucca 1 0-0 2, Noone 8 0-0 17, Ma. Rusinchak 0 0-0 0, Schutter 5 6-9 16, Kopetchny 4 6-7 14, Feeney 1 0-0 2, Golden 0 0-0 0, Kruszka 2 0-0 4, Prioleau 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 12-16 57.
WILKES-BARRE AREA (87) — Cottle 2 0-0 5, Jannuzzi 10 2-2 25, Laybourn-Boddie 9 2-2 21, Argueta 7 0-0 17, Garrett 2 0-0 4, Egbeto 0 0-0 0, Keating 1 0-0 2, Ramirez 1 0-2 3, Brown 2 0-0 4, Johnson 1 0-0 3, Ford 1 0-0 2, Brooks 0 1-2 1. Totals 36 5-8 87.
Wyoming Area`11`21`14`11 — 57
Wilkes-Barre Area`30`31`18`8 — 87
Three-point goals — WA 1 (Noone); WBA 10 (Jannuzzi 3, Argueto 3, Cottle, Laybourn-Boddie, Ramirez, Johnson)
