Dallas senior Jude Nocito will lead the Mountaineers as they go for their second consecutive WVC Boys Basketball Tournament championship.
Tony Callaio file photo | For Times Leader
Like the divisional races themselves, the Wyoming Valley Conference Boys Basketball Tournament looks wide open.
An argument can be made for any of the four teams becoming champion. A rebuttal can be made as well.
The tournament starts with the semifinals Thursday at Hazleton Area High School.
In the opener, Division 2 champion Wyoming Area plays Division 1 runner-up Dallas at 6 p.m. About 20 minutes after that game, Division 1 champion Wilkes-Barre Area plays Division 2 runner-up Holy Redeemer.
The title will be decided at 4 p.m. Saturday at Wilkes-Barre Area. None of these games have bearing on the District 2 power rankings used to determine seedings for next week’s district tournaments. Only regular-season games figure into the formula.
Here’s a look at the four teams.
DALLAS
Dallas (9-4 Div. 1, 15-8) had some holes to fill with senior guard Jude Nocito the only returning starter from last season’s tournament champion. The Mountaineers found solutions for the present and future, although the going hasn’t always been smooth.
The Mountaineers have lost four of their last six games, including a 73-62 setback to Wilkes-Barre Area in a special playoff game for the WVC Division 1 championship on Monday. The rough stretch came after a six-game winning streak.
Jude Nocito averages 16.2 points and has 54 3-pointers. He also attacks the rim. Fellow senior Jack Dale (6.2 ppg) has developed into a reliable starter.
The rest of the main guys will be back next year. Sophomore Pat Flanagan, the tallest regular at 6-foot-3, averages 11.2 points and is aggressive in the paint. A pair of freshmen guards — Joey Nocito (9.5) and Tyce Mason (5.1) — means the backcourt will be in good hands for the foreseeable future. Junior Kael Berry started earlier in the season before missing time with an injury, but has returned to be among the top sixth-men in the WVC.
The Mountaineers average 55.7 points while allowing 51.1.
HOLY REDEEMER
Holy Redeemer (10-4 Div. 2, 13-9) slipped into the tournament by edging Berwick in the second tiebreaker — District 2 power rankings. The Royals and Berwick had split their two regular-season games.
Redeemer brings some momentum into the game. Its six-game winning streak includes consecutive wins over Wyoming Area and Berwick to close out the regular season.
The Royals have been strong defensively, surrendering a Division 2 low of 41.4 points per game. Their issue has been on the other side of the court where they score 49.3 per contest.
Redeemer’s offense doesn’t always flow smoothly. David Popson, a 6-foot-6 senior who was a Times Leader All-WVC selection last season, averages a team-leading 12.1 points. However, the Royals on occasion struggle getting him the ball in the paint.
Senior Brayden Sock (7.4 ppg) and junior Cody Quaglia (6.7) are next in line in the scoring department and add 3-point shooting.
WILKES-BARRE AREA
Wilkes-Barre Area (10-3 Div. 1, 15-8) won the Division 1 championship with a 73-62 victory over Dallas in a special playoff game Monday night.
Junior guard David Jannuzzi scored 29 points, including the 1,000th of his career, in the win. Jannuzzi averages 21.2 points, has 41 3-pointers and draw a bushel of fouls slashing to the hoop. Junior Mike Keating (14.9 ppg) does plenty of good things on both ends of the court. Junior Jacob Johnson lives outside the arc as 43 of his 65 field goals have been 3-pointers.
Seniors Quran Brooks and Jordany Rodriguez do the tough work under the basket. Junior Tahir Bolden and sophomore Achilles Fuentes have provided quickness to the backcourt when called upon.
The Wolfpack hit a rough patch from mid to late December where they lost five of six games against quality opponents. They lost only twice since then and bring a six-game winning streak into the tournament.
WBA led Division 1 in scoring with 63.1 per game. However, the Wolfpack ranked fifth in defense, allowing 56.1 per game.
WYOMING AREA
Wyoming Area (12-2 Div. 2, 15-7) lost three quality starters to graduation, including 1,000-point scorer Dane Schutter. So the Warriors were a bit of a mystery entering the season. They were going to be a good team no doubt, but just how good was the question.
The Warriors answered that with their first WVC divisional title since 1971 as a couple pieces fell into place.
The main two were sophomore Luke Kopetchny and senior Lukas Burakiewicz.
Kopetchny was a valuable contributor last season, but took his game to a new level. He led Division 2 in scoring, averaging 21 points, and shot a WVC-high 132 free throws. He connected on 100 of them. Burakiewicz played just four games last season before an injury sidelined him. He came back to finish second in the division in scoring with a 16.3 average and his 50 3-pointers were the second most.
Senior Anthony DeLucca, a starter last season, provides reliable shooting from 3-point territory.
Wyoming Area led Division 2 in scoring by averaging 57.8 points, but allowed a division-high 53.4 points per game. However, the Warriors play with pace, so perhaps opponents are getting more possessions against them than other teams.
