Wyoming Area lost its hold on the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 boys basketball lead Tuesday, but battled back Friday to move within one win of securing a berth in the WVC Tournament.
The Warriors finished the week even in the loss column and a half-game behind Holy Redeemer at 8-1 in the division, leading to a possibility of a first-place tie. They are 13-5 and third of 10 teams in the race for eight District 2 Class 4A playoffs.
The top two finishers in each division enter the four-team WVC playoffs. Wyoming Area closed in on playing in that tournament for the first time with Friday’s road win over third-place Nanticoke.
Wyoming Area 58, Nanticoke 52
NANTICOKE — Wyoming Area and Nanticoke battled through four quarters Friday night in a physical game that bordered on a slugfest.
The Warriors, just like in their previous matchup with the Trojans this season, were able to land the decisive blows when it mattered most.
Wyoming Area came up with big bucket after big bucket in the fourth, putting a feisty Nanticoke squad down by a 58-52 final score.
“It was big,” Wyoming Area coach Anthony Macario said. “We needed this one. We knew it was going to be super physical.
“They got us here in the playoffs last year in a real similar type game, and our guys responded when it counted.”
Dane Schutter led the Warriors with 19 points and Brady Noone had 16. After a relatively quiet first half, Noone was a huge catalyst for Wyoming Area in the final eight minutes when he scored nine points.
Though Wyoming Area led pretty much throughout, the Trojans refused to give an inch and kept the Warriors within striking distance through three quarters, trailing by just six heading into the final quarter.
