WILKES-BARRE — Some time between going into the locker room at halftime and coming out for the third quarter, Holy Redeemer changed. The Royals went from a team a few punches from a knockout to one on the ropes.

Redeemer, though, recovered from Tunkhannock’s comeback bid and was able to hang on for a 51-39 victory in a Wyoming Valley Conference boys basketball interdivisional game.

Redeemer improved to 1-1 in Division 3 and 4-3 overall. Tunkhannock went to 1-1 in Division 2 and 5-2 overall.

The Royals led 27-14 at the break through a combination of domination on the boards and poor shooting by Tunkhannock. The Royals had a 14-5 rebound advantage in the first 16 minutes, while Tunkhannock was 2 of 13 from the field in the second quarter.

Then everything reversed. Redeemer had just six turnovers in the first half. The Royals committed five more before the midway mark of the third quarter.

“It wasn’t like Tunkhannock was doing anything different than they did in the first half,” Redeemer coach Paul Guido said. “I don’t know if it was we got a little bit lazy or a little bit complacent or a little fatheaded. Hey, we’re up 12 or 13 at the half and we’re in good shape. The next thing you know, we have a couple turnovers and it gives them a couple extra opportunities for some backdoor cuts and some jumpshots.”

Tunkhannock opened the third with a 13-3 run, with the last seven points coming directly off Redeemer turnovers, to move within 30-27 at 3:42 of the third.

“That’s what we talked about at halftime,” Tunkhannock coach Spencer Lunger said. “We had to get to the rim more. We weren’t making our shots. We really had to attack in the third quarter, and that opened up our threes. Matt Goodwin was able to hit a big three for us and we were able to come back.”

Goodwin’s three-pointer came during the outburst as the Tigers didn’t back out once Redeemer clogged the inside like in the first half. Instead, the Tigers used a few mid-range jumpers to open up the inside. A chance to cut the deficit to one, though, ended in a miss.

Redeemer regrouped with an 8-2 run, with J.D. Turosky scoring the final two points by reaching back for a rebound with one hand and scoring inside. The Royals finished with a 29-15 rebound advantage.

Joe Layaou and Colin Cook finished with 10 points each for Redeemer and were the only players in double figures. Nick Prociak was strong inside early and ended up with eight. Turosky and Joey Judge had seven each.

Avery Newhart and Evan Turner scored eight each for Tunkhannock.

Pittston Area 50,

Coughlin 48

Chris Klein scored eight of his team-high 13 points in the fourth quarter as the Patriots held off Coughlin.

Alex McAndrew and Matt McGlynn netted 11 each for Pittston Area.

Charles Cobbs had 18, Thomas Davis scored 11 and Melvin Robinson added 10 for Coughlin.

Nanticoke 52,

Hanover Area 38

Luke Butczynski scored 12 points and Cody Piestrak added nine as Nanticoke defeated rival Hanover Area for the second time this season.

Tyler Diggs had nine to pace Hanover Area.

Meyers 53,

Northwest 44

Matt Dessoye scored 20 and Ryan Gilgallon had 12 as Meyers used a 22-point third quarter to pull away from Northwest.

Jaxson Yaple had 18 and Sam Saxe added 15 for Northwest.

Berwick 56,

Wyo. Seminary 47

Damon Beckhorn netted a game-high 24 points to pace Berwick. Matt Champ and Jude Goddard added 10 each.

Dimitri Gnall scored 18 to lead Seminary.

Crestwood 53,

Dallas 41

Lance Blass and Kyle Richards scored 12 apiece to help Crestwood get past Dallas.

Jay Bittner scored 17 for Dallas.

Hazleton Area 81,

Wyo. Valley West 56

Four Cougars scored in double figures in a 25-point win over Valley West.

Joey Grula led the way with 20 points, while Jeffrey Planutis finished with 16 points, Josh Samec had 12 and Da’Mir Faison chipped in with 11 in the win.

Valley West’s Draig Ruff scored a game-high 22 points and Noah Frace had 14.

GAR 61,

MMI Prep 21

GAR jumped out to a 16-3 first-quarter lead en route to a victory.

Keyshawn Palmer scored a game-high 15 points and Andrew Campbell and Will Johnson each scored 11 for the Grenadiers.

Philip Byriel finished with 10 for MMI Prep.

Wyoming Area 80,

Lake-Lehman 32

Sam Greenfield scored 17 points and Matt Wright added 10 in the Warriors’ win.

Wyoming Area led 44-14 at the half.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Holy Redeemer 51, Tunkhannock 39

TUNKHANNOCK (39) — Avery Newhart 3 0-0 8, Sean Harder 3 0-1 6, Ethan Hoefert 0 1-2 1, Tyler Faux 2 2-2 7. Evan Turner 2 4-5 8, Avery Billings 1 0-0 2, Matt Goodwin 3 0-0 7, CJ Brennan 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 7-10 39.

HOLY REDEEMER (51) — Jason Stachokus 0 2-4 2, Joey Judge 3 1-2 7, Joe Layaou 4 1-1 10, James Kosik 1 0-0 3, Nick Prociak 3 2-2 8, JD Turosky 3 1-3 7, Colin Cook 2 4-5 10, Bryce Yencha 0 1-2 1, Luke Nealon 1 0-0 2, Anthonu Khoudary 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 12-19 51.

Tunkhannock`10`4`15`10`—`39

Holy Redeemer`18`9`11`13`—`51

Three-point goals — TUN 3 (Newhart, Faux); HR 3 (Layaou 2, Cook).

Meyers 53, Northwest 44

MEYERS (53) — Matt Dessoye 7 2-2 20, Ryan Gilgallon 5 0-0 12, Robbie Formola 4 2-2 10, Levaugn Soules 3 0-0 6, Yuri Covington 1 0-0 3, Steve Morel 1 0-0 2, Kendall Brewster 0 0-0 0, Willie Walker 0 0-0 0, Keegan Brewster 0 0-0 0, Najese Hood 0 0-0 0, Gabriel Springer 0 0-0 0, David Kasper 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 4-6 53.

NORTHWEST (44) — Jaxson Yaple 6 1-1 18, Sam Saxe 5 2-2 15, Tyler Stevens 2 0-0 4, Jesse Tarnowski 1 0-0 3, Mitchell Mazonkey 1 0-0 2, Caleb Diltz 1 0-0 2, Nick Levandowski 0 0-0 0, Walker Yaple 0 0-0 0, Bryce Kesler 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 2-3 44.

Meyers`10`17`22`4`—`53

Northwest`9`12`6`17`—`44

Three-point goals — MEY 7 (Dessoye 4, Gilgallon 2, Covington); NW 9 (Yaple 5, Saxe 3, Tarnowski).

Pittston Area 50, Coughlin 48

PITTSTON AREA (50) — Chris Klein 5 0-0 13, Alex McAndrew 1 9-13 11, Matt McGlynn 4 0-1 11, Mike Mazurkivich 0 0-2 0, Pat Mitchell 3 0-0 6, Naseem Guilaume 1 4-5 7, Keemar Woodruff 1 0-0 2, Brennan Higgins 0 0-0 0, Jimmy Pliska 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 13-21 50.

COUGHLIN (48) — Thomas Davis 3 3-3 11, Melvin Robinson 4 2-4 10, Charles Cobbs 4 7-9 18, Anthony Hinkle 0 0-0 0, Marco Deluca 0 0-0 0, Idris Hollis 0 0-0 0, Dominique Flippen 3 3-10 9, Aaron Bennett 0 0-0 0, Tony Egidio 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 12-26 48.

Pittston Area`13`15`9`13`—`50

Coughlin`11`8`18`11`—`48

Three-point goals — PA 7 (Klein 3, McGlynn 3, Guilaume). COU 5 (Davis 2, Cobbs 3).

Berwick 56, Wyoming Seminary 47

BERWICK (56) — Damon Beckhorn 6 9-13 24, Matthew Champ 5 0-1 10, Jude Goddard 4 2-4 10, Alec Markle 2 0-2 4, Justin Groshek 1 0-0 3, Joe Norce 1 0-1 2, Henry Novicki 0 0-0 0, Kyle Pierce 0 0-0 0, Austin Markle 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 11-21 56.

WYOMING SEMINARY (47) — Dimitri Gnall 7 4-6 18, Jeremy Callahan 2 7-8 12, Nicholas Ganter 5 2-3 12, Noah Munley 2 1-2 5, Tyler Maddock 0 0-0 0, Johnny Kehl 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 14-19 47.

Berwick`9`18`14`15`—`56

Wyoming Seminary`4`17`6`20`—`47

Three-point goals — BER 5 (Beckhorn 3, Groshek, Champ); WS 1 (Callahan).

Crestwood 53, Dallas 41

CRESTWOOD (53) — Lance Blass 5 2-2 12, Kyle Richards 5 1-2 12, Kyle Gegaris 1 7-7 9, Kevin Klusewitz 3 1-3 9, Noah Jackson 3 0-0 6, Mike Kozelsky 1 0-0 3, Sean Murphy 1 0-0 2, Nick Andrews 0 0-0 0, Mike Ayala 0 0-0 0, Evan Knapp 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 11-14 53.

DALLAS (41) — Jay Bittner 6 4-4 17, Alex Charlton 3 0-0 7, Ben Donahue 3 0-0 6, Collin Pertl 1 0-0 3, Nick Kocher 1 0-0 3, Ethan Szczencinski 1 0-2 2, Michael Farrell 1 0-0 2, Joey Parsons 0 1-2 1, Ben O’Connell 0 0-0 0, Matt Mathers 0 0-0 0, Andrew Kovalick 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 5-8 41.

Crestwood`8`19`11`15`—`53

Dallas`6`15`10`10`—`41

Three-point goals — CRE 4 (Klusewitz 2, Richards, Kozelsky); DAL 4 (Pertl, Charlton, Kocher, Bittner).

Nanticoke 52, Hanover Area 38

NANTICOKE (52) — Nate Kreitzer 3 0-0 8, Rich Wiaterowski 3 0-1 6, Cody Piestrak 4 0-0 9, Trhjan Kempinski 1 0-0 2, Luke Butczynski 5 1-2 12, Zack Cordone 2 0-0 5, Tyler Thomas 0 1-2 1, Matt Piontkowski 1 1-2 4, Justin Casey 2 3-4 7. Totals 21 6-11 52.

HANOVER AREA (38) — Luis Rivera 2 2-2 6, Desmond McCance 1 1-2 3, Abbaad Hamlet 1 1-4 3, Tyler Diggs 3 0-0 9, Mike Piscotty 5 3-4 13, Asad Whitehead 1 0-0 2, Evan Materna 0 0-0 0, Manny Adams 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 7-11 38.

Nanticoke`12`11`14`15`—`52

Hanover Area`8`7`9`14`—`38

Three-point goals — NAN 4 (Kreitzer 2, Piestrak, Cardone). HA 5 (Diggs 3, Piscotty 2).

Hazleton Area 81, Wyoming Valley West 56

VALLEY WEST (56) — Judge 2 0-0 5, Frace 6 0-0 14, Scottland 0 0-0 0, Moore 1 1-1 3, Saunders 1 0-0 2, Ruff 10 1-1 22, Sokoloski 0 0-0 0, Hackett 4 0-0 8, Jordan 0 0-0 0, Weaver 1 0-0 2, Adams 0 0-0 0, Widbee 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 2-2 56.

HAZLETON AREA (81) — Samec 5 1-3 12, Cusatis 1 0-0 3, Wolk 1 0-0 3, Nieves 1 0-0 3, Kelmer 0 0-0 0, Grula 7 3-5 20, Genasevich 2 4-6 8, Shamany 1 0-0 2, Perez 1 1-2 3, Planutis 8 0-0 16, Fasion 2 7-7 11, Begg 0 0-0, Mussoline 0 0-0 0. Totals 29 16-23 81.

Valley West `17`12`12`15`—`56

Hazleton `20`13`25`23`—`81

Three-point goals — WVW 4 (Judge, Frace 2, Ruff); HAZ 7 (Grula 3, Samec, Cusatis, Wolk, Nieves).

GAR 61, MMI Prep 21

MMI PREP (21) — George Palermo 0 0-0 0, Nick Young 0 0-0 0, Philip Byriel 3 2-4 10, Nick Badamo 0 0-0 0, Matt Marchetti 1 0-2 2, Kyle Williams 2 2-4 7, Marcus Kassick 1 0-0 2, Zach Young 0 0-0 0, AJ Jordan 0 0-0 0, Tyler Degenhart 0 0-0 0, Jon DeBellis 0 0-0 0, Dave Antolick 0 0-0 0, Keefer Hoover 0 0-0 0. Totals 7 4-10 21.

GAR (61) — Keyshawn Palmer 7 1-2 15, Will Johnson 5 1-2 11, Andrew Campbell 5 0-0 11, Herman Suazo 2 0-0 4, Kahlil White 1 0-0 2, Anthony Hawk 2 2-2 6, Eli Ruiz 4 0-0 10, Mufee Burney 0 0-0 0, Jared O’Day 1 0-0 2, Gene-Carlos Rodriguez 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 4-6 61.

GAR `16`19`13`13`—`61

MMI Prep`3`4`9`5`—`21

Three-point goals — GAR 3 (Campbell, Ruiz 2); MMI 3 (Byriel 2, Williams).

Wyoming Area 80, Lake-Lehman 32

WYOMING AREA (80) — Anthony Nardell 3 0-0 8, Kyre Zeilinski 1 0-0 2, Sam Greenfield 7 0-0 17, Tony Saitta 3 0-0 7, Matt Wright 5 0-0 10, Kyle Musto 2 0-0 6, Dan Weidl 1 0-0 3, Mike Bonita 2 1-4 3, Keating Cole 3 1-6 7, PJ Angelli 2 2-4 7, Steve Yordy 0 0-0 0, Aaron Zezza 2 0-0 4, Ryan Shuleski 1 0-0 2, Dylan Melberger 1 0-0 2, Justin Alder 0 0-0 0, John Angelli 0 0-0 0, Nick Rubino 1 0-0 2. Totals 34 4-14 80.

LAKE-LEHMAN (32) — Walkker Shaw 1 0-0 2, Tyler Scharoff 0 0-0 0, Garret Weston 1 6-6 8, John Pelton 0 0-2 0, Don Thompson 1 0-0 2, Mahmoud Dabsheh 1 0-1 2, CJ Cercone 2 0-0 4, Adam Motovidlak 1 1-3 4, Cole Spencer 2 6-7 10. Totals 9 13-19 32.

Wyo. Area `20`24`21`15`—`80

Lehman`3`11`12`6`—`32

Three-point goals — WA 10 (Nardell 2, Greenfield 3, Saitta, Musto 2, Weidl, Angelli); L-L 1 (Motovidlak).

Holy Redeemer (44) Prociak looks for a shot. 12/16/2016 Aimee Dilger|Times Leader
http://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_TTL010517redeemer1.jpg.optimal.jpgHoly Redeemer (44) Prociak looks for a shot. 12/16/2016 Aimee Dilger|Times Leader

Holy Redeemer (10) Judge looks to pass the ball. 1/4/2017 Aimee Dilger|Times Leader
http://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_TTL010517redeemer2.jpg.optimal.jpgHoly Redeemer (10) Judge looks to pass the ball. 1/4/2017 Aimee Dilger|Times Leader
Royals shake off bad 3rd quarter for 51-39 win

By John Erzar

jerzar@timesleader.com

Reach John Erzar at 570-991-6394 or on Twitter @TLJohnErzar