H.S. boys basketball: Wyoming Seminary defeats Holy Redeemer to take division lead
Wyoming Seminary’s Jake Koretz (11) has his shot denied by Holy Redeemer’s Prince Allen (34) and Jared Piontkowski during the first half Tuesday night.
WILKES-BARRE — An ankle injury allowed Wyoming Seminary point guard Jake Koretz to see basketball from a different perspective.
The view he had Tuesday night is the one he and Blue Knights teammate prefer.
Koretz scored a game-high 22 points and provided crucial defense, especially in the second half, as Seminary defeated Holy Redeemer 65-58 in a battle of Division 2 unbeatens teams in Wyoming Valley Conference boys basketball.
Seminary (7-0 Div. 1, 13-2 overall) took over sole possession of first place with its 12th consecutive victory. Redeemer fell to 6-1 in the division and 9-5 overall.
Oddly, Seminary’s winning streak started after Koretz was injured in the third game of the season, a loss to Dallas. He missed a little over three weeks, but has been making up for lost time. His 3-pointer late in the third period was part of a 7-0 run that flipped the advantage to Seminary for good.
“It’s been good to watch the team when you take a step out of the game and see spots we have to work on and try to help coach,” Koretz said. “In a way, I think it was good for our team, but it’s always tough to miss that much time.”
The victory wasn’t a one-man effort. Jeremy Callahan’s two drives to the hoop off Redeemer turnovers bumped the lead to 55-46 with just over five minutes left in the fourth quarter. Alex and Ethan Meuser came up with key baskets when Redeemer tilted the momentum. And Todd Phillips grabbed nine rebounds despite sitting out most of the first quarter after picking up two early fouls.
“The other things I’ve been talking about every game is our balance,” Seminary coach Pete Moses said. “Our balance is just excellent. We call sets for everybody. We make sure we get the ball in Jeremy’s hands, in Jake’s hands, get Ethan (Meuser) touches in the post. Alex Meuser, what a game he had today. He really kept us in early in the game and kept us in it.”
Redeemer never from the 50-44 deficit entering the fourth quarter. The Royals top scorers — backcourt mates Justice Shoats and Mason Mendygral — combined for just two field goals in the second half. Junior Alex Rymar scored a season-best 16 points and 6-foot-9 Jared Piontkowski added 11 as they were the only source of consistent offense in the second half.
The teams will play again at Seminary on Feb. 8 and perhaps again in the District 2 Class 3A playoffs. There also a possibility they can play in the Wyoming Valley Conference overall championship game Feb. 15 at the Berwick Middle School.
“We’re not collecting uniforms tomorrow. We know were going to get another run with them in two weeks and potentially in districts,” Redeemer coach Paul Guido said. “We’ll see what happens.”
Wyoming Seminary 65, Holy Redeemer 58
WYOMING SEMINARY (65) — Jake Koretz 6 7-8 22, Alex Meuser 3 3-3 12, Todd Phillips 2 4-8 8, Jeremy Callahan 5 3-4 15, Ethan Meuser 3 0-0 6, Andrew Maddock 0 0-0 0, Aiden Murphy 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 17-23 65.
HOLY REDEEMER (58) — Mason Mendygral 3 1-2 8, Justice Shoats 3 5-6 13, Jared Piontkowski 5 1-1 11, Alex Rymar 5 3-3 16, Matt Prociak 3 2-2 10, Zev Kornfeld 0 0-0 0, Prince Allan 0 0-0 0, Jake Pizzolato 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 12-14 58.
Wyo. Seminary`17`15`18`15 — 65
Holy Redeemer`15`18`11`14 — 58
Three-point goals — WS 8 (Koretz 3, A.Meuser 3, Callahan 2). HR 8 (Mendygral, Shoats 2, Rymar 3, Prociak 2).
