Feb. 3—PLAINS TWP. — As Wilkes-Barre Area finally found its shooting touch, Hazleton Area rediscovered the formula that helped it to a big lead Friday night.

Luis Guzman's rebound basket with 1:01 remaining gave Hazleton Area some breathing room and the Cougars breathed a sigh of relief with a 60-54 victory in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 boys basketball game.

WBA (9-1 Div. 1, 14-4 overall) saw its 14-game winning streak come to an end. Hazleton Area (9-2 Div. 1, 12-7) won its fourth in a row.

The one victory in WBA's streak was 72-68 in double overtime at Hazleton Area on Jan. 12.

"After the double overtime loss everybody wanted it really bad, especially the seniors," said Hazleton Area senior Joe Marshall, who helped the Cougars control the boards. "It was our last time coming up here and playing in this gym and we wanted to make it worth it."

Actually, the Cougars could be back at WBA if they qualify for the WVC playoffs by finishing either first or second in the division. The WVC boys semifinals will be Feb. 15 at Wilkes-Barre Area High School.

Guzman grabbed an offensive rebound — his 14th board of the game — off a blocked shot. His inside basket off it gave Hazleton Area a 57-50 lead and made it a three-possession game. Fellow big man Marshall led the way with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman guard Dylan Stish had 13 points and nine rebounds.

"We wanted to play basketball," Hazleton Area coach Pat Brogan said, "but we had a little advantage (inside) and Joey and Louie are very talented. If they're open, that's the play. They converted, they rebounded, they competed."

All three Cougars were taller than anyone WBA put on the court, although Channing Brown came off the bench for the Wolfpack and really battled inside. He finished with nine rebounds and 10 points.

"We knew we were bigger than them and wanted to play it to our advantage," Marshall said.

Hazleton Area looked primed to turn the game into a rout in the third quarter. A pair of inside baskets by Marshall, another by Stish and a drive to the hoop by Luke Gennaro gave the Cougars a 48-29 lead late in the third quarter.

That run coupled with WBA's 5-of-26 shooting in the middle quarters made a comeback bid seem unlikely.

Then WBA's Evan Laybourn-Boddie opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer, starting a barrage of 3-point baskets by the Wolfpack. Mike Keating hit one. Then Laybourn-Boddie nailed another. David Jannuzzi added two more, his final trey cutting the deficit to 55-50 with 1:11 left.

That would be as close as WBA would get.

"We had open looks (early) and we didn't make them," WBA coach Jim Lavan said. "In the end there, we were getting a little more paint touches to kickout shots rather than just throwing around the perimeter."

The Wolfpack led just once — 13-12 on a Laybourn-Boddie 3-pointer at 1:49 of the first quarter. Hazleton Area ran off the final six points of the quarter and built its lead to 32-21 at halftime.

Hazleton Area 60, Wilkes-Barre Area 54

HAZLETON AREA (60) — Luke Gennaro 5 4-4 15, Nikoli Santiago 2 0-0 4, Dylan Stish 6 0-0 13, Luis Guzman 3 1-2 7, Joe Marshall 7 2-5 16, James Reimold 2 0-0 4, Bryant Diaz 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 8-13 60.

WBA (54) — Kaprie Cottle 1 0-0 3, Melvin Egbeto 0 0-0 0, David Jannuzzi 3 4-4 13, Evan Laybourn-Boddie 6 2-4 18, Yariel Argueta 2 0-0 5, Vincent Garrett 0 0-4 0, Channing Brown 4 2-2 10, Mike Keating 2 0-0 5. Totals 18 8-14 54.

Hazleton Area'18'14'16'12 — 60

Wilkes-Barre Area'13'8'10'23 — 54

Three-point goals — HA 2 (Gennaro, Stish). WBA 10 (Cottle, Jannuzzi 3, Laybourn-Boddie 4, Argueta, Keating).