{"id":505589,"date":"2026-01-10T07:04:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T07:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/505589\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T07:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T07:04:16","slug":"dallas-pulls-away-from-cougars-hazleton-standard-speaker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/505589\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas pulls away from Cougars \u2013 Hazleton Standard Speaker"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul class=\"mng-gallery-initialized mng-gallery-slider\">\n<li data-index=\"1\" class=\"mng-ge mng-gallery-active\" id=\"mng-ge-0\" aria-hidden=\"false\" tabindex=\"0\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Dallas\u2019 Kael Berry shoots over Hazleton Area\u2019s Dylan Stish during...\" class=\"size-article_inline\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/DSC_8691-1.jpeg\"\/>\n<p>Dallas\u2019 Kael Berry shoots over Hazleton Area\u2019s Dylan Stish during their Wyoming Valley Conference boys\u2019 basketball game, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Hazle Twp. (BOB GAETANO \/ CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"2\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Hazleton Area\u2019s Kendrick Ortiz fouls Dallas\u2019 Pat Flanagan during their...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/DSC_8822-1.jpeg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/DSC_8822-1.jpeg\"\/>\n<p>Hazleton Area\u2019s Kendrick Ortiz fouls Dallas\u2019 Pat Flanagan during their Wyoming Valley Conference boys\u2019 basketball game, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Hazle Twp. flanagan scored a game-high 23 points to lead the Mountaineers to a 75-55 win. (BOB GAETANO \/ CONTRIBUTNG PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"3\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-2\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Hazleton Area\u2019s Xavier Heck (31) fouls Dallas\u2019 Joey Nocito on...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/DSC_8724-1.jpeg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/DSC_8724-1.jpeg\"\/>\n<p>Hazleton Area\u2019s Xavier Heck (31) fouls Dallas\u2019 Joey Nocito on his way to the basket on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Hazle Twp. (BOB GAETANO \/ CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"4\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Hazleton Area\u2019s Dylan Stish drives for a layup during the...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/DSC_8926-1.jpeg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/DSC_8926-1.jpeg\"\/>\n<p>Hazleton Area\u2019s Dylan Stish drives for a layup during the Cougars\u2019 loss to Dallas on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Hazle Twp. (BOB GAETANO \/ CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Show Caption<\/p>\n<p>1 of 4<\/p>\n<p>Dallas\u2019 Kael Berry shoots over Hazleton Area\u2019s Dylan Stish during their Wyoming Valley Conference boys\u2019 basketball game, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Hazle Twp. (BOB GAETANO \/ CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#\" class=\"icon-enlarge mng-gallery-fullscreen-expand\" aria-label=\"Expand fullscreen slideshow\">Expand<\/a><\/p>\n<p>HAZLE TWP. \u2014 Mark Belenski and his Dallas boys basketball team weren\u2019t about to fall into the same trap.<\/p>\n<p>The Mountaineers spent their bye Tuesday watching Hazleton Area struggle in a home loss to Crestwood. But they also knew the danger of underestimating a wounded Cougars team they hadn\u2019t beaten at Hughie McGeehan Gymnasium since 2020, even during their recent stretch of Wyoming Valley Conference dominance. Dallas also was well aware that the 2025-26 Cougars played a brutal non-conference schedule to prepare them to face WVC powers like the Mountaineers.<\/p>\n<p>Sure enough, Hazleton Area came out snarling Friday, trading baskets and leads with the Mountaineers in a thrilling first half that ended with the Cougars ahead, 30-29.<\/p>\n<p>Then came the third quarter, when Dallas used a 23-9 blitz to subdue a perennial nemesis and spark its eventual 75-55 victory.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was not happy with the way it started,\u201d said Belenski, whose Mountaineers moved into a first-place tie with Crestwood atop the WVC Division 1 standings, both with 4-0 records in league play. \u201cI think they had five shots on their first possession, and we knew that we had to neutralize them on the offensive boards. \u2026 That\u2019s what we did in the second half. We really stepped up and took away their offensive boards and we were able to get out and run.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And make shots \u2014 lots of them. Outside, inside, anywhere, really, it didn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n<p>After not draining a single 3-pointer in first half, the Mountaineers (11-3 overall) knocked down three on their first three possessions of the second half, two by senior Kael Berry and another by Tyce Mason.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the old days, the best shot was a layup,\u201d Belenski laughed. \u201cNow, these guys like the three-ball. The guys that can shoot the three-ball, they\u2019re allowed to shoot it. If they get down the court and they\u2019re open, they take it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Cougars (5-8, 2-2) stayed close on Kendrick Ortiz\u2019s fast-break layup and Oscaudy Vasquez\u2019s five consecutive points, but Pat Flanagan wrapped four of his game-high 23 points around buckets by Chris Flanagan and Joey Nocito in an 8-0 burst to give Dallas a 46-37 lead. Sophomore Eddie Macko\u2019s coast-to-coast bucket interrupted the visitors\u2019 surge, but Mason, Pat Flanagan and Nocito all scored on hard drives to the hoop to bump the Mountaineers\u2019 advantage to 52-39 by the end of the quarter.<\/p>\n<p>By then, Hazleton Area head coach Pat Brogan was wondering, \u201cWhat if\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe should have been ahead by at least eight points in the first half. \u2026 You can\u2019t miss opportunities against a good team,\u201d he said. \u201cThey didn\u2019t miss their opportunities. They didn\u2019t miss open shots. They didn\u2019t miss foul shots.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dallas \u2014 particularly Pat Flanagan \u2014 made sure the Cougars didn\u2019t get any closer than 14 points in the final period. The junior forward was all over the floor, spinning his way past defenders to the basket, burying a 3-pointer from the corner, hustling for rebounds and loose balls and forcing turnovers and cashing those into points.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe came out after halftime ready to punch,\u201d Flanagan said. \u201cWe really were just focused. That\u2019s all it is \u2014 focus.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Flanagan finished with 11 points in the fourth quarter and Mason and Brady Mizzer each made a 3-pointer to make the final score look deceptive, especially the way the game started.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery game we\u2019ve played this year we either outworked our opponent or worked just as hard as our opponent,\u201d Belenski said. \u201cThat\u2019s something we pride ourselves in, and that\u2019s what we did tonight to gain separation from them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The game was tied three times and the lead changed hands five times in the first quarter, though Hazleton Area had the better of the fight for most of the quarter. YoYo Moran popped in eight of his team-best 19 points for the Cougars. His left-handed layup and later Vasquez\u2019s two free throws twice gave the Cougars a six-point lead.<\/p>\n<p>But Nocito and Mason canned four points apiece late in the quarter to pull Dallas into a 19-all tie entering the second quarter.<\/p>\n<p>There were six more lead changes over the next eight minutes with neither side up by more than the Cougars\u2019 three-point margin (26-23) that followed Moran\u2019s two foul shots at the 6:14 mark.<\/p>\n<p>The two teams, however, went cold from the field over the rest of the quarter \u2014 both 4 of 11 \u2014 to keep them from making runs before halftime. Putbacks by Dylan Stish and Ortiz enabled the Cougars to take a 30-29 lead into the locker room.<\/p>\n<p>After one last tie early in the third quarter, the Mountaineers began to wear the Cougars down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe made a couple of poor decisions in the third quarter that led to easy baskets for them,\u201d Brogan said. \u201cAnd then, they were just physically stronger than us. They were men and we\u2019re not men yet. It\u2019s motivation for our guys to get stronger (and) stay in the weight room.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite the two straight home losses, Brogan and his team insist there\u2019s still a long road to navigate to the conference playoffs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are going to be losses for teams in our league because there\u2019s a lot of parity,\u201d Brogan said. \u201cThere are still crazy things than are going to happen in this league before it\u2019s all said and done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Belenski agreed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have Wilkes-Barre and then we have Crestwood next week. \u2026 It doesn\u2019t get any easier \u2026 because it (the WVC) is so balanced,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you take a night off, you get caught\u2026 It\u2019s kids. It\u2019s high school basketball. That\u2019s what makes it so much fun.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>DALLAS (75) \u2014\u00a0Nocito 5 6-8 16, Mason 5 1-2 13, Berry 5 0-1 12, C. Flanagan 4 0-0 8, McCann 0 0-0 0, P. Flanagan 7 8-9 23, Mizzer 1 0-0 3, Scatton 0 0-0 0, Geskey 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 15-20 75.<\/p>\n<p>HAZLETON AREA (55) \u2014 Paulino 0 0-0 0, Moran 6 7-8 19, Stish 5 2-5 14, Ortiz 3 0-0 6, Vasquez 2 2-2 7, Macko 3 0-0 7, Heck 0 0-0 0, Centeno 0 0-0 0, Lucas 1 0-0 2, Lantigua 0 0-0 0, Ramirez 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 11-15 55.<\/p>\n<p>Dallas (11-3, 4-0) 19 10 23 23 \u2014 75<\/p>\n<p>Haz Area (5-8, 2-2) 19 11 9 16 \u2014 55<\/p>\n<p>3-FG: Mason 2, Berry 2, P. Flanagan, Mizzer, Stish 2, Vasquez, Macko.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dallas\u2019 Kael Berry shoots over Hazleton Area\u2019s Dylan Stish during their Wyoming Valley Conference boys\u2019 basketball game, Friday,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":505590,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,166445,1596,3102,95967,2830,62458,62,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-505589","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-carbon-county","10":"tag-dallas","11":"tag-high-school-sports","12":"tag-luzerne-county","13":"tag-pennsylvania","14":"tag-schuylkill-county","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-texas","17":"tag-tx","18":"tag-united-states","19":"tag-united-states-of-america","20":"tag-unitedstates","21":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","22":"tag-us","23":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115869533172643086","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=505589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505589\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/505590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=505589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=505589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=505589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}