Feb. 9—DALLAS TWP. — Dallas checked off the biggest box Thursday night.

Now, there is one more for the Mountaineers to check off and then see how everything shakes out.

Down 10 at halftime, Dallas pressured Hazleton Area into several turnovers in the third quarter, flipping the momentum on the way to a 68-65 Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 boys basketball victory.

Hazleton Area finished the Division 1 season at 11-3 and 14-8 overall. Dallas (10-3 Div. 1, 15-6 overall) still has to complete its Division 1 season with a game at Wyoming Valley West on Monday.

The Mountaineers need to defeat Valley West and then finish ahead of Hazleton Area in the District 2 power rankings to get a spot in the WVC playoffs. The teams split their two Division 1 games and the next tiebreaker for second place in the power rankings. Wilkes-Barre Area clinched the division and a playoff spot with a win against Crestwood.

Dallas trailed Hazleton Area by 0.0142 in the power rankings entering Thursday's game. The Mountaineers overtook the Cougars by a 0.0096 margin late Thursday night.

Dallas had to contend with the hot 3-point shooting of Hazleton Area's Luis Guzman and the inside game of Joe Marshall in the first half. Plus, Hazleton Area threw a different look at the Dallas offense.

"It was different than what they played us last time," Dallas guard Jude Nocito said. "Last time at Hazleton, they played us man. So we had to try to get used to their zone, find the holes and once we found the holes, we were driving and dishing and playing much better as a team."

Mikey Cumbo came into the game second in scoring in Division 1, yet didn't have a field goal in the first half as Hazleton Area took a 39-29 lead into the locker room. But a layup off a turnover got him and the entire offense in sync in the third quarter.

"The game wasn't going my way and at half I knew I had to make some adjustments," Cumbo said. "I kind of started getting my teammates involved and started doing the little things on offense and defense. And the points started falling, and we were able to come back at the end."

Cumbo had nine points in the third quarter as Dallas outscored the Cougars 24-12. Zach Paczewski, one of the WVC's top 3-point shooters, was blanked in the first two quarters. He had eight in the third, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Dallas a 53-51 advantage.

A rebound basket by Paczewski and a drive by Nocito bumped the lead to 57-51 early in the fourth quarter. Hazleton Area moved within one point, but consecutive baskets by Cumbo moved the lead to 63-57 with 3:17 to play.

Again, Hazleton Area cut it to one point, 63-62, on a 3-pointer by Nikoli Santiago with 2:11 remaining. Nocito then came up with a huge basket after Dallas worked nearly a minute off the clock. He drove, got stuck inside and flipped in an underhand shot.

Paczewski finished off the comeback with an uncontested layup at the buzzer after Santiago hit a 3-pointer with seven seconds left.

Nocito and Cumbo each finished with 17 points. Nick Williams had a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds, his last board coming in the final seconds after two Hazleton Area misses.

Marshall had 19 for Hazleton Area. Guzman had 15, all from behind the arc.

Dallas 68, Hazleton Area 65

HAZLETON AREA (65) — Luke Gennaro 1 1-2 3, Dylan Stish 4 o-0 11, Sam Guzman 3 0-0 6, Luis Guzman 5 0-0 15, Joe Marshall 9 1-2 19, Nikoli Santiago 4 0-0 11, James Reimold 0 0-0 0, Bryant Diaz 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 2-4 65.

DALLAS (68) — Jude Nocito 7 0-0 17, Cameron Faux 2 1-2 6, Zach Paczewski 5 0-0 12, Mikey Cumbo 7 2-2 17, Nick Williams 7 0-2 14, Nick Farrell 1 0-0 2. Totals 29 3-6 68.

Hazleton Area'23'16'12'14 — 65

Dallas'15'14'24'15 — 68

Three-point goals — HA 11 (Stish 3, L.Guzman 5, Santiago 3). DAL 6 (Nocito 3, Faux, Paczewski 2, Cumbo).