Wyatt Peifer finished a 13-point effort by going 5-for-6 from the line in the fourth quarter Monday night as Wallenpaupack defeated host West Scranton, 49-40, to clinch at least a tie for first place in Lackawanna League Division 2 boys.
Wallenpaupack combined its win with the result of another Lackawanna Division 1-2 crossover – Valley View’s 55-50 victory at second-place North Pocono – to assure itself of no worse than the first-place tie.
The Buckhorns are 9-1 in the Lackawanna League and 15-3 overall with three league games remaining.
North Pocono dropped to 6-4 and 12-5.
West Scranton led Wallenpaupack, 14-12, after one quarter.
The Buckhorns tied the game at halftime, then used a 13-5 third quarter to take a 34-26 lead.
Wallenpaupack put the game away by shooting 10-for-15 from the line in the fourth quarter.
Justin Blanding went 2-for-3, Jack Smith was 2-for-4 and Landon Calabrese was 1-for-2.
T.J. Schmalzle added 12 points in the win. Smith and Calabrese scored eight points each.
Tristan Lee scored seven of his nine points in the fourth quarter.
