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N.Eastern PA Report
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Past Columns |
ed note: We are
pleased to have the some info from the North Eastern part of the state. We
are pleased to have a long time LLHoops fan , Jon K. to contribute. Thanks
Jon. Hope you enjoy. PLEASE HIT YOUR BROWSER “REFRESH”
BUTTON TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE VIEWING THE MOST RECENT UPDATE OF THE N.EAST PA
BEAT. UPDATED 2/5/2010 NOT DOWN - AND CERTAINLY NOT OUT Boys
AAAA coaches take note – they’re back!
The Northeast Beat has confirmed with Williamsport Athletic Director,
Sean McCann, that their boys’ basketball team (currently at 3-14) is eligible for participation in the
District 2/4 AAAA playoffs under new District 4 guidelines. In previous years, District IV required a
.500 overall season record for playoff participants. But, this year, they adopted a similar open
tournament policy as already exists in District 2. The Millionaires have certainly had their
share of ups and downs this season, but recently have been very competitive
against District 1 perennial powerhouse Chester, and also in a win this week
over a solid Danville (10-5) squad.
With Hazleton Area (the top WVC 4A team) and Scranton (the top
Lackawanna League 4A team) distancing themselves from the rest of the playoff
pack, the Cherry and White certainly feel that they will be competitive in a
first round game and advance to the semi-final round. A few more wins could even gain them a first
round home game – a definite advantage when playing in the Magic Dome. The NEP Beat will have more on Williamsport
in the weekly update posted on Tuesday.
UPDATED 2/4/2010 WEDNESDAY
NIGHT IN COUGAR TOWN Districts
2, 11 AAAA powerhouses meet in boys showdown No
- not that Cougar Town. I’m talking
about the one on 23rd Street in Hazleton. The Northeast Beat traveled down to the
spacious accommodations of the Hughie McGeehan gymnasium Wednesday night to
take in what (on paper) promised to be a terrific confrontation between
leading AAAA championship contenders in Districts 2 and 11. And, for the most part, the game delivered
on all fronts, except of course that the hometown Cougars came up short 52-47
to the equally athletic Panther squad from Pocono Mountain West. Though it’s always bit tough to gauge
attendance in their venue, one of the larger Cougar crowds seen recently was
on hand for the much-anticipated tilt, which definitely had a flavor of state
playoff intensity. Unlike
recent games in which Mike Joseph’s squad had to dig their way out of serious
second half deficits, this game saw his team race out to a quick 8-0 lead
(via a pair of Paris Cleveland
treys) and later expanded it to a 16-4 advantage. That run included a play that dazzled the
crowd in which Christian Laputka
showed amazing court awareness, making a backwards two-handed overhead throw
down court to a wide open Adam Davis
for an easy layup. However, in the
closing minutes of the stanza, West went on an 11-2 run to trim the gap to a
more manageable 16-13 deficit. The
second quarter featured some of the Panther’s inside strength as they
converted several put-back opportunities.
In particular, Keon Scott
was impressive, netting 6 of his 13 points in the second period (which ended
with a 26-23 Cougar lead). He has a
great deal of body control and was a real force under the bucket. PM-West
definitely turned their defensive pressure up a few notches in the second
half, catching Hazleton a bit off guard and not really running any effective
offensive sets. Two early Cougar
turnovers plus some outside shooting woes, enabled the Panthers to take their
first lead of the game on a basket by JaQuan
Bryant at the 5:25 mark. Later in
the period, a wide-open Keon Scott
launched a dart from 3-point land that expanded the lead to 5 points
(34-29). From that point, a Cleveland trey, a nifty scoop layup
by Laputka, and two free throws by
Cleveland gave the lead back to
Hazleton, 36-34, entering the final period.
In the 4th, a quick, driving layup by Tymell Fortune (6 points) put West up, 38-37, an advantage which
they never relinquished the rest of the game.
Despite trailing 46-41 with 3:01 remaining, the Cougars never gave
up. In fact, hopes were soaring as Cleveland hit one of two free throws
with 1:43 left (to trail by a single point, 46-45) on a play in which key
Panther playmaker Fortune fouled
out of the game. In the closing
moments, Laputka made a full court
drive and layup to make it 48-47 with 25 ticks left, but a goaltending call
on the other end again widened the lead to 3 points with 14 seconds
left. Down 50-47, the Cougars were
unable to get a shot off and West hit a pair of free throws to secure the
52-47 victory. Overall,
the matchup definitely benefitted both squads as each has legitimate district
championship aspirations. Some of
Hazleton’s sharpshooters just could not find their rhythm and that made a
difference. On the positive side, the
Cougars played strong defense and the play of Cougar center Eric Radishofski (9 points) on both
ends of the floor was also impressive.
Paris Cleveland led the way
in scoring with 18 points, while Christian
Laputka added 8. UPDATED 2/2/2010 Well,
it’s Groundhog Day…again. You gotta love the 1993 movie by the same
name in which weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is doomed to have the
worst day of his life - over and over again.
We all feel that way sometimes.
Many memorable lines in that one.
A favorite is when Phil is at the hotel and asks the hostess whether
she’s ever had déjà vu. She replies
that she didn’t think so, but that she’d check with the kitchen. This whole Punxsutawney celebration sort of
wakes you up like a cold gust of wind into realizing that the local hoops
season is rapidly winding down and that district playoffs are just a few
short weeks away. The District 2
playoff schedule has been released and is included below. One change in store this year is that games
will be scheduled to match how the PIAA state playoffs are conducted. That is, Boys (A, AAA) and Girls (AA, AAAA)
play on the same night and then Boys (AA, AAAA) and Girls (A, AAA) are on the
next night. Hopefully, fans will get
ample opportunities to see their favorite teams compete. And
speaking of district playoffs, the proposed playoff change developed by the
LIAA to hold separate postseason tournaments in the Wyoming Valley Conference
and Lackawanna League in order to qualify teams for the 2A and 3A district
tourneys, will be going to a vote among WVC athletic directors around
February 11. An approval would then
allow it to be further debated by the district committee. The Northeast Beat published a commentary
on this proposal two weeks ago. A link
to that report is on the left side of this page (under archived
columns). After some more evaluation,
the thought here is that the regular league season IS important and the
results should not be diluted by putting teams through another qualifying
event. If a consensus cannot be
reached on how to select who gets in, why bother with all the fuss
about determining who does not get in.
If the best option for selecting district playoff teams (after 22
games) is to require mandatory participation in a postseason league
tournament, then retaining the current open tournament format might
(ironically) still be the best, and most importantly, fairest choice out
there. Before
looking ahead to the second half division races which began last week, a
couple of first half honors were finally decided last Tuesday. In the WVC
Division 2 boys’ action, Holy Redeemer and Wilkes-Barre Coughlin got
together for a playoff game before a large crowd at Wilkes University. The Royals took the lead halfway through
the second period (17-16) and this time they guarded heavily against any 4th
quarter Crusader comeback magic as they won by a score of 52-33. Peter Alexis had a huge game, netting 26
points (10 in the final period) along with several crowd-pleasing dunks. Joe Caffrey topped Coughlin with 13
points. In the Lackawanna Division 3, Montrose led Lackawanna Trail 40-31 after
three stanzas, but held off a game-tying Lion rally, to win the first half
title, 47-43. For the Meteors, Alan Charles
and Rob Volk each scored 11 while Colby Major (10) hit a key shot late. Trail was paced by Bobby Pacholec with a
dozen and big man Steve Miller with 13 points. Second
half play continues with several marquee boys’ games set for this week. Tonight, Pittston hosts Crestwood in a key
WVC Division 1 battle. Wednesday
night, Hazleton Area steps out of league play to entertain a strong District
11 AAAA team, Pocono Mountain West. On
Thursday, Holy Redeemer travels to play at Pittston in a huge WVC crossover
game. This Friday night, the focus
shifts to the Lackawanna League as rivals Abington Heights and Scranton Prep
get together on Wyoming Avenue. Also,
Dunmore hosts Holy Cross in what could be one of the most anticipated
rematches of the season. Looking ahead
a bit, next Tuesday matches an improving Wyoming Seminary team taking on
Wilkes-Barre GAR while Hazleton entertains Wilkes-Barre Coughlin, both
interesting crossover games. In
girls’ matchups, a huge confrontation of WVC frontrunners took place Monday
night as Wyoming Valley West grabbed the lead late in the game and toppled
Holy Redeemer 36-34. The Royals are
still minus their sensational playmaker, Monica Wignot, for the next several
weeks. This week, the place to be
Thursday night will be Hazleton Area as the Lady Cougars take on first half
champ Wyoming Valley West. The same
night in the Lackawanna League Division 3, Montrose hosts Western Wayne in a
rematch of the first half playoff game.
Keeping tabs on the Williamsport girls’ team, the Lady Millionaires
(10-6) have a pair of tough games this week, hosting District 6 powerhouse
State College on Wednesday before visiting District 11 AAA North Schuylkill
on Saturday. A
trio of top girls reached the career 1,000 point mark this week. In the Lackawanna League, Karley Caines from Elk Lake got the
milestone against Forest City. Two
nights later Charlcie Brink from
Western Wayne did the same, also against Forest City. Monday night, Selena Adamshick from Lake-Lehman reached the memorable scoring
plateau. CONGRATULATIONS on this
terrific achievement. Great job!! THIS WEEK’S
DISTRICT 2 BOYS TOP 10 (games through February 1) 1.
Abington
Heights (16-1) AAA 2.
Holy
Redeemer (16-2) AAA 3.
Hazleton
Area (13-3) AAAA 4.
Scranton
(13-4) AAAA 5.
Dunmore
(14-3) AA 6.
Holy
Cross (12-4) AA 7.
Crestwood
(14-3) AAA 8.
West
Scranton (12-5) AAA 9.
Scranton
Prep (11-6) AAA 10.
Pittston Area (10-6) AAA OTHERS TO WATCH Carbondale
(12-5), Elk Lake (10-7), Hanover (9-8), Lackawanna Trail (11-6), Montrose
(16-3), North Pocono (8-7), Northwest (8-9), Old Forge (9-8), Riverside
(9-8), Tunkhannock (8-9), Wilkes-Barre Coughlin (13-5), Wilkes-Barre GAR
(12-5), Wilkes-Barre Meyers (12-5), Wyoming Seminary (10-5) UPCOMING DISTRICT
2 TOP BOYS GAMES TUESDAY,
2/2 Crestwood
at Pittston Area (WVC Div. 1) Holy
Redeemer at Wyoming Valley West (WVC Div. 1/2 crossover) Hazleton
Area at Dallas (WVC Div. 1/2 crossover) Wilkes-Barre
Meyers at Northwest (WVC Div. 3/4 crossover) North
Pocono at Scranton prep (LL Div. 1) Holy Cross
at Riverside (LL Div. 2) Montrose
at Blue Ridge (LL Div. 3) WEDNESDAY,
2/3 Pocono
Mountain West at Hazleton Area (non-league) THURSDAY,
2/4 Holy
Redeemer at Pittston (WVC Div. 1/2 crossover) FRIDAY,
2/5 Hazleton
Area at Wyoming Valley West (WVC Div. 1) Crestwood
at Tunkhannock (WVC Div. 1) Wilkes-Barre
Meyers at Wilkes-Barre GAR (WVC Div. 3) Wyoming
Seminary at MMI Prep (WVC Div. 4) Abington
Heights at Scranton Prep (LL Div. 1) North
Pocono at West Scranton (LL Div. 1) Holy Cross
at Dunmore (LL Div. 2) Old Forge
at Carbondale (LL Div. 2) Lackawanna
Trail at Blue Ridge (LL Div. 3) Elk Lake
at Mountain View (LL Div. 3) SATURDAY,
2/6 Blue Ridge
at Notre Dame (non-league) Central
Mountain at Williamsport TUESDAY,
2/9 Tunkhannock
at Pittston Area (WVC Div. 1) Wilkes-Barre
Coughlin at Hazleton Area (WVC Div. 1/2 crossover) Wilkes-Barre
GAR at Wyoming Seminary (WV Div. 3/4 crossover) MMI Prep
at Northwest Area (WVC Div. 4) Scranton
at Scranton Prep (LL Div. 1) Carbondale
at Holy Cross (LL Div. 2) Blue Ridge
at Elk Lake (LL Div. 3) DISTRICT
2 BOYS PLAYOFF SCHEDULE Friday, February 12 Deadline to opt out of tourney Monday, February 22 Pre-Tournament District 2 Meeting Tuesday, February 23 Boys AAA Play-in (if necessary) Wednesday, February 24 Boys AA Play-in (if necessary) Thursday, February 25 Boys AAA First Round Friday, February 26 Boys AA First Round Monday, March 1 Boys A, AAA Quarter-Finals Tuesday, March 2 Boys AA, AAAA Quarter-Finals Wednesday, March 3 Boys A, AAA Semi-Finals Thursday, March 4 Boys AA, AAAA Semi-Finals Friday, March 5 Boys A, AAA Finals, AAA
Consolation Saturday, March 6 Boys AA, AAAA Finals, AA
Consolation LLHOOPS.COM DIST.
2 BOYS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Eugene Lewis (sophomore) is having a
terrific season for Wyoming Valley
West. He scored 27 points in a
68-59 non-league win over Williamsport.
He then netted 18 points in a loss to Crestwood. The talented sophomore athlete also scored
21 points in a crossover win over Berwick, 59-38. Pat Ross (5-10 senior guard) helped Dunmore win a pair of key Lackawanna
League Division 2 games last week.
First, he netted 20 points in their come-from-behind 59-55 win over
Riverside. Then, the senior added 14
points in a 58-42 road win against Old Forge. DISTRICT 2 BOYS
RECAP AND ANALYSIS WYOMING VALLEY CONFERENCE Team (second half record, first
half, overall) x–won
first half title DIVISION 1 x-Hazleton Area (2-0, 5-1, 13-3) Crestwood
(2-0, 4-2, 14-3) Pittston
(1-1, 4-2, 10-6) Tunkhannock
(1-1, 2-4, 8-9) Wyoming
Valley West (1-1, 2-4, 6-11) In
Division 1, once again Hazleton
Area survived the best efforts that Pittston and Tunkhannock could muster. Though the Cougars were in their home gym,
they still trailed each game late into the third periods. Those wins knotted Hazleton with Crestwood
at 2-0 in second half play. But, with
the Comets traveling this half to play at Pittston and Tunkhannock, the roads
for the Comets this week appears much tougher. Against the Patriots, Hazleton trailed at
halftime 31-30, but got very solid contributions from Paris Cleveland (19 points), Eric
Radishofski (13), and Adam Davis
(13) to come away with a 66-56 victory.
Kendric Wiggins and Dwight Houseman combined to score 29
points for Pittston Area. Against
Tunkhannock, Mike Joseph’s squad was down 23-9 after one period and trailed
by 5 after three quarters (36-31).
But, a DJ Myers (15 points)
trey at the end of the period gave them the spark they needed to go on a 17-2
tear in the final stanza for a 48-38 win.
That come-from-behind scenario has played many times this season for
Hazleton, but one has got to wonder whether the Cougars can continue to climb
out from such steep deficits. This is
not necessarily a case of one team playing down to the competitive level of
their opponent. One again, give
Pittston and Tunkhannock kudos as these are both extremely solid teams that
have fourth quarter troubles keeping their focus. Crestwood also secured an impressive pair
of wins last week. First, in a
crossover game against Wilkes-Barre Coughlin, they came away with a hard
fought 54-49 road win as Mike
Abramcheck netted 17 (Brett Warren
had 19 for the Crusaders). Crestwood
had a 30-23 lead at halftime, but Coughlin rallied to go up 36-33. Then, in a division game against improving
WVW, the Comets got a combined 25 points from Abramcheck and Chris Vega
to top the Spartans 68-46 (Eugene
Lewis had 18 for Valley West). WVW
is tied with Pittston and Tunkhannock a game out of the lead. Eugene
Lewis had another big game for WVW scoring 21 in their 59-38 win over
Berwick. He also netted 27, while
teammate Jim Smicherko added 17 in
a non-league win over Williamsport 68-59 as they outscored the Millionaires
20-5 in the third period. This week,
Hazleton visits Dallas on Tuesday while Pittston hosts Crestwood. On Friday, Hazleton travels to play at WVW
and Tunkhannock hosts Crestwood. In
non-league play, Hazleton hosts Pocono Mountain West on Wednesday night. DIVISION 2 x-Holy Redeemer (2-0, 5-1, 16-2) Dallas
(1-1, 2-4, 7-9) Wilkes-Barre
Coughlin (0-2, 5-1, 13-5) Berwick
(0-2, 0-6, 2-15) Wyoming
Area (0-2, 1-5, 1-15) In
Division 2, Holy Redeemer really
seems to be hitting their stride, finding the right combinations and knowing
when to take the ball inside and when to keep it on the perimeter. The Royals, first half champions, rolled
over Dallas 69-36 after going out to a 40-19 halftime lead (Peter Alexis netted 23 points). Then, on Saturday in another matchup
against Wilkes-Barre Coughlin, Steve
Ruch came off the bench to score 12 points (including 9 in the final
period) to post a 42-37 win. The game
was tied at the break, 17-17. Alexis scored 16. Joe
Caffrey had 15 for Coughlin. That
loss by the Crusaders was their second of the half (losing 54-49 to Crestwood
earlier in the week). Everyone else in
the division trails Holy Redeemer by two full games. This week, Holy Redeemer visits Wyoming
West on Tuesday. That could be an
interesting game – the Spartans upset Coughlin in a first half crossover
game. On Thursday, Holy Redeemer
visits dangerous Pittston. Next
Tuesday, Coughlin faces a must-win crossover game at Hazleton Area. DIVISION 3 x-Wilkes-Barre Meyers (2-0, 6-0,
12-5) Wilkes-Barre
GAR (2-0, 5-1, 12-5) Nanticoke
(1-1, 2-4, 4-13) Lake-Lehman
(1-1, 1-5, 4-13) Hanover
(0-2, 4-2, 9-8) In
Division 3, city rivals Wilkes-Barre
Meyers and Wilkes-Barre GAR are both 2-0 in second half play and poised to
battle it out for first place Friday night at GAR. Meyers got a pairs of wins last week. First, Naquan
Spicer netted 19 points as they rolled over MMI Prep, 68-37. Then, Ryan
Krawczeniuk scored 13 as the Mohawks edged by Hanover Area, 35-31. Over at GAR, the Grenadiers got terrific
efforts from Joe Oldziejewski (19
points) and Darrell Crawford (16
points) in a 71-52 win over Lake-Lehman (Chad
Carey had 16 for the Black Knights).
Then, they rallied from 8 points down to Nanticoke after three
quarters (45-37) to defeat the Trojans, 58-53. Darian
Twyman scored 18 for GAR while Cael
Evans had 16 for Nanticoke.
Nanticoke and Lake-Lehman are a game back. Cael
Evans scored 22 and Jarad
Kmietowicz and Zak Matulewski
combined for 25 as Nanticoke defeated West Side Tech, 75-42. Drew
Groblewski scored 26 points for Lake-Lehman in their 75-69 win over West
Side Tech. This week, on Tuesday,
Meyers has a tough crossover game playing at Northwest Area before visiting
GAR on Friday. Next Tuesday, GAR
visits Wyoming Seminary in an interesting crossover matchup. DIVISION 4 x-Wyoming Seminary (2-0, 5-1,
10-5) Northwest
(1-1, 3-3, 8-9) MMI Prep
(1-1, 3-3, 6-11) West Side
Tech (0-2, 1-5, 2-10) St.
Michaels (0-2, 0-6, 1-9) In
Division 4, Wyoming Seminary leads
the way with Northwest Area and MMI Prep a game back. Wyoming Seminary picked up two big wins
last week. The Blue Knights got 16
points from Will Moore as they defeated
Hanover Area in overtime, 36-34 (Pat
O’Donnell had 14 for the Hawks).
Then, they rallied from a 23-18 halftime deficit to tie the game at 30
and eventually get by Northwest Area, 45-41 as their trio of fine guards
combined for 36 points (Emmanuel Brown
13, Will Moore 12, and Mike Voitik 11). Northwest picked up a 74-33 win over St.
Michaels as did MMI Prep, 51-28. St.
Michaels did pick up their first win of the season, a 48-35 non-league win
over St. Rose Academy (Carbondale) as Corey
Prince netted 22 and Shamir West
scored 16. This week, Northwest hosts
Meyers Tuesday night. On Friday,
Wyoming Seminary visits Freeland to play MMI Prep. Next Tuesday, Northwest Area entertains MMI
Prep. LACKAWANNA LEAGUE Team (second half record, first
half, overall) x–won
first half title DIVISION 1 Abington
Heights (2-0, 6-1, 16-1) West
Scranton (2-0, 4-3, 12-5) x-Scranton (1-1, 7-0, 13-4) North
Pocono (1-1, 3-4, 8-9) Scranton
Prep (1-1, 5-2, 11-6) Delaware Valley
(1-1, 1-6, 5-11) Honesdale
(0-2, 1-6, 6-11) Wallenpaupack
(0-2, 1-6, 4-13) In
Division 1, Abington Heights
played a near-flawless game in their rematch against Scranton. After going into the locker room knotted at
35, the Comets outscored the Knights in the second half, 40-24, to win going
away, 75-59. They were able to
repeatedly break Scranton’s press and get open scoring opportunities
underneath the basket. Abington was
able to slow down the pace and extended superb defensive pressure to create
turnovers. Ross Danzig was high scorer with 23 points and his teammates
combined to convert 17 of 21 free throw chances. Terry
Turner scored 22 for Scranton. The
Comets then played Delaware Valley and bolted out to a 33-8 halftime lead on
their way to a 51-31 win over the Warriors.
Danzig netted 16 in the
win. Tied with AH, West Scranton
managed to eek out two close wins last week.
First, Tyler Hughes and Tom Horan combined to score 27 points
in a close 43-40 win over a talented Scranton Prep squad. Then, the Invaders got 17 points from Matt Langan to rally for a 38-35 win
over Wallenpaupack. Just one game
back, Scranton, Scranton Prep, Del-Val, and North Pocono are all 1-1. Scranton rebounded from their loss to
Abington Heights in a big way to defeat North Pocono 83-62, although they
only led by a single point (32-31) at halftime. Terry
Turner scored 27 and Malik Draper
added 25. Jack Williams scored 18 for the Trojans in the loss. North Pocono did pick up a 58-45 win over
Paupack earlier in the week as Roman
Koval scored 17 (Pat Kilduff
scored 16 for the Buckhorns).
Elsewhere, Delaware Valley outscored Honesdale in the middle periods
23-16 to defeat the Hornets, 55-49 (Brandon
Angradi had 15). The Hornets also
dropped a 52-41 loss to Scranton Prep as Roland
Trainor netted 14 for the Cavaliers.
Coming up this week, Prep hosts North Pocono in a key game Tuesday
before entertaining rival Abington Heights Friday night. North Pocono visits West Scranton in a big
game, also on Friday. Next Tuesday,
Scranton visits Scranton prep in a must-win game for the Knights. DIVISION 2 x-Dunmore (2-0, 7-0, 14-3) Holy Cross
(2-0, 6-1, 12-4) Carbondale
(2-0, 3-4, 12-5) Riverside
(1-1, 5-2, 9-8) Old Forge
(1-1, 3-4, 9-8) Mid Valley
(0-2, 0-7, 4-13) Valley
View (0-2, 3-4, 3-13) Lakeland
(0-2, 1-6, 2-14) In
Division 2, Dunmore, Holy Cross,
and Carbondale are all tied at 2-0 atop the division. And with a Friday showdown looming between
the Bucks and Crusaders, it should be a definite sellout at Dunmore. The Bucks trailed Riverside 16-6 after the
first period, but outscored the Vikings 32-20 in the middle periods to grab a
close 59-55 win. Pat Ross scored 20 for Dunmore and Brian Copeland added 12. Lou Munley scored 19 for
Riverside. In their game Saturday
night at Old Forge, Dunmore jumped out to a 16-5 lead and withstood several
Blue Devil rallies to win 58-42. Pat Ross had another solid game with
14 points, but it was the three key second half treys by Mike Ehnot that really thwarted any comeback attempts. Old Forge got another strong performance
from Mike Avvisato and Malkolm Blackshear who each netted 11
points. Holy Cross kept pace by
jumping out to a 29-7 lead and defeating Lakeland 70-29 as Louis Cipriano scored 21. The Crusaders then topped Mid Valley 69-42
as Josh Kosin scored 22
points. Carbondale got 18 points from Michael Jordan as the Chargers beat
Mid Valley 54-42. They also defeated
slumping Valley View 53-38 as Jordan
scored 12. Riverside and Old Forge are
a game behind the leaders. The Vikes
got 17 from Jerry Kincel and 15
from Tom Armillay to defeat
Lakeland 61-46 (Eric Grabowski had
17 for the Chiefs). Old Forge picked
up a 47-43 win over Valley View as Tony
Goodall and Dom Avvisato each
scored 12 points. Brian Hughes had 14 for the Cougars. This week, Riverside hosts Holy Cross
tonight. Friday has that blockbuster
game in Dunmore and Carbondale hosts Old Forge. DIVISION 3 Elk Lake
(2-0, 6-1, 10-7) Western
Wayne (2-0, 2-5, 6-10) x-Montrose (1-1, 6-1, 16-3) Lackawanna
Trail (1-1, 6-1, 11-6) Mountain
View (1-1, 4-3, 7-10) Blue Ridge
(1-1, 2-5, 6-10) Susquehanna
(0-2, 1-6, 3-13) Forest
City (0-2, 1-6, 3-14) In
Division 3, after winning the first
half title with wins over Elk Lake and Lackawanna Trail, Montrose started out
second half play with an upset loss to Mountain View. The Eagles jumped out to a 20-5 lead after
the first period and, although the Meteors rallied to trim the gap to 3 points
(39-36) at the end of the third quarter, Mt. View prevailed 60-53. Jon
McBride scored 23 and Peter
Hartman netted 18 for the winners.
Rob Volk and Alan Charles each had 17 for
Montrose. On Saturday, Montrose
rebounded with an impressive rally in the final period (after trailing 44-31)
to defeat Lackawanna Trail 54-47. Steve Squires scored 23 in the
win. So, far Elk Lake is tied with
Western Wayne in first place. The
Warriors got 23 points from Steve
Rezykowski and 18 from Mark Bush
in a 64-57 overtime win over Forest City.
The Foresters made a game of it after trailing 31-15 at the
break. Elk Lake also added a 50-46 win
over Susquehanna as Mark Bush
scored 14 and Brandon Stone had 24
for the Sabers. Western Wayne topped
Forest City 48-47 as Nic Baldo and
Joe Siclari combined to score 31
points. Then, Monday night the
Wildcats edged Blue Ridge 50-48 as Baldo
netted 18. Elsewhere, Alex Cardoza hit a game-winning trey
and Jared Conklin scored 20 to
lead Blue Ridge over Mountain View 55-54 (Luke Jenkins had 15 for the Eagles). Also, Lackawanna Trail got a big night
Monday from Steve Miller (30 points) in defeating Susquehanna 68-55 (Stone had 21 for the Sabers). This week, Blue Ridge hosts Montrose
tonight before entertaining Lackawanna Trail Friday night. Also Friday, Elk Lake visits Mt. View. Next Tuesday, the Warriors host Blue
Ridge. GIRLS BASKETBALL GIRLS BASKETBALL GIRLS BASKETBALL GIRLS BASKETBALL GIRLS BASKETBALL GIRLS BASKETBALL GIRLS BASKETBALL THIS WEEK’S DISTRICT
2 GIRLS TOP 10 (games through February 1) 1.
Abington
Heights (16-2) AAA 2.
Wyoming
Valley West (16-2) AAAA 3.
Holy
Redeemer (13-4) AAA 4.
Hazleton
Area (13-5) AAAA 5.
Dunmore
(14-4) AA 6.
West
Scranton (15-3) AAA 7.
Williamsport
(10-6) AAAA 8.
Riverside
(13-5) AA 9.
Pittston
(11-6) AAA 10.
Scranton (10-8) AAAA OTHERS TO WATCH Berwick
(12-6), Crestwood (9-8), Dallas (8-8), Forest City (12-7), Holy Cross (13-5),
Lake-Lehman (14-4), Mid Valley (11-6), Mountain View (10-8), Montrose (14-4),
Nanticoke (12-7), Old Forge (11-6), Tunkhannock (8-8), Western Wayne (10-9) UPCOMING DISTRICT 2
TOP GIRLS GAMES WEDNESDAY,
2/3 State
College at Williamsport THURSDAY,
2/4 Wyoming
Valley West at Hazleton Area (WVC Div. 1) Tunkhannock
at Crestwood (WV Div. 1) Pittston
at Holy Redeemer (WVC Div. 1/2 crossover) Hanover
Area at Nanticoke (WVC Div. 3) Lake-Lehman
at Northwest Area (WVC Div. 3/4 crossover) Scranton
Prep at Abington Heights (LL Div. 1) West
Scranton at North Pocono (LL Div. 1) Riverside
at Mid Valley (LL Div. 2) Dunmore at
Holy Cross (LL Div. 2) Carbondale
at Old Forge (LL Div. 2) Western
Wayne at Montrose (LL Div. 3) SATURDAY,
2/6 Williamsport
at North Schuylkill Athens at
Wyoming Seminary (non-league) MONDAY,
2/8 Pittston at
Tunkhannock (WVC Div. 1) Dallas at
Wyoming Valley West (WVC Div. 1/2 crossover) Holy
Redeemer at Berwick (WVC Div. 2) Nanticoke
at Lake-Lehman (WVC Div. 3) Scranton
Prep at Scranton (L Div. 1) Valley
View at Riverside (LL Div. 2) Mid Valley
at Dunmore (LL Div. 2) Holy Cross
at Carbondale (LL Div. 2) THURSDAY,
2/11 Berwick at
Hazleton Area (WVC Div. 1/2 crossover)
Crestwood
at Dallas (WVC Div. 1/2 crossover) Wilkes-Barre
Meyers at Nanticoke (WVC Div. 3) Wyoming
Seminary at Lake-Lehman (WVC Div. 3/4 crossover) Abington
Heights at West Scranton (LL Div. 1) Valley
View at Mid Valley (LL Div. 2) Old Forge
at Holy Cross (LL Div. 2) Riverside
at Carbondale (LL Div. 2) Mountain
View at Western Wayne (LL Div. 3) DISTRICT 2
GIRLS PLAYOFFS Friday, February 12 Deadline to opt out of tourney Monday, February 22 Pre-Tournament District 2 Meeting Tuesday, February 23 Girls AA Play-in (if necessary) Thursday, February 25 Girls AA First Round Friday, February 26 Girls AAA First Round Monday, March 1 Girls AA, AAAA Quarter-Finals Tuesday, March 2 Girls AAA Quarter-Finals, A
Semi-Finals Wednesday, March 3 Girls AA, AAAA Semi-Finals Thursday, March 4 Girls AAA Semi-Finals Friday, March 5 Girls AA, AAAA Finals, AAA Consolation Saturday, March 6 Girls A, AAA Finals, AA
Consolation LLHOOPS DIST. 2 GIRLS
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Katie Darling (junior forward) is a
key contributor on a Dallas team which
is showing steady improvement as the season progresses. Though the efforts might not yet be
translating into WVC Division 2 wins, Darling scored 14 points in a close
48-43 loss to Holy Redeemer. The
junior forward then added 13 for the Mountaineers in a loss to Berwick,
44-36. Nora Joyce (junior guard) is a
key reason that West Scranton is
tied for the lead in the Lackawanna Division 1 race. She netted 13 points in a 34-21 win over
Scranton Prep. The talented junior
guard then paced the Lady Invaders with 23 points as they defeated
Wallenpaupack 55-40. DISTRICT 2 GIRLS
RECAP AND ANALYSIS WYOMING VALLEY CONFERENCE Team
(second half record, first half, overall) x–won
first half title DIVISION 1 x-Wyoming Valley West (3-0, 5-1,
16-2) Hazleton
Area (3-0, 5-1, 14-5) Pittston
(2-1, 3-3, 11-6) Crestwood
(1-2, 1-5, 9-8) Tunkhannock
(1-2, 1-5, 8-8) In
a matter of a few minutes Monday night, the overall Division 1 race took a pivotal and decisive turn. After Wyoming Valley West defeated Holy
Redeemer 36-34, the Lady Spartans retained a share of first place with
Hazleton Area. With their showdown set
for Thursday night in Hazleton, a WVW win later this week would go a long way
to delivering a much sought after and elusive division title for their
program. But, for now, each team
remains in a 3-0 tie atop the standings.
Hazleton Area really shrugged off any hint of a letdown from their
previous two losses (to WVW and Holy Redeemer) in a big way. They got a monster game from Nicole Lisnock (24 points and 15
rebounds) to roll over Pittston Area 71-54.
Brianna Dudeck added 15
points as the Lady Cougars jumped out to a 25-5 lead after the first
quarter. Lauren Smicherko netted 25 for Pittston. Hazleton then picked up a 57-26 victory
over Tunkhannock as Janelle Ziminski
scored 12 points. Monday night, the
Lady Cougars again bolted out to a big first period lead (15-2) and defeated
Dallas Area 55-34 as Dudeck scored
15. Valley West also picked up three
quality wins. They outscored Berwick
32-13 in the first and fourth periods to defeat the Lady Bulldogs 54-38 as Amy Aguilar scored 16. In their win over Crestwood, they took a
30-15 halftime lead and hung on to defeat the Lady Comets 58-52 as Sami Himlin netted 15 (Carissa Gegaris had 20 in the
loss). Then, on Monday night in
Wilkes-Barre, the Lady Spartans took their first lead (34-32) late in the
game and Amy Aguilar then sealed
the 36-34 win with 4 free throws from the charity stripe. Holy Redeemer has a deep and talented
lineup, but playing without one of their key floor leaders, Monica Wignot, definitely had an
impact on the outcome. Pittston
remains a game back as the Lady Patriots got 18 from Lauren Smicherko and topped their rival Wyoming Area 41-34. Monday night, Pittston again got 18 from Smicherko in a 55-48 win over
Crestwood. The Lady Comets got great
efforts from Carissa Gegaris (16)
and Chelsea Cornelius (15) in the
loss. Last week, Crestwood hit 9 team
treys in a 44-41 win over Wilkes-Barre Coughlin (Kacee Rava had 22 for the Lady Crusaders). This week, the marquee matchup is, of
course, in Hazleton as the Lady Cougars host WVW Thursday evening. DIVISION 2 x-Holy Redeemer (2-1, 6-0, 13-4) Berwick
(2-1, 4-2, 12-6) Wilkes-Barre
Coughlin (1-2, 1-5, 5-13) Dallas
(0-3, 4-2, 8-8) Wyoming
Area (0-3, 0-6, 7-12) With
their loss to Wyoming Valley West Monday night (36-34) Holy Redeemer dropped
their first league loss of the season and into a first place tie with Berwick
in the Division 2 race. The Lady Royals found themselves in a close
ballgame against a much-improving Dallas squad last week. In fact, the Lady Mounts out-scored them in
the second half (22-20), but came up short, 48-43. Holy Redeemer had a very uncharacteristic,
sloppy night, committing 21 turnovers.
Katie Darling netted 14
points for Dallas in the loss. Against
Wilkes-Barre Coughlin, the Lady Royals dominated by a 63-11 score. In their loss to WVW Monday, the positive
is that they held a lead for the majority of the game, but got previous few
trips to the foul line. Balanced
scoring came from Christina Flaherty
(7), Christine Peterlin (8), and Tara Zdancewicz (10). Berwick dropped a crossover game to WVW,
54-38, but bounced back against Dallas 44-36 as emerging guard Bella Jaffin played great defense and
netted 17 points for the Lady Dawgs (Darling
had 13 for Dallas in the loss).
Then, on Monday night, Megan
Nastelli scored 14 as Berwick defeated Tunkhannock 37-29. Elsewhere, Coughlin rallied from a 21-13
halftime deficit to get by Wyoming Area, 35-33 as Kacee Rava scored 16 points.
This week, Holy Redeemer host Pittston on Thursday in a key crossover
game. Next Monday Holy Redeemer visits
Berwick. DIVISION 3 x-Lake-Lehman (3-0, 4-1, 14-4) Nanticoke
(3-0, 4-1, 12-7) Wilkes-Barre
Meyers (2-1, 5-1, 9-11) Hanover
(1-2, 3-3, 6-12) Wilkes-Barre
GAR (0-3, 1-5, 2-16) Division 3 is again shaping up
to be a great battle between Wilkes-Barre Meyers and current co-leaders
Lake-Lehman and Nanticoke. First half
champ Lake-Lehman got 20 points from Selena
Adamshick and 17 from Gaby
Olshemski in a 65-29 win over Wilkes-Barre GAR. They also a 62-44 win over Hanover Area as Adamshick scored 29 including her
career 1,000 point. Danielle Tuzinski had 26 for the Lady
Hawks in the loss. Both Lake-Lehman
and Nanticoke registered forfeit wins over West Side Tech last week. The Trojanettes also topped GAR 72-46 as Karley Schimski scored 16 (Destinee Twyman had 16 for the Lady
Grenadiers). On Monday night,
Nanticoke defeated MMI Prep 72-40 as Teresa
Kalinay netted 18. Wilkes-Barre
Meyers also got a win over MMI as Maddie
Lavery scored 14 in the 50-19 win.
The Lady Mohawks got a 51-30 win over Northwest Area Monday night as Ashlee Ward (14), Maureen Lisman (13) and Troy Lynn Lewis (12) led the
way. Meyers dropped a 44-38 game last
week to Hanover Area as Danielle
Tuzinski scored 22 and Chelsie
Cormier added 16 for Hanover (Maddie
Lavery scored 16 for Meyers). This
week, Hanover visits rival Nanticoke Thursday while Lake-Lehman travels to
play at Northwest. Next Monday, a key
showdown will at Lake-Lehman as the Lady Black Knights host Nanticoke. DIVISION 4 Wyoming
Seminary (4-0, 3-2, 8-12) x-Northwest (0-2, 3-2, 7-10) MMI Prep
(0-2, 1-4, 2-16) In
Division 4, Wyoming Seminary leads
the way with a 4-0 mark. They got a
big crossover win over Hanover (39-35) as Lauren Skudalski netted 13.
She then contributed 19 points in a 36-32 win over first half champion
Northwest Area. Monday night, they
re-scheduled and won a crossover game against GAR, 60-12 as Skudalski netted 25. The Lady Blue Knights also gained a forfeit
win over West Side Tech. With a big
lead over Northwest and MMI Prep, Wyoming Seminary can look to wrap up the
second half title. They also have a
big non-league game at home Saturday against Athens. In other non-league play, MMI got 16 points
from Lainie Titus to defeat St. Pius
X 46-38. This week, Northwest Area
hosts Lake-Lehman Thursday in a key crossover game. LACKAWANNA LEAGUE Team (second half record, first half,
overall) x–clinched
first half title DIVISION 1 x-Abington Heights (3-0, 7-0,
16-2) West
Scranton (3-0, 6-1, 15-3) Scranton
(2-1, 4-3, 10-8) Scranton
Prep (2-1, 4-3, 8-9) Delaware
Valley (1-2, 0-7, 6-11) Wallenpaupack
(1-2, 1-6, 5-13) Honesdale
(0-3, 2-5, 8-10) North
Pocono (0-3, 4-3, 5-11) In
Division 1, Abington Heights
continues to play exceptionally well and gained three lopsided wins over the
last week to remain in a tie with West Scranton. In their rematch against Scranton, the Lady
Comets really showed their versatility in playing to a higher tempo at times
and running out to a 37-16 halftime advantage. Mariah
Deibert netted 13 points in the 57-40 win (Sara Corbett had 13 for
Scranton). Abington then added a 58-24
win over Delaware Valley as Meghan
Fraley scored 10. On Monday, they
buzzed out to a 40-15 lead over Honesdale and defeated the Lady Hornets 66-39
as Maggie Fruehan scored 16 (Marisa Gallik had 17 for
Honesdale). West Scranton kept pace by
defeating Scranton Prep, Wallenpaupack, and Delaware Valley. In the Prep win, Nora Joyce netted 13 and the Lady Invaders outscored the Classics
14-5 in the second half for a 34-21 win.
Joyce added 23 more to lead
West Side to a 31-13 halftime lead on their way to a 55-40 win over
Paupack. Monday, she scored 21 points
(with 5 treys) in their 57-22 victory over Delaware Valley. Scranton rebounded strongly to defeat North
Pocono 47-27 ad Emily Baldacci and
Shanelle McGowan combined to score
26 points. Monday, the Lady Knights
got 19 each from McGowan and Kayla Bailey and held off a Paupack
rally to win 59-52. Jerica Rode had 16 for the Lady
Buckhorns. Scranton is a game back
along with Scranton Prep. The Classics
bounced back from their loss to West Scranton by defeating Honesdale 53-42 as
Ellen FitzPatrick netted 14. Marisa
Gallik scored 18 for the Lady Hornets who led at halftime 18-11. Monday, the Classics got by North Pocono
44-38 after leading by 14 points after three periods. Elsewhere, Kim Commisso scored 21 points for Delaware Valley who outscored
Honesdale 36-21 in the middle periods to win 58-51. The Lady Warriors also picked up a
non-league win over East Stroudsburg North on Saturday, 51-15, as Jess Pullis and Meagan Boccio each scored 11 points. This week, on Thursday Abington Heights
hosts Scranton Prep while West Scranton visits North Pocono. Next Monday, Scranton entertains crosstown
rival Scranton Prep. DIVISION 2 x-Dunmore (3-0, 7-0, 14-4) Riverside
(2-1, 6-1, 13-5) Holy Cross
(2-1, 4-3, 13-5) Mid Valley
(2-1, 4-3, 11-6) Old Forge
(1-2, 3-4, 11-6) Valley
View (1-2, 3-4, 7-11) Carbondale
(1-2, 1-6, 6-11) Lakeland
(0-3, 0-7, 1-17) In
Division 2, Dunmore continues to roll up the league wins. The Lady Bucks played great defense on
Riverside’s top scoring threats, outscored the Lady Vikes 16-2 in the second
period, and posted a key 45-28 win. Cayla Boland scored 13, Ashley Murray 12, and Nicole Korgeski was especially tough
on the boards with 22 rebounds. They
added a come-from-behind win over Old Forge 59-45 as Murray scored 19 and Boland
netted 15 (Chris Belko had 18 for the
Lady Blue Devils who led 25-22 at halftime).
On Monday, Dunmore topped Valley View 48-40 as Murray scored 13 and Corina
Palko added 12 (Rebecca Keegan
had 16 for the Lady Cougars).
Riverside, Holy Cross, and Mid Valley trail by one game. Riverside rebounded from their loss to
Dunmore with a wins over Lakeland (49-25) as Angela Dente scored 18 and over Holy Cross Monday night. The Lady Crusaders were leading 37-30 after
three quarters, but Riverside hit a layup at the buzzer for a pulsating 56-54
win. Morgann Haduck scored 18 while Julie Kosin (16) and Mary
Grace Sempa (17) paced Holy Cross.
Holy Cross notched wins over Lakeland (58-29) as Sempa scored 15 and over Mid Valley, 48-46 in overtime as Sempa (16 points) hit the winning
layup. She also converted 2 key free
throws to send the game into the extra stanza. Alli
Walsh led Mid Valley with 15 points.
She added 14 and Aylssa
Miraglia added 13 in a 52-47 win over Carbondale last week (Colleen Walsh had 16 for the
Chargerettes). The Spartanettes also
added a 62-47 win over Old Forge Monday night as Alli Walsh grabbed 20 caroms and Sam DeMarco scored 18.
Elsewhere, Aleca Semenza
scored a game-winning layup for Old Forge last week to defeat Valley
View. She netted 14 points while Kim Kaville added 16 (Rachel Kobeski scored 16 for the Lady
Cougars). Rebecca Keegan scored 21 points for Valley View in their 69-48
win over Carbondale. Brittany Mang had 14 in the loss –
she added 22 points in a win over Lakeland Monday night. While it seems that there are big games in
this division every league night, some key matchups include Holy Cross
hosting Dunmore Thursday while Riverside visits Mid Valley the same
night. Monday, Mid Valley travels to
Dunmore in a key battle.
DIVISION 3 x-Montrose (3-0, 6-1, 14-4) Forest
City (3-0, 5-2, 12-7) Mountain
View (2-1, 5-2, 10-8) Elk Lake
(2-1, 2-5, 6-11) Western
Wayne (1-2, 6-1, 10-9) Lackawanna
Trail (1-2, 1-6, 4-12) Blue Ridge
(0-3, 3-4, 6-11) Susquehanna
(0-3, 0-7, 0-15) In
Division 3, Montrose and Forest
City are tied for the lead with Mountain View and Western Wayne just one game
back. First half champion Montrose
took a 26-13 halftime lead on their way to a 47-30 win over Mt. View as Dallas Ely netted 24 points. They then defeated Lackawanna Trail 44-30
as Kaitlyn Spellman scored 10
points (Alyssa Sunseri had 15 for
the Lady Lions). The Lady Meteors then
got a 49-43 win over Blue Ridge Monday night as Ely netted 17 and Courtney
Collins led the Lady Raiders with 18.
Forest City topped Elk Lake 55-36 as Amanda Collins scored 18 and Cassie
Erdmann added 15 (Karley Caines
scored 11, including here career 1,000 point for Elk Lake). The Lady Foresters then pulled away from
Western Wayne (tied 38-38 after three periods) to gain a 57-49 win. Erdmann
scored 27 and Katie Yale added
16. One again, an opponent scored her
1,000 point in the game as Charlcie
Brink scored 20 for Western Wayne.
Monday night, Forest City rolled over Lackawanna Trail 65-36 as Erdmann and Collins each scored 18 (Lauren
Ellsworth had 20 for Trail). Elk
Lake toppled Susquehanna 49-20 and also pulled off somewhat of an upset
Monday night defeating Western Wayne 39-32 as Karley Caines scored 14 for the Lady Warriors (Courtney Kromko scored 17 for Western
Wayne). Mountain View notched a pair
of wins, 42-28 over Blue Ridge (as Kayla
Kazmierski and Kelsey Whitaker
combined to score 28 points) and over Susquehanna (35-9) Monday night. They key game ahead this week is Western
Wayne visiting first half champion Montrose Thursday night. That’s it for this edition
of the NEP Beat. See you next time! Question or Comments, email
us at LLHoops.NEP-Beat@comcast.net Jon K. |
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