District 2 Basketball Season Gets Underway Friday Night
Written by: Jon K on December 9, 2021
Welcome to the 2021-2022 District 2 hoops season and the Northeast Beat.
COVID-Shortened Season Gave Fans Plenty of Thrills
Despite the December-less schedule that took place last season, District 2 hoops finally got rolling (well, at least inching along) into January as teams tried their best to navigate through health department protocols regarding contact tracing and related play stoppages. Gymnasiums were sparsely filled throughout while several championship caliber squads saw their campaigns end abruptly…and without resolution. There was also plenty of energy in the air as fans were permitted into Mohegan Sun Arena to watch the district championships. Yet that optimism was somewhat tempered as only the winners would advance to the truncated state playoffs.
The road to Hershey was filled with heart-pumping moments. From their amazing double overtime win over Lancaster Mennonite to an ohhh-so-close 62-60 semi-final loss to Constitution, the Old Forge boys squad left the entire district with enough memories to last for years. First round losses by Scranton Prep boys (51-49 to Danville) and Riverside boys (50-47 to Lancaster Catholic) were nail-biters for sure. And words cannot describe the gut-wrenching overtime loss by Crestwood boys to Chester after the Comets seemingly had the game in control on the Clippers home floor. On the girls’ side, Holy Cross nearly defeated eventual state champion Mount Carmel Area (50-47). And Scranton Prep – the definition of stellar defense, hustle, and team-oriented hoops last year – bumped into yet another Philly Catholic League juggernaut program in Archbishop Wood.
The 2020-2021 hoops season may have been wildly unpredictable, but it was also incredibly resilient.
LLHoops, Still Going Strong at 22
This season LLHoops is celebrating 22 years of hoops coverage. It’s been an incredible run. Dell Jackson, our ever-creative webmaster, has tirelessly strived to modify the platform and deliver content that’s as relative and impactful as possible. With ever-increasing challenges for netting advertising dollars, tough decisions have to be made each year. He deserves a ton of credit for navigating through the tricky early years and sticking to his core values that earned much respect and media credibility. Dell, along with co-pilot Andy Herr, provides blanket coverage of the entire Lancaster-Lebanon League while Bruce Badgley is all over the Berks area. The Northeastern PA Report is back again this year with game wraps and weekly updates.
Over the years, District 2 squads have consistently demonstrated that their style of basketball presents its own matchup challenges. The NEP Beat appreciates all of the continued support from coaches, players, student groups, fans, and administrators. As we’ve said previously, there’s no agenda here – these are your school communities and the LLHoops team is incredibly proud to be onboard to share the stories taking place on hardwoods across the Wyoming Valley Conference and Lackawanna League. It’s your game, not ours. We’re just lucky enough to ride along.
2021-2022 Season Gets Underway
With the previous consolidation of the three Wilkes-Barre city high schools’ sports teams (Coughlin, Meyers, and GAR) into the 6A Wilkes-Barre Wolfpack, there was some unfinished business as the brand-new Wilkes-Barre Area high school facility opened earlier this year. The Wolfpack will tip-off their inaugural home court season on Saturday evening as they host Wyoming Seminary. It should be a night to remember as a large crowd is expected to be on-hand.
After sitting out the entire 2020-2021 season, MMI Prep will be back in action this year. The Preppers tip off their season at the Sullivan County Tip-Off tourney while the Lady Preppers will get underway on Saturday at Our Lady of Lourdes Regional.
The District 2 exhibition season gets going this weekend with a total of 36 boys’ and girls’ tilts to be played across the area. There are also 13 Tip-Off tourneys taking place throughout the state involving another 20 hoops teams (including Williamsport, a District 4 squad which competes through the 6A District 2/4 sub-regional). As we see each year, there is plenty of motivation and optimism at all 39 Wyoming Valley Conference and Lackawanna League member schools. There are several teams with enough returning talent to be tabbed as early division contenders. This year, however, there are many programs replacing critical gaps in their lineup and they will be using the December exhibition games to prepare for league play and beyond. It’s one of the reasons that the NEP Beat does not post our District 2 Top 10 Ratings until January 1. That’s been our long-standing policy to try to be as fair as possible to players and coaches.
In Boys’ action, Scranton, the defending 6A boys’ champion, will tip-off their season at home against Crestwood Friday night. The Comets graduated a ton of talent, but never underestimate a Mark Atherton-coached squad. Wyoming Seminary will host Tunkhannock Friday night before taking on Wilkes-Barre Area on Saturday. Scranton Prep hosts a pair of entertaining weekend tilts as the Cavaliers host Wilkes-Barre Area on Friday before a terrific matchup against highly-regarded Dallas on Saturday. Pittston Area, another team with high expectations travels to take on Nanticoke Area on Saturday. Also on opening night, Riverside hosts Wyoming Valley West while Mid Valley entertains Montrose. On Saturday, a pair of teams go up against District 11 competition as Hazleton Area hosts Allentown Dieruff and Abington Heights travels to play at Emmaus.
There is also plenty of Boys’ tourney action taking place this weekend. In Berwick, fans can get a good look at the host Bulldogs along with Delaware Valley as they join Northwest Area and East Stroudsburg South at the Joseph Nespoli event. Williamsport once again takes part in the York Tourney. The Millionaires take on an always tough Central Dauphin East squad in the opening round. Wallenpaupack tips off at their Tip-Off Tourney against Stroudsburg. Blue Ridge and Susquehanna Community open up at the two-day Susquehanna-Bradford County Challenge. And MMI Prep travels to the Sullivan County Tip-Off as the Preppers take on Troy on Friday evening.
On the girls’ side, Dunmore, regarded as one of the premier teams in the entire state, guided by highly-recruited junior Ciera Toomey and senior Moriah Murray, will begin their season at the prestigious She’s Got Game DC Metro Classic. The Lady Bucks will face nationally-recognized Riverdale Baptist (Md) on Friday before taking on Christian Academy (Louisville, Ky) on Sunday. Also opening night, Riverside visits Hanover Area, Wilkes-Barre Area entertains Wyoming Seminary, and Holy Cross hosts Scranton. On Saturday, Scranton Prep begins their season at Berwick before a terrific battle against Lake-Lehman at home on Monday.
In Girls’ Tourney action, Hazleton Area hosts the Lady Cougar event with Lake-Lehman, Williamsport and Nazareth. Wallenpaupack hosts the Lake Region Tip-Off with Carbondale, Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg North. Abington Heights ventures to a participate in the challenging Souderton Tip-Off Tourney. Wyoming Valley West again hosts a great tip-off event with Dallas, Honesdale, and West Scranton. Holy Redeemer heads to Selinsgrove to take on Blue Mountain in the Angela Wolfe Tourney. Wyoming Area will take on an always talented Mahanoy Area squad at the Central Columbia Tip-Off. And Western Wayne will take on State College at their Tip-Off event.
Enjoy the games and be sure to stop back throughout the weekend for more updates.
See you in the bleachers !
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