Basketball in Review and other News

Well, the State Championships have come and gone for High School basketball. Now there's still the Senior all-star games left but high school basketball has come to an end for this season. When the season started on December 9th, the blog hit several milestones and I covered 32 basketball games. All of which had interesting things about them that made each game unique. Now with all this being said, let's delve into the season and the milestones this blog had along the way.

HOLY REDEEMER BOYS AND GIRLS TAKE DISTRICT TITLES
The boys started off the weekend taking the District 2 3A Title in a dramatic victory. Then on Saturday, the girls would take on undefeated Dunmore and would take the victory 51-38.

SCRANTON PREP BOYS THREE-PEAT
The Scranton Prep boys took their third straight District title with a 64-45 victory over GAR. However, they had to fight to get into the Title game. Down 24 points to Nanticoke in the third quarter, they made a furious comeback and took the victory in double overtime and advanced to the title game.

ABINGTON HEIGHTS GIRLS AND BOYS REPEAT AS DISTRICT CHAMPIONS
The boys played Friday night and shot lights out against West Scranton and blew them out for their 3rd consecutive District Championship. The Girls played Saturday evening and squeaked out a 32-30 victory over Valley West to take their 2nd straight championship. The Abington Heights boys made a big run in the State Playoffs, losing to Archbishop Wood in the 5A Final Four.

THE NANTICOKE TROJANS' MAGICAL RUN
Not many gave Nanticoke a chance to get into the State Playoffs after how they lost to Scranton Prep. One would have thought they wouldn't be up for the third place game but they proved everyone wrong and took the victory over Meyers 57-46. They ended playing Bethlehem Catholic, the District 11 Champion and the site was practically a home game for the District 11 champions. Not many gave the Trojans a shot, but even after a bad third quarter, the Trojans made a comeback and ended up taking the victory 58-56. Nanticoke then outplayed Conwell-Egan and advanced to the quarterfinals 62-54. They then played West Philadelphia, a school out of District 12 and they would shoot lights out and advance to the Final Four with a 78-62 victory. Afterwards the Trojans players came into the stands and celebrated with their fans. They would fall to Imhotep Charter in the 4A Final Four but their run was one of the most impressive things I saw this season. Every player on the Trojans contributed to their run throughout the playoffs

NEPA SportsPage hits 1,000 followers on Twitter
Right around December, I noticed how close I was to 1,000 followers on Twitter and I was hoping I would get that. I ended up getting 1,000 followers in early January and now have over 1,100. Something I didn't think I'd hit for a very long time. I'm thankful for everyone who reads the blog, likes the page on Facebook and follows me on Twitter.

Other News
Well, with High School Basketball over, I will now be focused on High School Baseball and Softball as well as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders. So there will be at least one post up per day, with having either a High School game being covered or a SWB Railriders game covered. My hope is to do a college game or two but we'll see how that goes. My SWB Coverage will have an MLB Scoreboard on the bottom as well as an International League Scoreboard with up-to-date standings.

SPECIAL THANKS
Before I finish this up, I have some people I want to thank. I want to thank my fiancé for travel to the games and my dad for the trip to Bethlehem Freedom for the Nanticoke/West Philadelphia game. I also want to thank all of you for reading and following all along the way. I've enjoyed doing and I hope you've enjoyed reading.

West Philadelphia vs Nanticoke (4A State Quarterfinals)

The Nanticoke Trojans, the No 3 team from District 2 took on the No 4 team from District 12, West Philadelphia. Could the Trojans continue their run and advance to the State Semifinals. After Maxwell Brown hit a 3 pointer to make it 3-1, Luke Butczynski hit 4 straight three pointer then Cody Piestrak followed with one of his own to make it 16-3 in favor of the Trojans. The Trojans led 26-12 at the end of the first quarter. The Speedboys would try and get back in the game, cutting the lead to 10 but a Zack Cardone three pointer and a Trahjan Krupinski basket increased the lead to 15. Cyrie Coates would score 5 straight points but a Trahjan Krupinski basket before halftime gave the Trojans a 37-25 lead at halftime. The Speedboys would try to make a comeback as they went on an 11-2 run to cut it to a 3 point game but the Speedboys and Trojans traded baskets but an Aaron Harrison 3 pointer at the buzzer cut the lead to 47-45 at the end of three. The Trojans started off on a 10-3 run to increase the lead to eight. The Trojans kept on going as they increased their lead. Nate Kreitzer's 3 point play gave the Trojans an 11 point lead and they kept on going and advance to the State Semifinals with a 78-62 victory over West Philadelphia. Nate Kreitzer and Cody Piestrak each scored 20 points each and Luke Butczynski added 18 for the Trojans. D Shackelford scored 15 and M Lorenazano added 14 for the Speedboys.

Thoughts on the game: All I can say is Wow. First quarter was all Trojans, with Luke Butczynski scoring 15 in the first quarter and they possibly played their best quarter of the season. West Philadelphia tried staying in with their press and looked like they could have made the comeback but Cody Piestrak came up big for the Trojans in the fourth, scoring 11 of his 20 points in the fourth. Overall, the team played great and shoutout to the Nanticoke fans who traveled to Bethlehem for the game.

Scoring
West Philadelphia
M Brown 9
L Carroll 9
M Lorenzano 14
D Shackelford 15
C Coates 10
A Harrison 3
L Wells 2

Nanticoke
Nate Kreitzer 20
Luke Butczynski 18
Cody Piestrak 20
Zack Cardone 3
Trahjan Krupinski 8
Justin Casey 7
Alec Divers 2

Hazleton Area vs Williamsport District 2 6A Boys Championship

Williamsport came into the Mohegan Sun Arena for the 2nd straight year and had a matchup with a team they played earlier this year in the Hazleton Area Cougars. The Cougars won the first matchup, could the Cougars repeat their success or will Williamsport get their revenge. Stanley Scott started the tempo with a dunk early in the game. It would be a back and forth for the most part in the first quarter with each team taking the lead at some point but after Brian Duvall hit a basket to make it a 12-11 lead, Joey Grula hit a three and a Jeff Planutis basket gave the Cougars a 16-12 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Millionaires started the second quarter on a 9-0 run to make it a Williamsport 5 point lead. Jeff Planutis stopped the bleeding with a three pointer to cut the lead to 2. Williamsport went on a 6-1 run to make it a 7 point lead, but the Cougars weren't finished, they would go on a 6-0 run to make it a one point lead but Marcus Simmons hit a shot just before the buzzer to make it 29-26 at halftime. The Cougars tied the game up at 30 but Stanley Scott gave the Millionaires back the lead. A Jeff Planutis basket tied the game once again but a 6-0 run by the Millionaires made it a 6 point game and would lead 44-37 at the end of third quarter. With the Cougars trailing by 9, Nolan Genasevich hit 1 of 2 free throws and a Joey Grula three pointer cut the lead to 5 but the Millionaires kept answering with 4 straight points by Stanley Scott, highlighted by a dunk that was a bit excessive and was whistled for a technical. Josh Samec would sink both free throws and hit the basket on the possession to cut the lead to 5. After a Rondell Carson basket, Jeff Planutis hit a 3 pointer to cut it to 4. Nolan Genasevich would get the Cougars within 3 but the Millionaires would sink their free throws and Williamsport would take the District 2/4 6A Subregional with a 64-56 victory over Hazleton Area. Stanley Scott had a game high 24 points and Rondell Carson, Brandon Campbell, and Qayyim Ali each added 10 for the Millionaires. Jeff Planutis had 18 points for the Cougars and Josh Samec added 13.

Thoughts on the game: Stanley Scott is impressive. He started the tempo with a dunk to begin the game and then had a game high 24 points. They had a very balanced offense with 3 players scoring in double digits. I was impressed by Hazleton Area despite the loss, Jeff Platnutis had 18 as did Hunter Samec with 13. The game was just as advertised.

Scoring
Hazleton Area
Nolan Genasevich 10
Josh Samec 13
Jeff Platnutis 18
Joey Grula 8
Michael Cusatis 1
Da'mir Faison 6

Williamsport
Stanley Scott 24
Rondell Carson 10
Brian Duvall 4
Brandon Campbell 10
Quayyim Ali 10
Marcus Simmons 5
Al-Tamar Jason 1

Abington Heights vs Valley West District 2 5A Girls Championship

Valley West entered the Mohegan Sun Arena looking to take a District Title. Meanwhile Abington Heights was looking to take another District 2 Title at the Arena. Abington Heights started off leading 8-0 but Valley West would go on an 8-2 run to only trail by 2, 10-8 at the end of the first quarter. Natalie Gruver would tie the game on a basket and Erin Gibbons gave the Lady Spartans an 11-10 lead by making 1 of 2 free throws. However it would be back and forth with The Lady Comets leading 14-13 at halftime. Erin Gibbons gave the Spartans a one point lead on two free throws but the Comets went on a 7-0 run to make it a six point lead. Around the end of the quarter, Erin Gibbons hit a 3 and Gabby Smicherko hit a layup at the buzzer to make it a 21-20 game at the end of the third quarter. With the Comets up 1, Alessia Brunori hit a jumper to give Abington Heights a 3 point lead, but an Andi Blaski basket made it a one point game once again. Again, Brunori struck with another shot to make it a 3 point game once again. With the Spartans down 4, Erin Gibbons was fouled and would sink the first free throw but missed the second free throw. Valley West grabbed the offensive rebound and Gabby Smicherko got the basket to make it a one point game. Valley West would foul the Comets to force a 1-and-1 but Abington Heights missed the front end and Valley West grabbed the rebound and called timeout with 8.1 seconds left. Erin Gibbons got the ball and tried the score but couldn't get the shot to go in and Abington Heights grabbed the rebound and fouled. Valley West called timeout but were out of timeouts and was called for a technical foul and the Comets sunk 1 of the 2 technical free throws and the Comets would take the Girls 5A crown with a 32-30 victory over Valley West. Hannah Kowalski scored all 9 of her points in the second half. Olivia Baker and Grace Evans each added 7 points for the Comets. Erin Gibbons had a game high 13 points for the Spartans and Andi Blaski added 8 points.

Thoughts on the game: Congrats to the Abington Heights Lady Comets on their District Title. Several players made a huge impact in the second half and that was Hannah Kowalski and Alessia Brunori. Hannah Kowalski had all of her 9 points in the second half but was making several plays on the defensive side all game. Alessia Brunori in the fourth quarter had 2 shots that helped the Comets take the District title. For Valley West, Erin Gibbons had a great game and Andi Blaski made a huge impact on the game.

Scoring
Abington Heights
Olivia Baker 7
Grace Evans 7
Alessia Brunori 6
Hannah Kowalski 9
Grace Evans 3

Valley West
Andi Blaski 8
Erin Gibbons 13
Natalie Gruver 2
Gabby Smicherko 6
Colleen Cwalina 1

GAR vs Scranton Prep District 2 4A Boys Championship

Scranton Prep came into the Mohegan Sun Arena looking for another District Championship. Meanwhile GAR looked to play spoiler and take the District Title. Scranton Prep started off well, leading 6-0 early in the game and would eventually lead 18-7 but GAR would go on a 6-0 run to end the quarter and would trail 18-13 at the end of one. GAR cut the lead to 2 thanks to a three pointer by Will Johnson and a basket by Keyshawn Palmer but a pair of Pady Casey free throws and a basket by Logan Bailey increased the Cavaliers lead to 6 but an Andrew Campbell three point cut the lead in half. An 11-2 run by Scranton Prep gave them a 12 point. GAR got the lead to 10 at halftime when a Will Johnson jumper beat the buzzer to make it 35-25 at halftime. GAR started the quarter on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 3, however Scranton Prep only allowed a Herman Suazo 3 pointer and Scranton Prep took a 44-35 lead at the end of the third quarter. Scranton Prep started the fourth quarter on a 12-2 run and cruised the rest of the way to take the District 2 4A Boys title with a 64-45 victory over GAR. Logan Bailey had a game high 18 points, Pady Casey added 16 for the Cavaliers. Keyshawn Palmer scored 17 for the Grenadiers and Will Johnson added 11.

Thoughts on the game: Scranton Prep looked very good. Everytime it seemed GAR would try and come back, the Cavaliers went on a run to pull away. The Cavaliers also had a well-balanced offense with 4 players scoring in double figures. Congrats to Scranton Prep for winning another District 2 crown. GAR's Keyshawn Palmer had a really good game with 17 points and Will Johnson had a good game as well, scoring 11.

Scoring
GAR
Keyshawn Palmer 17
Herman Suazo 9
Andrew Campbell 8
Will Johnson 11

Scranton Prep
Leo O'Boyle 12
Paddy Casey 16
Logan Bailey 18
Nick Dende 6
Brett Para 2
Greg Bormes 10

West Scranton vs Abington Heights District 2 5A Boys Championship

Abington Heights came in looking for another District Title and they took on West Scranton at the Mohegan Sun Arena. Abington Heights took the first two matchups, would the third time be the charm for the Invaders. Abington Heights started off the game hot and led 6-0 just like that and would lead 20-3. West Scranton would try to cut into the lead especially with Abington Heights center Seth Maxwell on the bench with 2 fouls but Abington Heights hot shooting continued and would lead 30-11 at the end of the first quarter. West Scranton attempted desperately to get back but the Comets shooting barrage kept on coming. At halftime, 4 Abington Heights players had double digits in scoring and would lead 52-28. Seth Maxwell made his presence shown in the third quarter by blocking several shots and altering several West Scranton shots as the Comets only allowed 5 points in the third quarter and would lead 68-35 at the end of the third quarter. The third quarter was highlighted by Jackson Danzig scoring six straight points. The subs on both sides would take over in the fourth as the Abington Heights Comets took the District 2 5A Crown with a 77-41 victory over West Scranton. Trey Koehler had a game high 20 points and Jackson Danzig added 17 for the Comets. For the Invaders, Cole Stetzar had 13 points and Josh Hart added 8 points.

Thoughts on the game: Abington Heights shot lights out all game. I don't think any team could have stopped them tonight. Jackson Danzig, Trey Koehler, Tom Rothenberger and George Tinsley all scored in double figures and it was impressive how well they were shooting. Despite Seth Maxwell being out in the first half, he made an impact in the third quarter with him blocking shots and grabbing rebounds.

Scoring
West Scranton
Josh Hart 8
Cole Stetzar 13
Matt Williams 4
Shaun Fanning 7
Shayne Merriweather 6
Blake Carlton 2
Justin Medici 1

Abington Heights
Jackson Danzig 17
Trey Koehler 20
Tom Rothenberger 13
George Tinsley 12
Lucas Goodman 1
Jack Nealon 3
Seth Maxwell 2
Drew Nealon 3
Alex Derry 3
Brad Bauman 3

Hazleton Area vs Scranton District 2 6A Girls Championship

Scranton came into the Mohegan Sun Arena looking to take the District Crown from Hazleton Area, who took the District 2 Crown last year. After the Lady Cougars took a 2-0 lead on a Marissa Trivelpiece basket, the Lady Knights went on a 9-2 run with help from Ciaira Loyd's 5 straight points. Kendra Pfeil cut the Knights' lead to 2 but a three point play from 6'2 center Colette Mulderig increased the lead to 5 and would lead 18-11 at the end of the first quarter. Scranton started off rolling in the second quarter, going on a 10-2 run to give Scranton a 12 point lead and would lead 32-18 at halftime. Scranton kept up the pressure in the third quarter as they only gave up 4 points in the third quarter and lead 47-23 in the third quarter and would cruise in the fourth quarter to take the District 2 6A Girls Crown with a 56-25 victory over Hazleton Area. Ciaira Loyd had a game high 22 points and Colette Mulderig added 12 points for the Lady Knights. Marissa Trivelpiece scored 8 points for the Cougars and Kendra Pfeil added 5.

Thoughts on the game: I was overall very impressed by Scranton. I understood why they went undefeated in league play. They are very balanced with a good inside and outside game and they play a great defense. They also have very good ball movement. Congrats to Scranton on taking the District 6A Girls Championship.

Scoring
Hazleton Area
Marissa Trivelpiece 8
Kendra Pfeil 5
Maddie Mrochko 3
Katie Lipinski 4
Virginia Yurchak 2
Megan Trivelpiece 1
Alexis Sheeto 2

Scranton
Tahliah Dillon 4
Ciaira Loyd 22
Kristy Hart 8
Colete Mulderig 12
Peyton Orzello 3
Shelby Funches 2
Erin Barrett 5
Alyvia Scetovich 1

Holy Redeemer vs Mid Valley District 2 3A Boys Championship

In the night game, Holy Redeemer took on Mid Valley. Mid Valley is looking for their second District Title in 3 years, whereas Holy Redeemer is going for their first since 2011. Holy Redeemer and Mid Valley started off the game in a defensive struggle with the first basket being made in the middle of the first quarter on a basket by Brad Kalinowski but 4 straight points by the Royals Colin Cook gave the Royals the lead but a three pointer by Kalinowski gave the Spartans the lead once more. Nick Prociak would give the Royals a 6-5 lead on an inside shot to end the first quarter scoring. The Royals started off the scoring with a Jason Stachokus jumper but the Spartans went on a 6-0 run to give Mid Valley the lead at 11-8. Nick Prociak would score 4 straight points to make it 12-11 Royals. However, this game kept going back-and-forth with a Brad Kalinowski basket and a 13-12 lead. Joey Judge gave the Royals with under a minute to play in the second quarter but Brad Kalinowski hit a buzzer beating 3 to give the Spartans a 16-14 lead at halftime. RJ Gouldsbury gave the Spartans a four point lead but Jason Stachokus hit back-to-back threes to make it a 20-18 Holy Redeemer lead. An 8-0 Mid Valley run gave the Spartans their biggest lead of the game at eight. The Royals would cut into the lead and would trail 30-26 at the end of the third quarter. The Royals started off fast by getting baskets by Colin Cook and Nick Prociak to tie the game, but a basket by JJ Glinsky and a free throw by Brendan Davies gave Mid Valley a three point lead. After a Colin Cook basket, RJ Gouldsbury converted on the other end to bring it back to 3. After Nick Prociak hit a basket and Gouldsbury converted one of two free throws to make it a 2 point Spartan lead. Joey Judge tied it on a layup and Nick Prociak got inside and scored to give the Royals the lead. Following the Royals basket, Mid Valley turned the ball over. The problem was that Mid Valley had only one foul and had to hope they either stole the ball or foul 6 times to get the Royals to the line and hope they miss the front end of the 1-and-1. They ended up fouling 6 times and the Royals missed the front end of the 1-and-1 and the Spartans grabbed the rebound. Mid Valley called timeout with 11.8 seconds left and a chance to either tie or get the win to take the District 2 3A title. With time winding down, Brad Kalinowski attempted a three point shot and coming almost out of nowhere, Colin Cook blocked the shot and grabbed the ball and threw it into the air as the clock ran to zero and the Holy Redeemer Royals took the District 2 3A Crown with a 38-36 victory over Mid Valley. Nick Prociak led all scorers with 16 points and Colin Cook added 8 points. For Mid Valley, Brad Kalinowski scored 14 points and RJ Gouldsbury added 11.

Thoughts on the game: All I can say is: Wow, what a finish!! Congrats to the Holy Redeemer Royals on the District Title. The Royals took advantage of their height all game, especially Nick Prociak whose inside game was the biggest difference in the game. Colin Cook had possibly the biggest play of the game with his game-saving block for the Royals. For Mid Valley, Brad Kalinowski had a great game as did RJ Gouldsbury in the second half.

Scoring
Holy Redeemer
Colin Cook 8
Nick Prociak 16
Jason Stachokus 8
Joey Judge 4
James Kosik 2

Mid Valley
Brad Kalinowski 14
Noah Tanner 3
RJ Gouldsbury 11
Brendan Davies 3
JJ Glinsky 5

District 2 Scoreboard
Susquehanna 34 Forest City 28

Berwick vs Nanticoke 4A Girls District 2 Championship

Berwick and Nanticoke battled for the District 2 4A Girls Crown. They come into the Mohegan Sun Arena to battle for the second time. The Trojanettes and Bulldogs went through a back and forth first quarter. With the Bulldogs and Trojanettes tied at 7, Kayla Aufiero hit a 3 pointer to give Nanticoke a 10-7 lead and would lead 14-11 at the end of 1. Nanticoke increased their lead to 7 but the Bulldogs would cut it to 4 with baskets by Isenberg and Talanca. Kayla Aufiero's 4 straight points increased the lead back to 7. After Roni Isenberg hit a basket, Riley Klepadlo had a basket and Lisa Radziak hit a 3 at the buzzer to give the Trojanettes a 10 point lead at halftime. Lisa Radziak would continue her hot shooting in the third quarter with two threes and propelled the Trojanettes to a 40-26 lead at the end of the third quarter. They would cruise to the win in the fourth quarter to take the District 2 4A Championship with a 52-33 victory over the Berwick Bulldogs. Kayla Aufiero had 18 points and Riley Klepadlo added 15 for the Trojanettes. Reese Mensinger had 16 for the Bulldogs and Roni Isenberg added 9.

Thoughts on the game: Congrats to the Nanticoke Trojanettes on winning the District 2 4A Girls Championship. The Trojanettes dominated for three quarters of the game and their defense was spectacular. Kayla Aufiero had a great game with 18 points. For the Berwick Bulldogs, they had a great run, still qualify for the state playoffs and with key players returning next year, I can see the Dawgs back in the Title game next year.

Scoring
Berwick
Reese Mensinger 16
Roni Isenberg 9
Tori Talanca 3
Mikayla Davis 2
Megan Dalo 2

Nanticoke
Kayla Aufiero 18
Alyssa Lewis 9
Riley Klepadlo 15
Lisa Radziak 10