District 2 Basketball Championships Day 1

Susquehanna 39 Forest City 21

Mackenzie Steele had 14 points as the Sabers took the District 2 Single-A Championship with a 39-21 victory over Forest City. Bella Pleska had 8 points for Forest City.

Scranton Prep 46 Lake-Lehman 43

Scranton Prep 46 Lake-Lehman 43

Rachel Rose scored a game high 18 points and Cecilia Collins added nine points as Scranton Prep would win their second consecutive District 2 4A Championship. Madison Borum added 17 points for Lake-Lehman. 

Lake-Lehman

Sarah Salus 5

Madison Borum 17

Savannah Purdy 9

Claire Dougherty 2

Corinna Scoblick 8

Scranton Prep

Rachel Rose 18

Cecilia Collins 9

Maggie Mills 8

Elisa Penetar 6

Kathleen Rose 2

Maria Belardi 3

Wyoming Seminary 48 Holy Redeemer 47

Dmitri Gnall had a game high 21 points and Todd Phillips hit a game winning jumper with under a minute left as the Blue Knights would take back-to-back District 2 3A Championships. Justice Shoats had a team high 19 points for the Royals and Nick Prociak added 14 points.

Wyoming Seminary 48 Holy Redeemer 47 

Holy Redeemer

Derek Answini 3

Justice Shoats 19

Collin Cook 5

Nick Prociak 14

Jared Piontkowski 6

Wyoming Seminary

Dmitri Gnall 21

Todd Phillips 14

Nick Ganter 4

Jeremy Callahan 7

Ethan Meuser 2

Big Shot propels Trojans to the District Final

The last few years, the Trojans have come up short in making the District Title Game. In 2017, it was an overtime loss to Scranton Prep. 2018, it was a semifinal loss to Valley View on the same court as these Trojans played on this Saturday evening. Colby Butczynski would be sure to not make it a third straight year as he would sink a three pointer with 3.4 seconds to go as the Trojans would advance to the District 2 4A Title game.

The Tigers would build a 9-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. Tunkhannock would get a five point lead until Nanticoke would go on an 11-0 run as the Trojans would take a 24-20 lead into halftime. The Trojans would hold a six point lead but Tunkhannock would go on an 8-0 run for a 30-28 lead and would lead 36-34 after three quarters. The fourth quarter would be a back and forth affair. The Trojans would take a 44-41 lead with a three point play by Butczynski and a basket by Jake Krupinski. After an Avery Billings basket, the Trojans would stall the ball and the Tigers would foul until they hit the 1 and 1. The Trojans would miss the front end of the 1 and 1 and Jack Chilson would hit a bucket for a 45-44 lead. Nate Kreitzer would answer with a basket of his own with 52.8 seconds to go. After the timeout, Ryan Harder would give the Tigers the lead with a three pointer and a 48-46 lead with 20.6 with the Trojans calling a timeout. Butczynski would have his heroic moment as he would sink a three pointer with 3.4 to go. The Trojans would have to get through another Tigers possession however. The Trojans would commit their sixth team foul with 2.8 seconds to go. On the inbounds pass, the ball would go to Billings who would take the shot and it would fall short. Nate Kreitzer led all scorers with 15 points for Nanticoke. Jake Krupinski and Colby Butczynski each added 12 points for the Trojans. Ryan Harder, Avery Billings and Nick Reposa each had nine points for the Tigers. The Trojans will play Scranton Prep at the Mohegan Sun Arena next Saturday for the District 2 4A title at 4. The Tigers will play Western Wayne for the third spot in the state tournament. 

Thoughts on the game: It was an amazing atmosphere at Scandlon Gymnasium. A really interesting back and forth game with Nanticoke coming out on top. Nate Kreitzer had a great game with 15 points. Colby Butczynski also had a great game with the game-winning three pointer. For Tunkhannock, Avery Billings had a good game with nine points as did Ryan Harder also with nine points. 

Crestwood advances to the D2 5A Finals

The start of the game was not what Crestwood wanted. Wallenpaupack's Elijah Rosenthal and Izaiah Santiago hit two three pointers early on for a 6-0 lead. After those two, it would be all Crestwood. Mike Palmiero would score six straight points as the Comets would go on a 10-0 run for a 10-6 lead at the end of the first quarter. Alex Pillar would cut the Comet lead to two, but the Comets' Camden Boris would hit a basket and Ryan Petrosky would hit consecutive three pointers for a ten point lead and would lead at halftime 22-13. 

The Comets lead would go as high as 16 during the third but the Buckhorns tried to mount a comeback. Elijah Rosenthal would back-to-back baskets to cut the lead to 34-22 at the end of the third quarter. The Buckhorns would start off the fourth quarter with a 5-0 run early on but the Comets would call a timeout and they would settle down and advance to the District 2 5A Championship game with a 44-33 victory over Wallenpaupack. Ryan Petrosky led the Comets with 14 points and Camden Boris followed with 13. The Buckhorns' Elijah Rosenthal led all scorers with 15 points and Derrick Vosburg had six points. 

Thoughts on the game: With the exception of the start of the game, Crestwood played one of their best defensive games of the season. The Comets' Ryan Petrosky had a great game with 14 points, as did Mike Palmiero with 12 as he got Crestwood out of the six point hole with six straight points. For the Buckhorns, Elijah Rosenthal had a great game with 15 points.

Wallenpaupack

Elijah Rosenthal 15

Izaiah Santiago 5

Alex Pillar 5

Derrick Vosburg 6

Gabe Springer 2

Crestwood

Mike Palmiero 12

Camden Boris 13

Sean Murphy 2

Ryan Petrosky 14

Brad Papura 1

Jake Zaleski 2

District 2 Scores

Boys

Abington Heights 59 Dallas 51

Holy Redeemer 62 Mid Valley 41

Wyoming Seminary 67 Lakeland 46

Girls

Scranton Prep 50 Nanticoke 31

Lake-Lehman 36 Berwick 26

Holy Cross 50 Northwest 25

Old Forge 67 Mountain View 35  

Western Wayne and Nanticoke post wins in District 2 4A Quarterfinals

Western Wayne 63 GAR 60
Zach Rovinsky dominated down low and scored 35 points and Dahlton added 20 as Western Wayne prevented a GAR comeback with a 63-60 victory in the District 2 4A Quarterfinals. GAR's Will Johnson scored 31 points and Shawn Adamson added 12 in GAR's final basketball game as a program. Western Wayne will play defending District Champion Scranton Prep in the District 2 4A Semifinals on Saturday at a place and time to be determined.

Nanticoke 65 Hanover Area 45
Jake Krupinski scored a game high 20 points and Colby Butczynski added 15 as Nanticoke raced to a 22-9 first quarter lead en route to a 65-45 victory in the District 2 4A Quarterfinals. The Hawkeyes' Khairi Carson had a team high 15 points and Asad Whitehead added 13 points. The Trojans advance to the District 2 4A Semifinals and will play Tunkhannock.

District 2 Scoreboard
Boys
Scranton Prep 61 Meyers 39
Holy Cross 75 Blue Ridge 47
Northwest 54 Old Forge 38
Tunkhannock 59 Valley View 51
Susquehanna 53 Elk Lake 45
Lackawanna Trail 56 Mt View 50

Girls
Abington Heights 53 Coughlin 29
Dunmore 60 Carbondale 12
Crestwood 55 Wallenpaupack 53
Holy Redeemer 64 Lakeland 22
Valley West 43 Pittston Area 23
Riverside 50 Mid Valley 30
North Pocono 40 West Scranton 36
Wyoming Seminary 51 Meyers 40

Crestwood gets past West Scranton

West Scranton and Crestwood were in a tightly contested first quarter and most of the people at Wyoming Area High School thought it would stay the same for most of the game. Lewin Fernandez would hit 3 three pointers to tie the game at 11 and just before the buzzer, Jake Zaleski would hit a layup to give the Comets the lead at the end of the first quarter. With the Comets leading by 2, they would go on an 8-0 run and would lead 25-18 at halftime.
The Comets defense would step up in the second half. They only allowed a single basket in the third quarter and would lead 38-23 at the end of the third quarter. The Comets would cruise for a 45-32 victory in their District 2 5A Quaterfinal matchup. The Comets' Camden Boris led all scorers with 13 points and Ryan Petrosky followed with 12. Lewin Fernandez scored 12 points for West Scranton and Cayden Merrifield followed with six. The Comets will advance to the District 2 5A Semifinals and will play Wallenpaupack on Friday at a site and time to be determined.

Thoughts on the game: Camden Boris had a good game for the Comets with 13 points and Ryan Petrosky also played well and he had 12 points. The Comets defense was impressive in the third quarter. Only gave up two points during the quarter. For West Scranton, Lewin Fernandez had a good game with 12 points.

West Scranton
Nick Gioia 4
Lewin Fernandez 12
Nick Forsette 2
Jalen Gregory 2
Cayden Merrifield 6
Brennan Burnside 2
Brandon Barnes 4

Crestwood
Brad Papura 4
Mike Palmiero 4
Sean Murphy 5
Jake Zaleski 5
Camden Boris 13
Ryan Petrosky 12
Marcus Vieney 2

Surviving the Storm

The Dallas Mountaineers looked like they were going to blow out the Patriots at the early part of the second quarter. However, the Patriots had other plans. With the Mountaineers up 23-9 early in the second, the Patriots' Logan Booth would hit a three pointer and would begin a 12-0 run and would only trail 23-21.
 The Patriots would take their first lead on a Brennan Higgins basket and would end up leading 37-35 at the end of the third quarter. A big momentum shift would happen when a foul was called against the Patriots and then a player was called for a technical foul. The Patriots were leading 41-39 but the Mountaineers could only tie the game by making 2 of 4 free throws. The Mountaineers would retain the ball and freshman Nick Nocito would hit a three pointer to give the Mountaineers a 44-41 lead. The Patriots would push for a tie at 45 on a basket by Higgins. Luke DelGaudio would give the Mountaineers the lead for good on a basket and they would pull away for a 58-47 victory in the District 2 5A Quarterfinals. The Mountaineers' Nick Nocito led all scorers with 20 points and Luke DelGaudio also added 16 points in the victory. The Patriots' Brennan Higgins led the way with 18 points and Mike George added 13 points. They will play Abington Heights in the District 2 5A Semifinals on Friday at a time and place to be announced. It will be a rematch of last year's District 2 5A Championship that Abington Heights won.

Thoughts on the game: It was a really interesting game. The Mountaineers looked like they were going to blow out the Patriots but the Patriots weren't going down without a fight. Nick Nocito had a really good game with 20 points. For the Patriots, Brennan Higgins had a good game with 18 points, shooting well inside and outside.

Pittston Area
Mike George 13
Brennan Higgins 18
Savion Leak 4
Logan Booth 6
Andrew Krawczyk 4
JJ Walsh 2

Dallas
Jack Farrell 11
Nick Nocito 20
Luke DelGaudio 16
Justin Finarelli 6
Austin Finarelli 5

Nanticoke takes sole possession of first place with victory over GAR

The GAR Grenadiers traveled to Nanticoke on Tuesday night to take on the Trojans. It was a highly touted matchup with both teams tied for first place in Division 2. The winner would be in first place all alone with two games to go in the regular season.
The Trojans started with four straight points but the Grenadiers would get a basket from Curtis Smith and a three pointer from Will Johnson. After that, it would be back and forth for awhile until Nanticoke went on a 6-0 run. Jared O'Day would break Nanticoke's run with a three pointer but the Trojans would get three straight three point baskets from Nate Kreitzer, Jake Krupinski and Butczynski for a 21-10 lead and would lead 21-14 at the end of the first quarter. The Grenadiers would fight back and cut the Nanticoke lead to three with three pointers by Tyler Young and O'Day. After a Butczynski basket, Smith would hit another Grenadier three to make it a two point game. The Trojans would end up leading 36-31 at halftime.
 Kreitzer would hit a three pointer to start the half to increase the lead to eight. After a Johnson basket, Jake Krupinski would hit a three pointer to make it a nine point lead. The Trojans would keep up the scoring and lead 54-46 at the end of the third. The Trojans would lead as much as 11 but the Grenadiers would make one last push and go on an 8-0 run to make it 61-58. That would be the closest as Nanticoke would sink several free throws and take a 74-65 home victory over GAR. The Trojans are now in first place all alone. The Grenadiers travel to Wyoming Area on Thursday then host Meyers on Friday. The Trojans go on the road to Tunkhannock on Thursday and to Wyoming Area on Saturday.

Thoughts on the game: It was a pretty high scoring game. The Trojans played very well. Nate Kreitzer had an excellent game with 23 and Jake Krupinski had 19. For GAR, Will Johnson led his team with 22 points and Tyler Young added 16.

Nanticoke 74 GAR 65
GAR
Curtis Smith 14
Will Johnson 22
Tyler Young 16
Jared O'Day 11
Shawn Adamson 2


Nanticoke
Trahjan Krupinski 10
Colby Butczynski 17
Jake Krupinski 19
Nate Kreitzer 23
Andy Kozlofski 3
Dylan Szychowski 2

Mountaineers snap Crestwood's winning streak

The Dallas Mountaineers traveled to Mountain Top on Friday night to take on the Crestwood Comets. The Mountaineers are coming off a big victory over Hazleton Area last Friday. The Comets enter tonight's game undefeated in conference play. Who will come out on top in this WVC Division 1 matchup? Let's find out!
The first quarter started off fast paced with several lead changes but with Crestwood leading 11-10 late in the first quarter, the Mountaineers would get baskets by Jack Farrell and Luke DelGaudio for a 14-11 Dallas lead after the first quarter. Dallas would hold a five point lead until Ryan Petrosky hit a deep three but Jack Farrell would make it a four point lead. Petrosky would score five straight points for a 24-23 Comet lead. However, a putback by Farrell would give the Mountaineers back the lead at 25-24. Mike Palmiero would hit one of two free throws to tie the game at 25 and just before the buzzer, Crestwood would miss a shot, Dallas would get the rebound but Petrosky would steal the ball just around the free throw line and heave up a shot before the buzzer and it would fall to give the Comets a 27-25 lead at halftime.
The Comets would build to a seven point lead midway through the third quarter but the Mountaineers wouldn't quit. Farrell would hit a three pointer but after a Camden Boris basket, the lead would increase back to six. Farrell and DelGaudio would get baskets sandwiched by a Petrosky lead to cut the Comets lead to 41-37 at the end of the third quarter. The Mountaineers would dominate in the fourth quarter. Farrell would hit a basket then freshman Nick Nocito would sink a pair of free throws to tie the game. The Mounts would end up going on a 12-0 run to give Dallas a 49-41 lead. The Comets would get a three pointer by Petrosky to make it a five point game but a basket by DelGaudio would increase the lead to seven. Jake Zaleski would hit a three to make it a four point game but DelGaudio would sink four free throws as the Mountaineers would pull off a 55-47 upset victory over the Crestwood Comets on the road.

Thoughts on the game: Dallas played their best in the fourth quarter and that was the difference in the game. Jack Farrell had a great game with 19 points and Luke DelGaudio had six of his 12 in the fourth quarter. For Crestwood, Ryan Petrosky had a game high 26 points and Camden Boris had six points but played well on the defensive side.

Dallas 55 Crestwood 47
Dallas
Austin Finarelli 9
Luke DelGaudio 12
Jack Farrell 19
Nick Nocito 9
Sam Nocito 2
Justin Finarelli 2
Dylan Schuster 2

Crestwood
Ryan Petrosky 26
Sean Murphy 2
Brad Papura 4
Jake Zaleski 5
Mike Palmiero 4
Camden Boris 6