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Lackawanna League teams powered their way into the District 2 boys basketball semifinals last week, setting up a much-anticipated exciting Saturday afternoon.
There are four games, featuring eight teams from the league, in two classifications with plenty on the line.
First, in Class 3A, No. 4 Holy Cross (14-9) plays at No. 1 Riverside (21-1) at 1 p.m. Sixth-seeded Lakeland (11-12), which pulled off the upset of the entire tournament so far, plays at No. 2 Dunmore (20-3) at 1 p.m.
The winners advance to the championship game on Thursday at 8 p.m. at Mohegan Arena and clinch the two berths for the PIAA tournament awarded to District 2.
In Class 2A, No. 3 Lackawanna Trail (16-6) is at second-seeded Susquehanna (18-5) at 1 p.m. No. 4 Blue Ridge (11-11) is at top-seeded Old Forge (16-6), which is the fifth team from the Lackawanna Division II still alive in the postseason, at 2 p.m.
The winners advance to the title game at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Mohegan Arena. Both also secure their spots in the PIAA tournament.
Class 3A
All season, the Lackawanna Division II was billed as the most competitive from top to bottom.
The teams in Class 3A proved that.
Holy Cross earned a 53-42 win over Holy Redeemer in the quarterfinals, setting up a third meeting with top-seeded Riverside, which had a bye. This season, the Vikings have won both battles with the Crusaders on the way to the Division II championship.
“We have to play great defense,” Holy Cross center Colin Ritterbusch said after the win over Holy Redeemer. “Obviously, boxing out will be important, and we have to contest every shot. They are going to make some, but we have to make it as challenging as we can.”
The two teams played four times last season, with Holy Cross winning twice and Riverside winning twice, including the District 2 Class 3A final. Riverside reached the PIAA Class 3A quarterfinals, and Holy Cross advanced to the PIAA Class 3A semifinals, coming within a last-second buzzer-beating basket of reaching a second straight state championship game.
This is a critical game for both teams. Only the winner will qualify for the PIAA playoffs.
Holy Cross has qualified for the state playoffs 17 times since the program started in 2007-08. The Crusaders did not play in the 2021 District 2 Class 2A playoffs due to a COVID-19 situation. Riverside has reached the state playoffs in five of the last six seasons.
Nico Antoniacci, a sophomore and NCAA Division I prospect, is averaging 30.6 points per game to lead Riverside. Brayden Rose, a junior, is averaging 20.9 points per game.
That one-two punch has lifted the Vikings past Holy Cross in both meetings this season. Antoniacci scored 30 points, and Rose had 13 in a 64-46 win on Dec. 19. In the rematch, Antoniacci had 43 points with five 3-pointers, and Rose scored 27 in a fast-paced 95-81 win on Jan. 22.
Holy Cross was without leading scorer Adam Badyrka in the first game due to an injury. CJ Thompson scored 20 points, and Jack Alpert had 10. Badyrka scored 32 in the rematch, and Thompson, again, had 20.
Sixth-seeded Lakeland defeated No. 3 Elk Lake, the Lackawanna Division III champion and 20-game winner, 67-53, in the quarterfinals. Junior Chase Rosenkrans scored 24 points, Jake McHale had 14, Cole Tonkin had 12, and David Naniewicz had 10 for the Chiefs.
Dunmore bounced back from a loss to Old Forge in the regular-season finale to beat Montrose, 76-36, in the quarterfinals. Jimmy Clark made four 3-pointers and had 16 points. Carter Sload scored 12, and Nate Aviles added 11 for the Bucks, who were without senior leader Brayden Canavan.
The two teams played twice in the league season on the same two dates that Holy Cross played Riverside. Sload scored 19 points, Canavan had 14, and Clark had 12 in Dunmore’s 59-45 win on Dec. 19. Canavan had 33 points, Clark 22, and Sload 10 in a 73-60 win on Jan. 22.
Rosenkrans had a combined 31 points in the two games for Lakeland.
Class 2A
Old Forge is the defending champion in Class 2A. The Blue Devils navigated the challenging Lackawanna Division II schedule, had wins over Holy Cross and Dunmore, and earned a bye into the semifinals.
Blue Ridge defeated Wyoming Seminary for the second time this season. Paxton Pingarelli scored 19 points to lead the Raiders to a 52-43 win.
Old Forge seniors Logan Fanning (17.0 points per game) and Cameron Parker (16.5) lead the team. The Blue Devils have played two Division III teams this season — Montrose and Mountain View — and won by an average of 24.5 points.
Third-seeded Lackawanna Trail plays at Susquehanna. It is the third meeting between the teams, but the first with the Lions’ new guard Isaac Ryon, who made his debut in a 66-53 win over Montrose in the quarterfinals.
Logan Seigle scored 20 points, Jimmy Phillips had 17, and Lucas Filipek added 11 for the Lions. Ryon, the Pennsylvania Football Writers’ Class 1A player of the year, scored five points after just joining the team.
Susquehanna’s Griffin Fisk, the Division III scoring champion, scored 33 points in a 78-39 win over Forest City in the quarterfinals. Drew Hennessey added 12 points, and Linden Baker had 10 for the Sabers.
In the first meeting, Susquehanna jumped out to a 17-3 lead after the first quarter and then held off a Lackawanna Trail rally for a 50-46 win on Jan. 9. Fisk scored 21 points, and Mason Keyes had 13 for the Sabers.
Susquehanna outscored the Lions, 26-14, over the second and third quarters, on the way to a 57-46 win on Feb. 2. Fisk scored 25 points, and Keyes had 11 for the Sabers. Phillips led Lackawanna Trail with 16 points, and Filipek had 12.
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DISTRICT 2 CLASS 3A
Quarterfinals
Dunmore 76, Montrose 36
Lakeland 67, Elk Lake 53
Holy Cross 53, Holy Redeemer 42
Saturday’s semifinals
4-Holy Cross (14-9) at 1-Riverside (21-1), 1 p.m.
6-Lakeland (11-12) at 2-Dunmore (20-3), 1 p.m.
Feb. 26, Final
Semifinal winners, 8 p.m., Mohegan Arena
DISTRICT 2 CLASS 2A
Quarterfinals
Susquehanna 78, Forest City 39
Lackawanna Trail 66, Mountain View 53
Blue Ridge 52, Wyoming Seminary 43
Saturday’s semifinals
3-Lackawanna Trail (16-6) at 2-Susquehanna (18-5), 1 p.m.
4-Blue Ridge (11-11) at 1-Old Forge (16-6), 2 p.m.
Feb. 28, Final
Semifinal winners, 2 p.m., Mohegan Arena
Continue reading...
There are four games, featuring eight teams from the league, in two classifications with plenty on the line.
First, in Class 3A, No. 4 Holy Cross (14-9) plays at No. 1 Riverside (21-1) at 1 p.m. Sixth-seeded Lakeland (11-12), which pulled off the upset of the entire tournament so far, plays at No. 2 Dunmore (20-3) at 1 p.m.
The winners advance to the championship game on Thursday at 8 p.m. at Mohegan Arena and clinch the two berths for the PIAA tournament awarded to District 2.
In Class 2A, No. 3 Lackawanna Trail (16-6) is at second-seeded Susquehanna (18-5) at 1 p.m. No. 4 Blue Ridge (11-11) is at top-seeded Old Forge (16-6), which is the fifth team from the Lackawanna Division II still alive in the postseason, at 2 p.m.
The winners advance to the title game at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Mohegan Arena. Both also secure their spots in the PIAA tournament.
Class 3A
All season, the Lackawanna Division II was billed as the most competitive from top to bottom.
The teams in Class 3A proved that.
Holy Cross earned a 53-42 win over Holy Redeemer in the quarterfinals, setting up a third meeting with top-seeded Riverside, which had a bye. This season, the Vikings have won both battles with the Crusaders on the way to the Division II championship.
“We have to play great defense,” Holy Cross center Colin Ritterbusch said after the win over Holy Redeemer. “Obviously, boxing out will be important, and we have to contest every shot. They are going to make some, but we have to make it as challenging as we can.”
The two teams played four times last season, with Holy Cross winning twice and Riverside winning twice, including the District 2 Class 3A final. Riverside reached the PIAA Class 3A quarterfinals, and Holy Cross advanced to the PIAA Class 3A semifinals, coming within a last-second buzzer-beating basket of reaching a second straight state championship game.
This is a critical game for both teams. Only the winner will qualify for the PIAA playoffs.
Holy Cross has qualified for the state playoffs 17 times since the program started in 2007-08. The Crusaders did not play in the 2021 District 2 Class 2A playoffs due to a COVID-19 situation. Riverside has reached the state playoffs in five of the last six seasons.
Nico Antoniacci, a sophomore and NCAA Division I prospect, is averaging 30.6 points per game to lead Riverside. Brayden Rose, a junior, is averaging 20.9 points per game.
That one-two punch has lifted the Vikings past Holy Cross in both meetings this season. Antoniacci scored 30 points, and Rose had 13 in a 64-46 win on Dec. 19. In the rematch, Antoniacci had 43 points with five 3-pointers, and Rose scored 27 in a fast-paced 95-81 win on Jan. 22.
Holy Cross was without leading scorer Adam Badyrka in the first game due to an injury. CJ Thompson scored 20 points, and Jack Alpert had 10. Badyrka scored 32 in the rematch, and Thompson, again, had 20.
Sixth-seeded Lakeland defeated No. 3 Elk Lake, the Lackawanna Division III champion and 20-game winner, 67-53, in the quarterfinals. Junior Chase Rosenkrans scored 24 points, Jake McHale had 14, Cole Tonkin had 12, and David Naniewicz had 10 for the Chiefs.
Dunmore bounced back from a loss to Old Forge in the regular-season finale to beat Montrose, 76-36, in the quarterfinals. Jimmy Clark made four 3-pointers and had 16 points. Carter Sload scored 12, and Nate Aviles added 11 for the Bucks, who were without senior leader Brayden Canavan.
The two teams played twice in the league season on the same two dates that Holy Cross played Riverside. Sload scored 19 points, Canavan had 14, and Clark had 12 in Dunmore’s 59-45 win on Dec. 19. Canavan had 33 points, Clark 22, and Sload 10 in a 73-60 win on Jan. 22.
Rosenkrans had a combined 31 points in the two games for Lakeland.
Class 2A
Old Forge is the defending champion in Class 2A. The Blue Devils navigated the challenging Lackawanna Division II schedule, had wins over Holy Cross and Dunmore, and earned a bye into the semifinals.
Blue Ridge defeated Wyoming Seminary for the second time this season. Paxton Pingarelli scored 19 points to lead the Raiders to a 52-43 win.
Old Forge seniors Logan Fanning (17.0 points per game) and Cameron Parker (16.5) lead the team. The Blue Devils have played two Division III teams this season — Montrose and Mountain View — and won by an average of 24.5 points.
Third-seeded Lackawanna Trail plays at Susquehanna. It is the third meeting between the teams, but the first with the Lions’ new guard Isaac Ryon, who made his debut in a 66-53 win over Montrose in the quarterfinals.
Logan Seigle scored 20 points, Jimmy Phillips had 17, and Lucas Filipek added 11 for the Lions. Ryon, the Pennsylvania Football Writers’ Class 1A player of the year, scored five points after just joining the team.
Susquehanna’s Griffin Fisk, the Division III scoring champion, scored 33 points in a 78-39 win over Forest City in the quarterfinals. Drew Hennessey added 12 points, and Linden Baker had 10 for the Sabers.
In the first meeting, Susquehanna jumped out to a 17-3 lead after the first quarter and then held off a Lackawanna Trail rally for a 50-46 win on Jan. 9. Fisk scored 21 points, and Mason Keyes had 13 for the Sabers.
Susquehanna outscored the Lions, 26-14, over the second and third quarters, on the way to a 57-46 win on Feb. 2. Fisk scored 25 points, and Keyes had 11 for the Sabers. Phillips led Lackawanna Trail with 16 points, and Filipek had 12.
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DISTRICT 2 CLASS 3A
Quarterfinals
Dunmore 76, Montrose 36
Lakeland 67, Elk Lake 53
Holy Cross 53, Holy Redeemer 42
Saturday’s semifinals
4-Holy Cross (14-9) at 1-Riverside (21-1), 1 p.m.
6-Lakeland (11-12) at 2-Dunmore (20-3), 1 p.m.
Feb. 26, Final
Semifinal winners, 8 p.m., Mohegan Arena
DISTRICT 2 CLASS 2A
Quarterfinals
Susquehanna 78, Forest City 39
Lackawanna Trail 66, Mountain View 53
Blue Ridge 52, Wyoming Seminary 43
Saturday’s semifinals
3-Lackawanna Trail (16-6) at 2-Susquehanna (18-5), 1 p.m.
4-Blue Ridge (11-11) at 1-Old Forge (16-6), 2 p.m.
Feb. 28, Final
Semifinal winners, 2 p.m., Mohegan Arena
Continue reading...
