There were many similarities to the 2021-22 seasons Bobby Planutis and Leo O’Boyle.
Both former District 2 players started every game for their National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I teams and provided their teams with a consistent 3-point shooting threat from the forward position.
Planutis, a 6-foot-8 graduate student from Hazleton Area, was third on the team with 61 made 3-pointers for Purdue-Fort Wayne, which went 21-12 and ended its season with an appearance in the College Basketball Invitational.
O’Boyle, a 6-7 junior from Scranton Prep, was second on Lafayette College in 3-pointers with 56.
Abington Heights graduate George Tinsley at Binghamton University, Hazleton Area graduate Da’mir Faison at New Jersey Institute of Technology and Scranton Prep graduate Paddy Casey at Syracuse University were the other active Division I players from District 2 schools.
Planutis has now played 119 NCAA Division I games with two seasons at Purdue-Fort Wayne, one at St. Bonaventure and one at Mount St. Mary’s, but in COVID eligibility rules could potentially play one more season.
Purdue-Fort Wayne went 15-6 in the Horizon League with Planutis providing 8.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 0.6 steals in 24.5 minutes per game. He shot 44.2 percent from the floor, 37.9 percent on 3-pointers and 96.7 percent from the line.
Planutis was 29-for-30 on free throws.
O’Boyle had a season-high 18 points against Rutgers while the Leopards were going 10-20, including 7-11 in the Patriot League.
In 28.1 minutes per game, O’Boyle averaged 9.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 0.7 steals. He shot 38.0 percent from the floor, 35.7 percent on 3-pointers and 74.6 percent from the line.
O’Boyle has been a regular starter at Lafayette since late in his freshman year when he earned Patriot League All-Rookie team honors.
Tinsley, the 2019-20 America East Rookie of Year, started his first 55 career games at Binghamton University, including the first 9 of this season. The 6-foot-6 junior forward was removed from the starting lineup, but returned for one late-season game. He had 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting against Maine Feb. 5.
In 28 games, including 10 starts, Tinsley averaged 4.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 0.4 blocked shots in 17.5 minutes. He shot 46.7 percent from the floor, 30.2 percent on 3-pointers and 66.7 on free throws.
Binghamton finished 8-10 in the America East and 12-17 overall.
Faison, a 6-foot-7 redshirt sophomore, started the last three games of the season at NJIT, his first starts since his college debut.
NJIT was 6-12 in the America East and 11-18 overall.
Faison scored 11 points against Hartford in his first start and, with NJIT down to 8 players, played all 40 minutes in a season-ending, 98-59, America East Tournament loss to Vermont.
In 15 games, including 3 starts, Faison averaged 2.9 points and 1.5 rebounds. He shot 48.6 percent from the field, 33.3 percent on 3-pointers and 66.7 percent on foul shots.
Casey, a graduate student, spent the season at Syracuse after playing 81 games and making 74 starts in three seasons on the NCAA Division II level at the University of the Sciences.
After playing against PACE and LeMoyne in exhibition games, Casey made 7 appearances, covering 17 minutes during a 16-17 Syracuse season that including 9-11 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Casey made brief appearances against Lafayette, Brown, Wake Forest, Louisville and Duke. He scored 10 points and dished out 4 assists while grabbing a rebound. Casey shot 4-for-8 (50.0 percent) from the field, 1-for-3 (33.3) on 3-pointers and 1-for-1 from the line.
AWARD-WINNING FINISH
In addition to the District 2 graduates, another former District 2 player was active in Division I college basketball and had an award-winning season.
Sukhmail Mathon, a former New England Prep school player from Shavertown who began his high school career at Dallas, averaged a double-double for Boston University and was named Patriot League Player of the Year.
The 6-10 graduate student center averaged 15.3 points and 10.2 rebounds to become the first BU player in 25 years to produce a season double-double.
Mathon was also the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year and made the league’s All-Defensive Team for the second straight year.
The two awards come two years after Mathon averaged 4.6 points and 4.7 rebounds. He jumped to 11.2 points and 8.2 rebounds last season, he continued the climb as BU went 22-13, including 11-7 in the Patriot.
Mathon finished fifth in the country in offensive rebounds with 3.89 per game, tied for eighth in double-doubles with 18 and tied for 17th in free throws made with 161. He shot 53.0 percent from the floor, 20.0 percent on 3-pointers and 78.5 percent on free throws.
The top performances of the season included a career-high 26 points and 13 rebounds against Holy Cross, 21 points and 18 rebounds against Bucknell and 16 points and 12 rebounds against Florida State.
The COVID-related eligibility rules allowed Mathon a fifth season and he took advantage of it, playing in every game and setting a school record for 147 appearances. He wound up with 1,073 career points while ranking third in school history with 875 rebounds and seventh in blocked shots with 79.
Boston University finished up in the College Basketball Invitational, winning once, then losing in the quarterfinals.
Mathon finished high school at the Holderness School in New Hampshire.
