By Tom Robinson, NEPABasketball.com
Matt Mowry understands the place his school holds in local basketball history.
“Probably all five of our starters and a few other guys on our bench are very familiar with who Bob Stevenson and Jimmy and Red Wallace are,” Mowry, an Elk Lake senior said. “We do know what this game means for us and for them.”
Michael “Red” Wallace coached Elk Lake to Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state boys titles in 1969 and 1977, first with his son Jimmy leading the way, then with Stevenson. Wallace died months after the second state championship and ever since Elk Lake and Carbondale have honored his memory with an annual memorial game, usually played as the senior opener.
That game was skipped for the first time in 2020 because of COVID and delayed in 2021 for the same reason, but when it returned Dec. 30, Mowry made the most of the chance to play in it one last time.
The reigning Lackawanna League Division 4 Player of the Year spoiled Carbondale’s delayed season opener, scoring 32 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, making 7 steals and dishing out 4 assists. He landed his team’s Most Valuable Player award in the 57-41 victory.
It did not quite match up to Stevenson’s legendary triple-double (before the term was used) of a state final record 55 points, along with 18 rebounds and 10 assists in the 94-60 rout of Shanksville in the 1977 state championship game, but it was plenty enough to make Mowry the Brucelli Advertising District 2 Boys Basketball Player of the Week choice for the period of Dec. 27-Jan. 2.
“It feels real good,” Mowry said. “It’s more of a team trophy because without my teammates I wouldn’t have gotten it.
“I scored a good part of my points from my teammates looking up in transition and giving me the ball when I was hot.”
Mowry had chances early, but started out 1-for-5. He began hitting his shots and kept contributing in other areas in a well-rounded game that he showed off during Elk Lake’s division championship run and trip to the District 2 Class 2A final last season.
“I have to make sure I do my part and the other guys on the team understand their part,” Mowry said.
That role was adjusted slightly with Wyatt Casselbury, one of the team’s post players unavailable for the game.
“I had to step it up with the rebounds,” the 6-foot-2 Mowry said.
Mowry is trying to help his team with other adjustments, like operating in the role of favorite with all the starters back from a championship team.
“It’s not easy,” he said. “We’ve got a lot to lose that no one else does. If they come in and lose, it was ‘hey, we lost to the reigning division champs’. But, if they win, then they have a lot to brag about.
“If we win, it’s ‘they just beat another team in their division’.”
Before the start of that division title defense, Elk Lake prepared with the game honoring Wallace, who grew up in what is now the Carbondale Area School District on his way to playing for the original Boston Celtics.
Matt is the son of Amy Mowry from Meshoppen.
Mid Valley’s Gabe Tanner and Holy Redeemer’s Justice Shoats also received consideration for the award.
Tanner led Mid Valley to the Peter Turonis Memorial/NBT Bank Classic title. He had 23 points in a 53-27 rout of Lakeland, then 20 points and 8 rebounds in a 47-44, championship game victory over Valley View.
Shoats hit four 3-pointers and scored 29 points to lead Holy Redeemer past Hanover Area, 79-50, in the only game that was able to be played at the McGrane Tournament in Wilkes-Barre.
PREVIOUS WINNERS
Dec. 6-12: Austin Finarelli, Dallas. https://nepabasketball.com/2021-22/Awards/BPlayer1Finarelli.
Dec. 13-19: Jason Shields, Scranton. https://nepabasketball.com/2021-22/Awards/BPlayer2Shields.
Dec. 20-26: Ryan Ruddy, North Pocono. https://nepabasketball.com/2021-22/Awards/BPlayer3Ruddy.
