By Tom Robinson, NEPABasketball.com
SCRANTON – Mid Valley held Tunkhannock scoreless for a stretch of 7:53 of the first half Dec. 18, then fought off a late rally to defeat the Tigers, 39-35, in the finale of the third Conference Challenge at the Lackawanna College Student Union.
Facing a Tunkhannock team that had hit 14 shots from 3-point range just 1½ days earlier against Elk Lake and was averaging more than 67 points in a 3-0 start, Mid Valley limited chances.
“They pose a serious problem because they have two 6-foot-5 guys that can really shoot the ball,” Mid Valley coach Mike Abda said. “You have to really make sure that your closeouts are fundamental and you’re crowding them when they catch the ball. In a situation where we get buried by a screen, we run them off the line.
“For the most part, I thought in those areas, we did a pretty good job. They were getting the ball, but for the most part, we were already there.”
Tunkhannock finished 5-for-18 on 3-pointers.
The defensive stops allowed Mid Valley to score the last 2 points of the first quarter and first 11 of the second quarter for a 21-10 lead in the last minute of the half.
The lead was back to 11 at the break and grew as high as 30-17 midway through the third quarter before Mid Valley’s offense slowed down and Tunkhannock worked back as close as two late.
“I thought we made some better decisions,” Abda said, “but there was also a dry spell where we went cold and made some bad decisions.”
Josh Brown’s 3-pointer with 36 seconds left cut the Spartans lead to 37-35.
Danny Nemitz and Cameron Riccardo each went 1-for-2 from the line in the final 26.6 seconds to close out the win.
Mid Valley’s Gabe Tanner and Ricky Vinansky and Tunkhannock’s Ben Chilson all shared game scoring honors with 13 points.
Tanner also had five assists and four steals.
Cameron Riccardo chipped in eight rebounds and four steals.
Chilson also had seven rebounds.
Shane Macko had six rebounds and four steals while Dylan Mateus had four assists and three steals for the Tigers.
Mid Valley completed a sweep for the day and made the Lackawanna League 3-1 against the Wyoming Valley Conference in the event, which grew to two days for the first time this year. The leagues are now even at 5-5 in the Conference Challenge, which has been played in December at Lackawanna College three of the past four seasons.
In other Dec. 18 games at special events:
Elk Lake 48, Nanticoke 37
SCRANTON – Matt Mowry scored all 15 of his points while Elk Lake was overcoming a 10-point halftime deficit and defeating Nanticoke in the first game of the day at the Conference Challenge.
Trevor Graham also scored 15 points and had two of his four 3-pointers during the third quarter. He hit the basket that put Elk Lake ahead to stay, 28-25, while it was holding Tunkhannock scoreless for the first 5:28 of the second half.
Mowry had seven points during the 13-0 run. He then had six more when Elk Lake scored the first eight of the fourth for a 39-30 lead.
The Warriors were better on both ends of the floor in the second half.
“We came out more physical, started talking on defense and got our arms up,” Mowry said.
Teamwork also helped produce more shooting success, according to Elk Lake coach Rich Emmons.
“We started hitting some 3s,” he said, “but we did that because we started playing unselfishly and trying to get our teammates open.”
Nanticoke led by as much as 11 in the second quarter.
“We definitely got off to a slow start,” Emmons said. “They kind of sat back in a zone and took away our penetration and using our bigs.”
At the same time, the Trojans were hitting on the other end.
Justin Spencer had three 3-pointers in the second quarter when Owen Brown hit three baskets from inside the arc while Nanticoke was outscoring Elk Lake, 17-9, for its 25-15 halftime lead.
Spencer added a three-point play for the last points of the third quarter and the last time the Trojans got within one. He finished with 14 points while Brown had 12.
Wyatt Casselbury had eight rebounds while Jake Gustin had six assists for Elk Lake.
Lakeland 56, Lackawanna Trail 43
Nathan Hunt scored 16 points to lead Lakeland to a 56-43 victory over host Lackawanna Trail for the title of the Cal King Tournament.
The Chiefs won twice in less than 24 hours to claim the championship in the three-team event. The tournament, originally scheduled for the standard, four-team tournament bracket, proceeded after the withdrawal of Lake-Lehman, which was in a COVID shutdown.
Hunt had nine points on three 3-pointers in the first quarter to get the Chiefs out to a 19-10 lead. He added a fourth 3-pointer in the fourth quarter.
Joey Dunstone and Antonio Hazelton scored 10 points each in the win.
Brycen Decker scored 26 points for Lackawanna Trail, but the Lions managed just three other field goals.
Dunmore 56, Mount Carmel 43
Kevin Walsh scored 16 points to lead the Bucks to the home-court win in the Coal Cracker Classic.
Adriel DeNaples added 13 points in the win.
The game was tied at halftime before Dunmore took control.
MORE DECEMBER 18 COVERAGE
Mid Valley-Tunkhannock Photo Gallery by Tim Drewes: https://nepasportsnation.com/mid-valley-tunkhannock-boys-basketball-photo-gallery/.
Elk Lake-Nanticoke Photo Gallery by Tim Drewes: https://nepasportsnation.com/elk-lake-nanticoke-boys-basketball-photo-gallery/.
Non-league boys roundup, led by Holy Redeemer vs. Holy Cross: https://nepabasketball.com/2021-22/HSGames/NLBoys1218.
Girls roundup, led by Jim Thorpe vs. Riverside: https://nepabasketball.com/2021-22/HSGames/NLGirls1218.
