EDITOR’S NOTE: While NEPABasketball.com compiles more complete reports, here is a quick recap of Tuesday’s highlights.
The Carbondale boys team used Opening Night of the postseason to come up with the significant win it has been chasing all season.
Nanticoke’s Riley Baird used it to nearly duplicate what may have been the season’s single greatest offensive achievement.
The Chargers and Trojanettes were the only two road winners as the District 2 playoffs began Tuesday night with a dozen quarterfinal games.
Carbondale, which was winless in 12 Lackawanna League Division 3 games, went on the road and opened a 16-point halftime lead on the way to a 54-45 victory over Lakeland in Class 3A boys.
Nanticoke trailed by 15 at halftime before Baird scored all 20 of her team’s fourth-quarter points to open the door for a 60-56, overtime victory at Holy Redeemer in Class 4A girls.
Killian Bannon and Tyler Donato scored 14 points each to lead Carbondale, which led 15-2 after one quarter and 25-9 at halftime.
Antonio Hazelton led Lakeland with 24 points.
Baird had her second 20-point fourth quarter of the season. She scored a school-record 23 in the quarter to lead a comeback that resulted in Lake-Lehman’s only Wyoming Valley Conference loss.
The senior guard put up 42 that night and had 36 more Tuesday night while leading a rally that erased a deficit that had reach 16 points in the third quarter.
Other highlights from the playoff openers:
The three Class 5A boys games that were played were all decided by six points or fewer while the West Scranton at North Pocono game was postponed a day because of a power outage.
Abington Heights knocked out defending champion Crestwood, 41-35; top-seeded Pittston Area held off Valley View, 49-47; and Wallenpaupack, the only division champion in the field, came from nine down at halftime to defeat Tunkhannock, 34-30.
Ryan Nealon scored 11 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter for Abington Heights, which never trailed but needed to break three ties in the second half.
Nealon hit three 3-pointers and had a shot at a three-point play on his other fourth-quarter basket.
The game was the first chance for Abington Heights to play Crestwood after it had to bow out of last year’s tournament because of COVID precautions, causing the championship game to be canceled and the title to be awarded to Crestwood.
J.J. Walsh scored 20 points to lead Pittston Area, which won its eighth straight and will host Abington Heights in Friday’s semifinals.
Tunkhannock led Wallenpaupack, 20-11, when Dylan Mateus hit a shot from nearly midcourt at the halftime buzzer.
Jack Smith scored 12 points, Wyatt Peifer had all 11 of his points in the second half and Wallenpaupack went 7-for-8 from the line in the fourth quarter to complete the comeback.
Mateus had four first-half 3-pointers and finished with 14 points.
Dunmore routed Wyoming Seminary, 61-20, in the other Class 3A quarterfinal.
Adriel DeNaples scored 15 points and Kevin Walsh 12 to lead a dozen Dunmore scorers.
The Bucks held the Blue Knights scoreless in the first quarter, opening a 10-0 lead.
Antek Evan led Wyoming Seminary with six points.
Dunmore travels to Riverside and Carbondale to Holy Redeemer to face the two teams that received byes in the quarterfinals.
Blue Ridge edged Old Forge, 45-43, and Lackawanna Trail routed Mountain View, 56-20, in Class 2A girls.
Blue Ridge will go to top-seeded Holy Cross and Lackawanna Trail to Elk Lake in Friday’s quarterfinals.
Old Forge’s five-year streak of district final appearances came to an end in a game that close throughout.
Blue Ridge broke through with its first playoff win in five years after being outscored 182-38 in three playoff games over the past four years.
Emma Button scored 15 points and assisted Lilly Bleck’s game-winning basket with 5.8 seconds left.
Button, who made one of two free throws with six-tenths of a second left, and Libby Zick added 12 points each.
Megan Gatto (17), Amaralis Thiel (16) and Mackenzie Schirg (13) all scored in double figures for Lackawanna Trail.
The three powerhouse teams in Class 4A girls all won big.
Dunmore, Scranton Prep and Lake-Lehman are seeded 1-2-3 in the tournament and ranked in the same order among Big School girls teams in the My City Mortgage Super Six Power Rankings of District 2 teams.
Dunmore pounded Berwick, 53-16; Scranton Prep ripped Honesdale, 62-23; and Lake-Lehman routed Wyoming Area, 51-22.
The Lady Bucks led 22-3 after one quarter and 36-6 at halftime.
Mia Blume and Moriah Murray scored 12 points each for Dunmore. Ciera Toomey had 10 and Sophia Talutto 9.
Lizzie Neville scored 22 points and Maria Belardi added 12 for Scranton Prep.
Brenna Hunt, Ella Wilson and Lia Keefe all scored 11 points for Lake-Lehman.
Lake-Lehman goes to Scranton Prep and Nanticoke is at Dunmore in Friday’s semifinals.
Williamsport routed Delaware Valley, 48-14, in a District 2
MORE TO COME
Return to this website for more extensive reports from Tuesday’s action.
