By Tom Robinson, NEPABasketball.com
FORMAT: The eight-team, three-round tournament uses home courts of higher seeds in the quarterfinals and semifinals before moving to neutral courts for the final and third-place game. The third-place game, at a site to be determined, is needed to decide the district’s third and final qualifier into the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 4A state tournament. The final will be at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
2021 RECAP: Top-seeded Scranton Prep defeated third-seeded, 57-49, in the final for the only available state-berth in the COVID-shortened tournament. Mid Valley’s 57-45, semifinal victory over second-seeded Dallas was the only win by a lower-seeded team in the seven tournament games.
HIGHEST SEEDS: 1, Dallas; 2, Mid Valley; 3, Scranton Prep; 4, Nanticoke.
REGULAR-SEASON CHAMPIONS: Dallas won the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 title in a playoff with Hazleton Area, then won the WVC Tournament title, again beating Hazleton Area in the final. Mid Valley won the Lackawanna League Division 3 title in a playoff with Mid Valley.
RANKED TEAMS: Dallas is ranked first and Mid Valley is sixth among Big School boys teams in the My City Mortgage Super Six Power Rankings of District 2 teams. Scranton Prep was ranked early in the season.
WINNING RECORDS: Dallas 21-3, Mid Valley 19-4, Scranton Prep 13-8, Nanticoke 13-10.
BEST OPENER: Neighboring rivals Nanticoke and Hanover Area made the two biggest in-season turnarounds in the Wyoming Valley Conference. They each started 1-7. Nanticoke wound up 10-2 in WVC Division 2, losing only to champion Holy Redeemer. Hanover Area recovered to 7-5 and 11-11, but has not yet caught up to its rival. Nanticoke won, 52-40, at Hanover Area in January, then, 60-54, on its home court in the regular-season finale for both. Payton Kepp hit five 3-pointers and scored 21 points to lead Nanticoke to the win in the latest meeting.
KEY GAME: The District 2 Power Ratings formula used to determine qualification and seeding for its tournaments says that Mid Valley and Scranton Prep are closer to being equal than any two teams in District 2. Mid Valley finished ahead by the narrowest of margins giving it the home court for the likely semifinal matchup Saturday, which would also be a rematch of last season’s district final. Mid Valley also has the better record, but Scranton Prep is postseason tested, playing better late in the season and may have gained from the preparation of facing a tougher schedule. While the Cavaliers play mostly larger schools as a Lackawanna Division 1 member, Mid Valley plays all smaller schools in its Lackawanna Division 3 schedule. Scranton Prep is 2-0 against Class 4A teams and has only played one smaller school. Mid Valley is 1-0 in 4A play against winless Western Wayne and has played just four larger schools.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Austin Finarelli, Nick Nocito and Michael Cumbo from Dallas; Gabe Tanner, Danny Nemitz and Ricky Vinansky from Mid Valley; Robert Rossi and Andrew Ferguson from Scranton Prep; Jaidyn Johnson, Kepp and Chris Johnson from Nanticoke; Elijah Noe and Mike Merth from Hanover Area; Dane Schutter from Wyoming Area; Cole Morio from Lake-Lehman.
NOTEWORTHY: Dallas has outscored opponents by an average of 24.9 points per game during the district’s longest active winning streak – 15 games. The Mountaineers opened with a 77-58 win at Scranton Prep for one of the dozen times they scored at least 72 points. … Four-year Dallas guards Finarelli and Nocito reached the 1,000-point mark less than 24 hours apart. … Finarelli has developed into the WVC’s most explosive scorer. He had 17 points in 5:40 while scoring 35 in the opener against Scranton Prep and scored 18 points in less than 12 minutes to break open the WVC Tournament championship game with Hazleton Area. In between, he has put together several similar outbursts. … Tanner shot 9-for-15 and had 22 points, 13 rebounds, 5 blocked shots and 3 steals in Mid Valley’s championship game victory over Holy Cross. The 6-foot-4 sophomore leads the Spartans in points (13.6), rebounds (7.2), steals (2.2) and blocks (1.2). … Rossi had a double-double in last year’s district final with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Tanner had 22 points in the loss. … Tanner and Wyoming Area’s Schutter have each been invited to showcase events for top players in the Class of 2024. Tanner was one of the top performers last summer at the CP3 Rising Stars National Camp in North Carolina. Schutter is preparing to head to the Kenny Anderson Showcase in Ohio in June. … Honesdale’s Nathan Hugaboom had six 3-pointers in each of the team’s last two games. … There are 10 Class 4A teams in District 2. Lake-Lehman and Honesdale beat out Berwick and Western Wayne for the last two spots in the field.
COMPLETE PAIRINGS
Wednesday’s quarterfinals
8, Honesdale (4-18) at 1, Dallas (21-3), 7 p.m.
5, Hanover Area (11-11) at 4, Nanticoke (13-10), 7 p.m.
6, Wyoming Area (8-13) at 3, Scranton Prep (13-8), 7 p.m.
7, Lake-Lehman (6-13) at 2, Mid Valley (19-4), 7 p.m.
Saturday’s semifinals
Honesdale-Dallas winner vs. Hanover Area-Nanticoke winner, 1 p.m.
Wyoming Area-Scranton Prep winner vs. Lake-Lehman/Mid Valley winner, 1 p.m.
March 1 third-place game
Semifinal losers at neutral site
March 5 final
Semifinal winners at Mohegan Sun Arena, 4 p.m.
