By Tom Robinson, NEPABasketball.com
FORMAT: There are three rounds, with higher-seeded teams hosting the first two rounds, before the championship game is played at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. Both finalists advance to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state tournament, which has been returned to its earlier format of 32 teams.
2021 RECAP: Crestwood won the title by forfeit when Abington Heights was unable to play because of COVID precautions. Crestwood defeated Valley View, 71-48, and Abington Heights topped North Pocono, 61-54, in the semifinals.
HIGHEST SEEDS: 1. Pittston Area; 2. North Pocono; 3. Wallenpaupack; 4. Abington Heights.
DIVISION CHAMPION: Wallenpaupack won Division of the Lackawanna League.
RANKED TEAMS: Pittston Area is third and North Pocono fourth among Big School boys teams in the My City Mortgage Super Six Power Rankings of District 2 teams. Wallenpaupack and Abington Heights were ranked prior to this week’s update.
WINNING RECORDS: Pittston Area 17-4, Wallenpaupack 17-5, North Pocono 16-5, Abington Heights 14-7.
BEST OPENER: Crestwood, which has never won a title on the court at the arena, and Abington Heights, which had won there four of the previous five years, never got to meet in last season’s final. The teams, particularly Crestwood, have changed dramatically since then, but will finally meet in a District 2 playoff game during Tuesday’s opener.
KEY GAME: Wallenpaupack took the Lackawanna Division 2 title away from North Pocono with the teams splitting regular-season meetings. North Pocono’s win did not come until after Wallenpaupack had already clinched the title, but it was part of North Pocono earning a higher District 2 Power Rating and therefore the home court for their likely Friday night semifinal matchup. The teams won on each other’s courts with Wallenpaupack opening its league title run Jan. 6 with what was then an upset, 40-36, at North Pocono. The Trojans won at Wallenpaupack, 52-43.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: J.J. Walsh and Dominic Jannuzzi from Pittston Area; Ryan Ruddy and A.J. Nemitz from North Pocono; Jack Smith and Wyatt Peifer from Wallenpaupack; Matt Show and Ryan Nealon from Abington Heights; Zane Dunsmuir and Drew Sechleer from Crestwood; Ben Chilson and Dylan Mateus from Tunkhannock; Tristan Lee from West Scranton; Eli Yusavage from Valley View.
NOTEWORTHY: Injuries have and could still play a role in the fate of the teams in the field. … Pittston Area’s Walsh is a 1,000-point scorer, who, after being slowed by injury and illness earlier in the season, has heated up lately, averaging 23 points during the seven-game winning streak the Patriots bring into the tournament. … Wallenpaupack played the last two games without all-star guard Smith, a starter on the 2020 and district championship team, after he was injured in the loss to North Pocono. An upset loss in that time likely cost the Buckhorns a semifinal home game. … North Pocono recently got Ruddy back from an injury in which the team went 2-3 without him. … Abington Heights was part of a three-way tie for first place in Lackawanna Division 1 going into the final week of the season before losing on the road twice, in overtime to eventual champion Scranton and to North Pocono. … Eighth-seeded Valley View has wins over second-seeded North Pocono and fourth-seeded Abington Heights. The Cougars won three straight late in the season, then lost twice by a total of eight points, after getting Yusavage and Colin Skeen back from injury. … There are nine Class 5A teams in District 2. Wyoming Valley West was the only one that did not qualify for the district tournament.
COMPLETE PAIRINGS
Tuesday’s quarterfinals
8, Valley View (9-13) at 1, Pittston Area (17-4), 7 p.m.
5, Crestwood (9-12) at 4, Abington Heights (14-7), 7 p.m.
6, Tunkhannock (11-11) at 3, Wallenpaupack (17-5), 7 p.m.
7, West Scranton (10-12) at 2, North Pocono (16-5), 7 p.m.
Friday’s quarterfinals
Valley View-Pittston Area winner vs. Crestwood-Abington Heights winner
Tunkhannock-Wallenpaupack winner vs. West Scranton-North Pocono winner
March 4 final
Semifinal winners at Mohegan Sun Arena, 8 p.m.
