Welcome to ON THE BLOG for this week.
Wow, what a start to the Lackawanna League season. Fresh off an exciting Holiday Tournament stretch, boys basketball teams put together a wild first weekend of the regular season.
There were impressive performances and surprising outcomes. The first results gave a strong indication that the race for division titles in the Lackawanna League this season will be extremely tight.
Things started with Scranton’s victory over Abington Heights, then continued with North Pocono’s win over West Scranton and Western Wayne’s win over Valley View. All three games were upsets among teams ranked in The Times-Tribune High School Basketball Poll which will have some changes when it is released Monday morning.
Here are our Division Reports:
DIVISION I
Scranton certainly sent a message to the rest of the division on opening night. After a tough loss to Holy Cross in the semifinals of the 69th Lynett Tournament and a hard-fought win over Dunmore in the third-place game where they had a miserable night shooting, the Knights used a balanced attack to beat Abington Heights, which had won 23 straight league games.
KNIGHTS’ NIGHT
SCRANTON — Kevin Lazdowsky did a little bit of everything.
He drove to the basket and scored.
He elevated for rebounds.
He handed out timely passes for quick hoops.
He knocked away passes for steals.
The lanky 6-foot-2 junior hit nine of 10 shots for a game-high 20 points, and chipped in eight rebounds, three assists and three steals to lead No. 7 Scranton to a 56-43 win over No. 6 Abington Heights to open the Lackawanna League Division I regular season Friday.
KNIGHTS’ NIGHT
KEVIN LAZDOWSKY
Scranton | Junior
HS BASKETBALL: Scranton’s Kevin Lazdowsky scored 20 points, had 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in a 56-43 win over Abington Heights
Posted by Joby Fawcett, The Times-Tribune on Friday, January 3, 2020
STANDINGS
|
LEAGUE |
OVERALL |
|
W |
L |
W |
L |
|
|
Scranton Prep |
1 |
0 |
7 |
2 |
|
Scranton |
1 |
0 |
6 |
3 |
|
West Scranton |
0 |
1 |
8 |
2 |
|
Valley View |
0 |
1 |
7 |
3 |
|
Abington Heights |
0 |
1 |
5 |
5 |
A LOOK AHEAD
TUESDAY
Cayden Merrifield
Division I
Scranton vs. West Scranton at Lackawanna College Student Union
Crossovers
Wallenpaupack at Abington Heights
Scranton Prep at North Pocono
Valley View at Honesdale
FRIDAY
Division I
West Scranton at Abington Heights
Scranton at Scranton Prep
Crossovers
North Pocono at Valley View
DIVISION II
Wallenpaupack, which returned the division’s Player of the Year, Elijah Rosenthal, has proven to be as strong as expected.
The Buckhorns are the lone undefeated team in District 2 and, quietly, have some very impressive victories to their credit.
- Defeated Dunmore, 50-36: Dunmore is 4-5 but has lost to Western Wayne, Valley View, Scranton Prep and Scranton by an average of 8.5 points per game.
- Defeated East Stroudsburg South, 64-43: East Stroudsburg South is 9-2 in District 11. It’s wins include a recent win over Parkland, 55-50.
North Pocono defeated West Scranton, 72-49, on Saturday night.
Photo by Christopher Dolan
North Pocono has also emerged as a high-scoring team with a lot of options and talent. The Trojans are 6-4 after a win over West Scranton.
- North Pocono’s losses have come to Dallas, Hazleton Area, Pittston Area and Wyoming Valley West — Teams with a combined record of 20-16 and are by an average of 5.0 points.
North Pocono’s losses have come to Dallas, Hazleton Area, Pittston Area and Wyoming Valley West — Teams with a combined record of 20-16 and are by an average of 5.0 points.
BALANCED ATTACK
- Robert VanBrunt: 14.7 points per game
- Damarco Maglio: 13.9 points per game
- Zach Walsh: 13.8 points per game
- Kollin Leschinsky: 13.0 points per game
- Ryan Ruddy: 11.7 points per game
STANDINGS
|
LEAGUE |
OVERALL |
|
W |
L |
W |
L |
|
|
Wallenpaupack |
1 |
0 |
9 |
0 |
|
Western Wayne |
1 |
0 |
6 |
3 |
|
North Pocono |
1 |
0 |
6 |
4 |
|
Honesdale |
1 |
1 |
6 |
4 |
|
Delaware Valley |
0 |
2 |
3 |
6 |
A LOOK AHEAD
TUESDAY
Division II
Western Wayne at Delaware Valley
Crossovers
Wallenpaupack at Abington Heights
Scranton Prep at North Pocono
Valley View at Honesdale
FRIDAY
Division II
Western Wayne at Wallenpaupack
Crossovers
North Pocono at Valley View
DIVISION III
Holy Cross started the season as the favorite and have looked like an imposing team among any division this season.
The Crusaders already have a win over Scranton, which is 6-3, and Scranton Prep, which is 7-2 and both are leading contenders in Division I.
They also have a 13-point win over Pittston Area, which is 6-3.
MILESTONE
Holy Cross senior Kieran Burrier is closing in on scoring the 1,000th point of his career.
Holy Cross Kieran Burrier.
Photo by Christopher Dolan
|
Year |
Points |
3-pointers |
|
2016-17 |
184 |
8 |
|
2017-18 |
338 |
15 |
|
2018-19 |
378 |
29 |
|
2019-20 |
96 |
5 |
Lakeland has made waves in Division III, as well.
The Chiefs graduated division all-star Jake Curnow, and starters James Lewis and Thomas Pidgeon, while also losing CJ Dippre, a Division I prospect in both football and track who did not come out for basketball this season.
But they have won seven of their first nine games, including tournament championships at the Cal King and Turonis/NBT Classic. In addition, Lakeland has a win over Valley View and Western Wayne, which are a combined 13-3, and a comeback win over Mid Valley.
- Caleb Vigil: Averaging 13.6 points per game
- Nick Bertholf: Averaging 11.1 points per game
IN THE PAINT FEATURE
This week’s feature story in The Sunday Times focused on Riverside four-sport athlete Brandon Reed, who is averaging 16.1 points per game this season.
CLICK HERE TO READ:
Riversides Brandon Reed.
Photo by Jake Danna Stevens
STANDINGS
|
LEAGUE |
OVERALL |
|
W |
L |
W |
L |
|
|
Lakeland |
1 |
0 |
7 |
2 |
|
Riversde |
1 |
0 |
5 |
4 |
|
Dunmore |
1 |
0 |
4 |
5 |
|
Holy Cross |
0 |
0 |
8 |
1 |
|
Old Forge |
0 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
|
Mid Valley |
0 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
|
Carbondale Area |
0 |
1 |
3 |
6 |
A LOOK AHEAD
TUESDAY
Division III
Riverside at Mid Valley
Old Forge at Holy Cross
Dunmore at Carbondale Area
WEDNESDAY
Crossover
Elk Lake at Lakeland
FRIDAY
Division III
Carbondale Area at Old Forge
Holy Cross at Lakeland
Mid Valley at Dunmore
Crossover
Riverside at Mountain View
DIVISION IV
Nico Berrios
It has been a struggle for teams in Division IV to start the season. And that was expected because programs suffered big hits to their starting lineups through graduation from last season.
Lackawanna Trail earned the preseason nod and is the only team in the division with a winning record at this point.
The Lions got a big game and a big shot from Nico Berrios to edge Elk Lake, 59-57, in the division opener Saturday night. Berrios buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the deciding points.
Josh Rzucidlo had 19 points and Richard Helbing added 10 for the Lions.
STANDINGS
|
DIVISION |
OVERALL |
|
W |
L |
W |
L |
|
|
Lackawanna Trail |
1 |
0 |
5 |
4 |
|
Forest City |
1 |
0 |
2 |
5 |
|
Mountain View |
1 |
0 |
2 |
6 |
|
Susquehanna |
0 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
|
Elk Lake |
0 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
|
Blue Ride |
0 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
|
Montrose |
0 |
1 |
0 |
9 |
A LOOK AHEAD
TUESDAY
Division IV
Montrose at Susquehanna
Forest City at Blue Ridge
Mountain View at Lackawanna Trail
WEDNESDAY
Crossover
Elk Lake at Lakeland
FRIDAY
Division IV
Blue Ridge at Montrose
Susquehanna at Elk Lake
Lackawanna Trail at Forest City
Crossover
Riverside at Mountain View
Joby Fawcett has covered high school sports — including football, girls and boys volleyball, girls and boys tennis, girls and boys swimming, boys basketball, girls and boys track and field, and girls and boys lacrosse — for 22 years. The High School Sports Blog offers deeper insights plus statistical and historical information for fans and features photos, videos and graphics along with Top 5 polls for tennis and volleyball. Contact: jbfawcett@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5367; @sportsTT
