Lackawanna League basketball has realigned from four divisions to three for the two-year cycle that begins this winter.
When league play begins, for both boys and girls teams, with one game in December, Division 1 will expand from five to eight teams by absorbing all but two members of the old Division 2.
Delaware Valley, North Pocono and Wallenpaupack will join Abington Heights, Scranton, Scranton Prep, Valley View and West Scranton.
Lackawanna Trail is in Division 3, which is made up of the seven teams that were in Division 4 a year ago, plus Carbondale. The eight-team division includes the six Susquehanna County schools.
Division 2 will now include the other six schools that were in Division 3 a year ago, plus Honesdale and Western Wayne, which were previously in Division 2 of the four-division format.
Dunmore, Holy Cross, Lakeland, Mid Valley, Old Forge and Riverside remain as division rivals.
The boys league opens Dec. 19 followed by the girls league playing Dec. 20.
LEAGUE RACES
Scranton Prep appears to be the Lackawanna Division 1 favorite for both boys and girls basketball.
Three defending district champions are expected to battle in Division 1 and two more are together in Division 2 on the boys side.
Scranton Prep won District 2 Class 4A last season on the way to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association semifinals rates a slight edge over teams coming off 20-win seasons.
Abington Heights, which was unbeaten into the state quarterfinals, and Scranton won district championships in 5A and 6A.
The Comets, Knights and Valley View could all factor into a tight, four-way race.
Holy Cross, a state finalist in Class 2A last season, could have several battles ahead with Riverside as the top two teams in the new Division 2. The Crusaders, who won Division 3 last season, have moved up to Class 3A where Riverside is the defending champion.
Elk Lake is the favorite in Division 3. Mountain View and last year’s Division 4 champion Blue Ridge are the top threats.
Scranton Prep lost a league girls game for the first time in seven seasons last year, but still won another Division 1 title.
Scranton, the team that beat the Classics and won District 2 Class 5A, could be the best of the rest although Valley View and Abington Heights could be right with the Knights. North Pocono and Wallenpaupack make this a deep division.
The move from the old Division 2 could put Honesdale in position to challenge last season’s Division 3 champion Dunmore now that they are together in the new Division 2.
Mountain View is a heavy favorite to win another title, now in Division 3.
COLLEGE SHOWCASE
The wealth of girls basketball talent in District 2 will be on display in a new event, the Top Tier College Showcase, Dec. 13-15 at the Lackawanna College Student Union.
A total of 11 games, featuring 19 teams, will be played. The format calls for the top teams from District 2 to face a series of out-of-state opponents, with the lineup of teams featuring college prospects.
Scranton Prep and Abington Heights will both participate in the event.
After a single game Dec. 14, the six-game Dec. 14 schedule includes Scranton Prep playing Plainfield, N.J. at 4:15 p.m.
The event wraps up with four games Dec. 15, the last of which sends Abington Heights against West Orange, N.J.
3-POINT SHOOTOUT
Jenna Hillebrand, a Scranton Prep all-stater from the Abingtons, and Old Forge’s Ryan DeMarco won the 3-Point Shooting Contest in conjunction with Coaches vs. Cancer Media Day.
