HAZLE TWP. – Scranton Prep carried a lead into the fourth quarter before having its season come to an end with a loss to eventual state finalist Berks Catholic 51-47 March 11 in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 4A boys basketball state second-round game.
The Cavaliers led 23-17 at halftime, but the Saints closed to within 39-37 after three quarters.
Zachary Suski and Kingston McCoy led District 3 champion Berks Catholic, which finished 24-4, with 16 points each. Bryce Gumby came off the bench to add 12 points, 10 while the Saints were closing the gap in the third quarter, then two free throws with 20.9 seconds left for a 50-45 lead.
McCoy, Suski and Gumby each hit a pair of 3-pointers.
“Our goal was to make someone other than McCoy beat us,” Scranton Prep coach Larry Reagan said. “He had an alright game, but he did a good job finding his teammates and Gumby ultimately hurt us.”
Sophomore Brody Martin led Scranton Prep (19-8) with 15 points and three steals.
Packy Doherty added 14 points and Ambrose Rossi grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. Brycen Martin had 11 points, seven rebounds, a team-high three assists and two steals.
“We knew they were a ball-control team,” Reagan said. “We knew possessions were going to be limited and we didn’t shoot particularly well, especially from the paint.”
The loss ended a season in which Scranton Prep won the Lackawanna League Division 1 title and reached the District 2 Class 4A final.
“Winning the division is something we haven’t done in eight years,” Reagan said. “It was certainly a nice accomplishment for this group of seniors.”
Scranton Prep 75, Northwestern Lehigh 48
Brycen Martin and Doherty each went 5-for-9 on 3-pointers while combining for 51 points March 7 when Scranton Prep ran past host Northwestern Lehigh in a state tournament opener.
Scranton Prep hit five 3-pointers, three of them by Brycen Martin and one each by Doherty and Brody Martin, while opening a 25-10 lead after one quarter.
Northwestern Lehigh outscored Scranton Prep in the second quarter, but the Cavaliers blew the game open with a 29-4 third quarter that extended the lead to 65-33 and put the game in the running clock of the Mercy Rule.
Brycen Martin went 10-for-18 from the floor while scoring 26 points, grabbing nine rebounds, dishing out six assists and making four steals.
Doherty was 10-for-16 while scoring 25 points.
The Cavaliers hit more than 50 percent of their shots from the floor and nearly 50 percent from beyond the arc.
