Scranton Prep boys PIAA D2 4A champions celebrate with the student body after defeating Dallas Area at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Tony Callaio | For Abington Journal
Scranton Prep senion Brody Martin gets his medal from Prep Head Coach Larry Reagan after defeating Dallas Area for the PIAA D2 4A championships.
Tony Callaio | For Abington Journal
Prep’s Brody Martin hits a foul shot against Dallas Area at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Tony Callaio | For Abington Journal
Dallas Area’s Tyce Mason (2) scored a 3-pointer to start the game against Scranton Prep at Mohegan Sun Arena for the PIAA D2 4A championship game on Saturday afternoon.
Tony Callaio | For Abington Journal
Scranton Prep’s Packy Doherty (20) scores on a reverse lay up against Dallas Area on Saturday afternoon at the Mohegan Sun Arena for the PIAA D2 4A championship.
Tony Callaio | For Abington Journal
Dallas Mountaineer Talan Geskey (35) hits a lay-up with Scranton Prep’s Max McGrath (1) defending.
Tony Callaio | For Abington Journal
Brody Martin (2), of Scranton Prep, blocks the shot of Dallas’ Joey Nocito (1) in first-half action at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Tony Callaio | For Abington Journal
WILKES-BARRE TWP. – Scranton Prep used three streaks of at least 11 points to become the first district team to beat Dallas this season when the Cavaliers dumped the top-seeded Mountaineers 67-52 in the District 2 Class 4A boys basketball championship game Feb. 28 at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
The Cavaliers got 28 points from sophomore point guard Chicky Skoff, along with 20 points and 11 rebounds by Packy Doherty, while taking down the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 and WVC Tournament champions.
Dallas poured in 28 points in the second quarter for a 38-33 halftime lead, but was held to just two points in the third while Scranton Prep surged in front.
“By the time the coaches got in the locker room (at halftime), I think the kids had it figured out,” Scranton Prep coach Larry Reagan said. “ … The players took care of it. They were very vocal.”
Skoff went 9-for-15 to lead 51-percent shooting by the Cavaliers. He was 7-for-10 in the second half to finish with his season scoring high.
Doherty did not have any of his usual 3-pointers, but made his last eight shots from inside the arc. He also grabbed a season-high in rebounds, including 10 on the defensive end.
“I’m really proud of him,” Reagan said. “The first two years he played down here, I don’t think he played up to his standards. This year, he acknowledged the fact that he could have a much bigger impact on this game besides putting the ball in the hole.
“With 11 rebounds, he very clearly did that.”
Four Cavaliers scored in an 11-point streak to a 15-7 lead before Pat Flanagan hit a corner 3-pointer for the Mountaineers to end the first quarter.
“That first quarter, we played terrific,” Reagan said.
Dallas got rolling in the second quarter when Tyce Mason scored seven points and four teammates hit 3-pointers.
The Mountaineers moved in front during a 19-5 run from 5:32 remaining in the second until 1:38 before halftime. That stretch produced the biggest Dallas lead at 35-27.
Skoff hit a long 3-pointer to close the first-half scoring and start a 17-0 Scranton Prep run in which he had the first 15 points.
Scranton Prep kept rolling with a 35-14, second-half advantage that included the game’s last 13 points.
“We were all hitting shots,” said Skoff, who also led the Cavaliers with four steals and four assists. “It was like a domino effect.”
The Cavaliers (20-5) earned a March 6 home game against District 3 third-place finisher Schuylkill Valley (17-9) to begin the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association playoffs.
District playoffs
SCRANTON – Scranton Prep reached the arena by beating Honesdale 70-38 in the quarterfinals and Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 champion Wyoming Area 73-47 in the semifinals.
Doherty scored 21 points and Luke Flanagan hit five 3-pointers to add 19 against Honesdale.
Scranton Prep overcame 35 points by Wyoming Area’s Luke Kopetchny with the help of 30 by Packy Doherty and another strong rebounding effort.
The Cavaliers hit 11 shots from 3-point range and outrebounded Wyoming Area, usually a strong team on the boards, by a 37-26 margin.
“This year, we’re a little smaller, so one of our main emphases is just gang rebounding and then push the ball from there,” Doherty said.
Charlie Skoff, Brody Martin and Max McGrath grabbed six rebounds each.
Skoff came off the bench to score 13 points and grab five of his rebounds on the offensive end. Martin scored 11 points.
Scranton Prep scored the game’s first eight points, then the last 14 of the first quarter for a 22-4 lead.
Recap
Scranton Prep went 12-2 for second place in Lackawanna League Division 1, losing only a pair of games to first-place Abington Heights.
Following the second loss to the Comets, the Cavaliers closed the regular season with three straight wins, putting up 84 points on the road against West Scranton and Wallenpaupack in each of the last two games.
