SCRANTON – Not much separated the Old Forge and Susquehanna boys’ basketball teams this season, but the Blue Devils found a way to come out on top each time.

When Old Forge completed the season sweep with Friday night’s 47-42 victory, it used the championship game rematch to avenge a loss to the Sabers in last year’s final.

Jimmie Aversa led a rally to start the second half and Old Forge hit five of six free throws in the final 62 seconds to win the district championship for the sixth time in seven years.

“We can’t do anything about what happened last year,” Old Forge coach Al Semenza said. “We can’t take the game back. They beat us.

“But, we waited. We waited a year for this.”

Susquehanna had its own reason to seek revenge.

Aversa had scored 10 fourth-quarter points February 10 when Old Forge came to Susquehanna and used 27 points in the fourth quarter to rally from five down and win on Dave Chromey’s 3-pointer at the buzzer.

“We felt we let one get away,” Susquehanna coach Lawrence Tompkins said. “We had that as motivation.”

The teams were never separated by more than five points, a margin Old Forge only reached when Brendan Wahl hit the second of two free throws with 15.2 seconds left for the game’s final point.

“I’m proud of the way our guys played,” Tompkins said after the Sabers finished 13-11, including a second-place tie in the second half of the Lackawanna League Division 4 season. “We talked the whole last 48 hours about how if we played the game hard, we could accept the result.”

The Sabers outworked the Blue Devils on the boards, winning the rebounding battle, 38-26, including a 17-point, 15-rebound effort by Cole Mallery. Mark Zappe added six rebounds in less than 11 minutes off the bench while Zach Vaughn and Dan Biegert added five each.

Susquehanna, however, went just 2-for-8 from the line in the first three quarters and 5-for-12 for the game. Old Forge was 9-for-13 from the line, including getting its last six points there in eight attempts.

The game featured six lead changes and five ties, three of which came in the first quarter.

When Wahl scored with five seconds left and Biegert’s runner on the other end was ruled to have come just after the buzzer, Old Forge had a 14-12 lead after one quarter.

Susquehanna started the second quarter with a 9-2 run for its biggest lead, 21-16, with 2:31 left in the half.

The Sabers led, 23-20, at halftime.

Aversa, who only had a game-opening 3-pointer in the first half, did all the scoring in a 10-4 run over the first 2:45 of the third quarter. He went 4-for-4, including a pair of 3-pointers on the way to 13 of his 16 points in the second half.

“Aversa had that two- or three-minute run there in the second half where we just couldn’t get over the screens,” Tompkins said.

Mallery converted an Andrzej Tomczyk pass with 1:56 left in the third for the last Susquehanna lead, 33-32.

Old Forge answered with the final five points of the quarter.

The Sabers closed within a point three times in the fourth – twice on free throws by Mallery and once on a basket by Vaughn.

Old Forge protected the ball well and when Susquehanna had to foul late, the Blue Devils converted.

Wheeler came off the bench for seven points and Biegert had five assists in the loss.

Wahl, who had eight assists and three steals, and Brian Tomasetti added 11 points each for Old Forge.

The top-seeded Sabers had to get through a surprisingly tight game to reach the final.

Mallery dominated an undersized MMI Prep team in a 48-43 semifinal victory February 26 at Scranton High School.

The senior went 11-for-13 from both the floor and the line while scoring 33 points and grabbing nine rebounds. He made his last eight shots from the floor, including all seven in the second half, and his last six free throws.

Tomczyk added seven points, eight assists and three steals, scoring the 1,500th point of his career in the process.

MMI got 22 points from Cory Rogers. Aaron Kollar added 11 points while leading the team in assists (eight), rebounds (five) and steals (four).

The Sabers never trailed and were only tied once, 5-5, midway through the first quarter.

After Kollar’s drive cut the gap to 33-32, Mallery scored six straight points in the final 1:55 of the third quarter for a 39-32 lead. He finished off the big night by scoring 14 points total in the final 10 minutes.

MMI got back within a point two more times late, but Mallery answered each time while scoring the team’s final six points. He powered his way inside for a 44-41 lead with 1:45 left. He then hit a layup with 32 seconds left and two free throws with 15.5 remaining for the game’s final four points.

Old Forge reached the final with a 59-37 romp over Forest City February 26 at Lackawanna College.

Brian Tomasetti scored 16 points to lead Old Forge. He had 14 in the middle two quarters when the Blue Devils stretched a 13-5 lead to 53-24.

Vince DeLucy led Forest City with 19 points. Matt Nevins added nine, including half of the team’s 14 first-half points. Adam Kowalewski scored all eight of his in the fourth quarter.

WEEK IN REVIEW

SCRANTON – The Forest City girls and Elk Lake boys joined the Susquehanna boys in falling one game short of reaching the state tournament.

Old Forge defeated Forest City, 50-26, in the District 2 Class A championship game February 26 at Lackawanna College, the former Scranton CYC.

This is the first year since the merger of the old District 12 into District 2 that District 2 does not have two teams going to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament in Class A.

Elk Lake dropped games in the Class AA semifinals and consolation final to finish fourth in the district. The top three teams reached the state tournament in Class AA.

Eventual champion Holy Cross defeated Elk Lake, 50-30, in the semifinals February 26 at Valley View. Mid Valley downed Elk Lake, 75-48, for third place Saturday at Carbondale.

By the time Saturday was over, the winter sports season for Susquehanna County athletes was over with the elimination of the final basketball teams, wrestlers and swimmers.

Tori Tansley had 18 points and nine rebounds to lead Old Forge to its victory over Forest City.

Lauren Carey added 11 points.

Rhyan Barnic scored eight points, hitting two 3-pointers while five of her teammates made one each.

Cassandra Bendyk scored 10 of her 12 points for Forest City in the first half.

Forest City cut a 24-12 halftime deficit to 26-18 in the third quarter. Tansley did all the scoring in a 6-2 finish to the third quarter then added five more in the first 5:40 of the fourth quarter.

The game was the last for Forest City coach Carl Urbas, who retired. Earlier this season, he passed the 500-win mark for his career.

The Lady Foresters finished 12-10.

Holy Cross handled Elk Lake in a battle of Lackawanna League Small School boys’ division champions.

Josh Kosin led Holy Cross with 22 points and 13 rebounds.

Tanner Reyan led the Warriors with 11.

Ronny Tomasetti scored 24 points while Matt Tanner and Alex Prislupsky added 15 each for Mid Valley Saturday.

Tomasetti had eight points and Tanner five in the third quarter when Mid Valley outscored Elk Lake, 20-7, to stretch its lead to 55-36.

Rob Heft led Elk Lake with 20 points. Reyan added 13.

Elk Lake, the Division 4 champion, finished 24-6.

In high school wrestling, Zach Edwards came within a win of qualifying for the state tournament with a fourth-place finish at 132 pounds and Dalton Hogle reached the Class AA Northeast Regional semifinals at 126 pounds for Blue Ridge.

Blue Ridge finished 23rd out of 38 teams in the tournament at Williamsport.

Hogle won his opener Friday night with a pin of Central Columbia’s Lewis Williams in 1:43. He lost two straight Saturday, including a 3-0 decision to Montgomery’s Kobe Galentine in the consolation semifinals.

Edwards went 2-2 to finish his junior season with a 27-8 record. Both losses came in low-scoring decisions against Williamson’s Trevor McWhorter.

After falling, 6-2, Edwards came back to reach the consolation final by edging Nathan Jones of South Williamsport, 2-1, then pinning Jesse Shannon of Central Columbia in 3:58.

McWhorter eliminated Edwards with a 4-2 win for third place.

Blue Ridge’s Troy Maby (126), Elk Lake’s Isaiah Ofalt (182) and Montrose’s John Shaffer (285) each lost both of their matches.

Ofalt was eliminated in a two-point loss. Both of Shaffer’s losses were by decision.

Western Wayne led District 2 wrestlers, tying for fifth place with 41 points. Benton won the team title with 93.

Unbeaten Lake-Lehman 132-pounded Austin Harry was the lone champion from District 2.

In swimming, the Elk Lake boys finished eighth out of 13 teams in the District 2 Class AA Championships.

Dallas outscored Scranton Prep, 262-196, for the team title.

Elk Lake was last among 17 girls’ teams with two points.

Holy Redeemer beat out Scranton Prep, 243-201 ½, for the team championship.

COLLEGE CORNER

Shippensburg University’s Cody DeBoer finished in the top four in the long jump at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships for the third time.

The senior from Montrose jumped a season-best 22-9 ¼.

DeBoer was a Division II All-American in the long jump in both the 2011 indoor and outdoor seasons.

THE WEEK AHEAD

The PIAA state wrestling championships are set for Thursday through Saturday in Hershey.

In basketball, the PIAA tournament opens with first-round games Friday and Saturday.

All eight District 2 champions and 11 of the 15 teams representing the district came from the Lackawanna League.

Abington Heights (AAA), Holy Cross (AA) and Old Forge (A) open close to home in state boys’ games. Scranton won AAAA but fell to District 4 champion Williamsport in the combined tournament and did not reach state play.

Wallenpaupack (AAAA), Honesdale (AAA), Dunmore (A) and Old Forge (A) are the District 2 girls’ champions, who will all play within the district in their first state game.

TOM ROBINSON writes a weekly local sports column for the Susquehanna County Transcript. He can be reached online at RobbyTR@aol.com.

CARL EDWARDS IS BACK

Carl Edwards broke a 70-race winless streak at Phoenix. Furnished by NASCAR

AVONDALE, Ariz—It had been 70 races since Edwards had done his traditional back flip in victory lane, but after winning Sunday’s Sprint Cup Subway 500, Edwards proved he still has the driving and athletic skills needed to get the job done

Edwards battled Jimmie Johnson for 69 laps, a late-race caution, and dwindling fuel on the way to victory.

“We’re definitely back,” said Edwards. “You can bet on that. This win is for Jack Roush. He’s the man that never lost hope.

“I don’t really know where to start, but I’ve got to give credit to the entire team. They did an awesome job today. I knew we had a fast car, but with Jimmie on my tail, I knew I had to drive a great race there at the end.”

Jimmie Johnson remained second from the time of a restart on lap 243 of the 312-lap race until it ended. He barely beat out Denny Hamlin, who finished third.

Johnson refused comment after the race, only saying what a great job his team did. As one fan remarked after the race, “Jimmie, “the Vanilla man” has won so many races that coming in second isn’t much of a thrill to him.”

Denny Hamlin was running sixth as the cars went into turn 3 on the final lap. He cut across the infield, passing Keselowski, and almost getting Johnson.

“It was the guys in the pits that gave me this great finish,” said Hamlin. “We had just an average car, but we certainly overachieved today.”

Brad Keselowski raced hard, but had to settle for fourth.

“It was a solid day,” said Keselowski. “We didn’t have the best car, but we had a good one. We raced hard. I thought we had a shot at winning, but we just came up short.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who came in fifth, led several laps.

“We used strategy to get up front,” he said. “The car was fast, but I lost the lead to Carl on pit road when the 13-car got in front of me. I had to slow down and that cost me positions. Once I got on the track, I knew it was going to be hard to make up what I had lost.”

Clint Bowyer was sixth, followed by Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, and Jeff Burton.

Danica Patrick had a right front tire blow out during lap 186, sending her into the outside wall. As she bounced off the wall, she was struck in the left side by David Ragan, and finished 39th.

Top-10 leaders after 2 of 36: 1. Johnson-90, 2. Earnhardt-82, 3. Keselowski-82, 4. Bowyer-72, 5. Hamlin-72, 6. Biffle-66, 7. Martin-65, 8. Stenhouse-60, 9. Gordon-60, 10. Almirola-60.

ROWDY WINS NATIONWIDE RACE

AVONDALE, Ariz.—Kyle Busch was determined to win Saturday’s Nationwide race.

He overcame a pit road speeding penalty, several cautions that kept bunching the field, and Brad Keselowski, who in the past has found magic out front on old tires.

Busch lost the top spot briefly by pitting under caution on Lap 152, as Keselowski and three other drivers remained on the track, but he regained the lead on Lap 164, clearing Keselowski as the cars streaked into Turn 3.

Busch stayed out front the rest of the way. The victory was his first in the No. 54 Toyota and a record 52nd in the Nationwide Series.

“It's great to be back, working with (crew chief) Adam (Stevens) and these guys,” said Busch, who was winless last year in the Nationwide Series driving for his own team. “It was a bummer deal not to be able to get a win last year. It's a phenomenal day for us to get back to Victory Lane, to feel the taste of it again.”

Keselowski held second by stretching his fuel to the end without pitting. Justin Allgaier ran third and leaves Phoenix tied for the series lead with Sam Hornish Jr., who came home seventh. Trevor Bayne and Elliott Sadler completed the top five.

Top-10 points leaders after 2 of 33: 1. Hornish-79, 2. Allgaier-79, 3. Scott-73, 4. Sadler-69, 5. Kligerman-65, 6. Smith-65, 7. Larson-63, 8. Piquet-62, 9. Dillon-61, 10. Bowman-54.

WILL THE NASCAR UPSWING CONTINUE

The 2013 NASCAR racing season has started off on a high note.

For the first time in several years, the Daytona race was almost a sellout.

Television ratings jumped nearly 24 per cent.

Danica Patrick seems to have sparked new fan interest in the sport.

But will the growth sustain itself in light of the present economy and current problems associated with racing.

“The number of races we attend is determined by the money that is available,” said James Kendrick of Myrtle Beach, SC. “We made four last year, but this year we had to cut our schedule back. We aren’t experiencing any serious economic hardships, it’s just that a dollar doesn’t buy as much as it used to.

“Our motorhome gets about six miles to the gallon on gas. Gas increased about fifty-cents a gallon over last year, so our costs went up even before we left home.

“There is drama, but the actual racing doesn’t provide the thrills it did in the past. Our two sons prefer to stay at home.

“It's a commitment going to a NASCAR race. Getting everything ready, then driving 400 miles or more is a big deal, and an expensive proposition.”

A weakening economy and a lack of compelling "storylines" as races became safer and driver personalities grew more restrained have certainly affected the sport.

While NASCAR has an entire public relations department trying to figure out how to market the races to younger people; Hispanics, and African-Americans, it hasn’t been successful. Like the two Kendrick brothers, most young white males aren’t buying into the sport.

Danica Patrick’s early exposure after winning the Daytona 500 pole certainly turned some heads, but unless she is able to “run with the boys,” her fan base and popularity is not going to hold.

“The Phoenix race gave us a good baseline of what we needed to do,” said Patrick. “Tony (Gibson, crew chief) and I are still trying to figure out how to get the most out of our car. We still have a lot to work on.”

The economic decline in particular has hit the hardest, with many better-paid manufacturing and construction jobs disappearing, as fans are left without the disposable income to attend races.

Wall Street Analysts advise tracks to look at different propositions, to try and draw people back, or to at least stall for more time until the economy improves. Unfortunately, their lower-middle class base of support is getting hammered anew, this time by a combination of an increase in payroll taxes, higher gasoline prices, and rising healthcare.

I think the biggest question in the mix is whether NASCAR is simply becoming less popular generally, as drivers have become more sophisticated and restrained.

Kyle Petty said on SPEED, that in the old days, drivers like Dale Earnhardt Sr. were seen as more "blue collar," the kind of people who had the same pastimes and the same roots as the fans in the stands. But as the sport got bigger and more lucrative, drivers were forced to present a more clean-cut image acceptable to their corporate sponsors.

NASCAR must accept the responsibility for that shift, given its driver policy.

In an article in USA Today, Richard Walter quoted a fan as saying, “When I’m hungry and crave a sandwich, I don’t go to a hardware store.”

The racing fans I talk with seek and demand emotion, not polished data and fine-tuned speeches.

How well NASCAR fares in the future will certainly be based in part on our economy, but they must provide real excitement, not a facsimile of emotions.

WEEKEND RACING: It’s on to the fast city of Las Vegas’ 1.5-mile oval for the Nationwide and Sprint teams. If you’re in a hurry, or want to miss the traffic, you can catch a helicopter before and after the race for only $850. You can still purchase a good three-day seat for $245. A cheaper one in the economy section of the main grandstand is only $215. Of course those prices are for advance purchase tickets. The trucks do not race again until Apr. 6.

Sat., Mar. 9, Nationwide Series, race 3 of 33; starting time: 4 pm ET; TV: ESPN2.

Sun., Mar. 10, Sprint Cup, race 3 of 36, starting time: 3 pm ET; TV: FOX.

Racing Trivia Question: Who owns the Las Vegas track?

Last Week’s Question: When was the first NASCAR race at Phoenix International Raceway? Answer. The first race was Oct. 6, 1988.

You may contact the Racing Reporter at hodges@race500.com.