Blue Ridge’s Jeff Morris received the Blue team Most Valuable Player plaque for leading all players with 19 points in the March 28 Lackawanna League all-star game before leaving in the third quarter with a knee injury (Tom Robinson photo)
Susquehanna twins Tyler and Taylor Williams each played prominent roles in their teams winning Lackawanna League senior basketball all-star games on consecutive nights.
Tyler Williams joined team Most Valuable Player Jeff Morris from Blue Ridge as two of the top three scorers when the Blue beat the Red, 106-102, in the boys’ game March 28 at Valley View High School.
Taylor Williams hit all three of her shots during an 82-second outburst that made her the highest scorer in a 36-point, third-quarter rally that helped the Orange beat the Maroon, 98-95, in overtime in the girls’ game March 27 at Forest City.
BOYS’ ALL-STAR GAME
ARCHBALD – The boys’ game featured players from Divisions 1 and 4 combining on the Blue team in the win over the Red, which consisted of players from Divisions 2 and 3.
The small school players did their share in producing the win.
Morris led the way as five Susquehanna County players combined to contribute 43 points, 28 rebounds and nine assists to the win.
“I had a great time,” Morris said.
Blue Ridge’s Morris made all three of his 3-point attempts and was 8-for-12 total while leading all scorers with 19 points.
Morris did not miss a shot while scoring nine of the Blue’s 20 points in the second quarter. He finished 7-for-9 in the first half with 16 points and all four of his rebounds.
“I wanted to prove to myself that I belonged,” Morris said.
When Morris was on the floor, the Blue outscored the Red, 39-29, in 12:08.
Tyler Williams brought a clear intensity to the game that helped him lead all players in rebounds while producing the only double-double. He finished with 13 points, 12 rebounds and a blocked shot.
Elk Lake’s Ben Woolcock joined Morris in the starting lineup. He had five points, three rebounds, three assists and one steal. His three assists tied for second most in the game.
Montrose’s Brendan Buck was the game’s leading offensive rebounder with five. He finished with two points, eight total rebounds and two assists.
Mountain View’s Matt Lavin had four points, a rebound, two assists and a blocked shot.
Morris and Woolcock helped the Blue jump out in front early, building a lead they held for well more than 37 of the game’s 40 minutes.
Woolcock hit a 3-pointer and Abington Heights 7-footer Seth Maxwell had six points and five rebounds to help support Morris in the fast start.
Morris had seven points, including a 3-pointer and a dunk in transition for a 16-7 lead going into the game’s first substitutions with 5:18 left in the 10-minute first quarter.
When the team’s were trading the lead late in the second quarter, Morris scored baskets that put the Blue in front four times in 2:42, twice creating lead changes and twice breaking ties.
Morris re-entered the game midway through the third quarter and scored his last points on a 3-pointer from the left corner for a 63-57 lead with 3:20 left in the third quarter.
Less than a minute later, Morris landed awkwardly on a dunk attempt and left the game with a left knee injury.
Williams replaced him and took it from there. He scored 11 of his points in the second half.
Maxwell scored 17 points for the Blue, including the team’s last five points to clinch the win.
West Scranton’s Cole Stetzar, who won the pregame 3-Point Shooting Contest, had 12 assists.
Stetzar beat Mid Valley’s Matt Kalinowski in a shootout after each had made 14 shots in one minute.
Woolcock made 12 shots to finish third out of 29 players.
Delaware Valley’s Shane Acoveno made his last eight shots while scoring 16 points over the final three quarters to earn Red MVP honors.
GIRLS’ ALL-STAR GAME
FOREST CITY – Susquehanna coach Errol Mannick and two of his players, Taylor Williams and Lauren Soden, were on the winning Orange team in the girls’ game at Forest City.
The other Susquehanna County players were on the Maroon team, coached by Scranton’s P.J. Hughes.
The Maroon team had players from Blue Ridge, Elk Lake and Forest City. It had players from all four division champions – Scranton, North Pocono, Dunmore and Forest City – as well as West Scranton, Honesdale, Carbondale and Old Forge.
The Orange overcame a half dozen players from the division championship teams, the loss of Riverside senior and Binghamton University recruit Lizzy Spinder who was out of the area and the absence of Abington Heights’ Nicole Getz because of an injury.
Maroon opened a 50-34 lead in the second quarter before the Orange scored 11 straight late in the half to begin a comeback.
The Orange outscored the Maroon, 55-25, over a 15-minute stretch into the fourth quarter to take a 14-point lead.
“I realized we had a decent team so I figured we could score a lot,” Williams said. “We just worked together well.”
Williams drove for her first basket and a 70-66 lead with 2:54 left in the third quarter. She hit a 3-pointer 24 seconds later, then, after Lakeland’s Brooke Estadt scored, Williams connected again from the right wing to make it 77-66.
“I was pretty nervous at first,” said Williams, who did not take a shot in the first half, “but I was just playing to try to have fun.”
The Maroon then used a 16-4 surge to take a lead in the last two minutes.
Abby Anderson from Holy Cross made both ends of a one-and-one with 29.2 seconds left in regulation, then hit a 3-pointer with three seconds left for the only points of the one-minute overtime to lift the Orange to the win.
Anderson, who also won the 3-Point Shooting Contest in a three-way tiebreaker over Dunmore’s Erika Bistran and West Scranton’s Destiny Jefferson, was named Orange Most Valuable Player.
Bistran was named Maroon MVP.
Dunmore teammate Maddie Martin won the Foul Shooting Contest.
Taylor Williams was seventh of 19 in the 3-Point Shooting Contest, making seven in one minute.
Blue Ridge’s Isabella Cosmello tied for second out of seven in the Foul Shooting Contest.
Scranton Prep’s Julia Sirotnak had 16 points and Mid Valley’s Erica Heafele had 15 for the Orange. Anderson, who scored 14 points, and Abington Heights’ Alessia Brunori, who added 11 points, each grabbed 10 rebounds.
Williams finished with seven points, two rebounds and an assist.
Soden shared the team lead with four assists. She also had three points and a steal.
Martin led all scorers with 18 points for the Maroon. Jefferson added 16 and Bistran had 13.
Cosmello, Elk Lake’s Keri Jones and Forest City’s Kendra Bendyk were part of the Maroon team.
Cosmello went 3-for-5 to finish with seven points, a rebound and a steal.
Jones had six points and three rebounds.
Bendyk had five points and four rebounds.
WEEK IN REVIEW
Casey DeSmith made 26 saves and Dominik Simon had two assists Saturday night when the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins posted their league-high 47th win of the season with a 3-0 shutout of the visiting Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
In boys’ volleyball, Mountain View became the first Lackawanna League team to get to 2-0.
The Eagles opened at home March 28 and swept Forest City, 25-20, 25-15, 25-22. They swept host Western Wayne Thursday, 25-17, 25-14, 13-25, 25-16.
Blue Ridge won its only match, 25-19, 25-11, 25-11, at Elk Lake March 28.
In boys’ tennis, Montrose opened its Lackawanna League season Wednesday with a 5-0 win over visiting Mid Valley. The Meteors dropped to 1-1 with a 3-2 loss at Valley View the next day.
COLLEGE CORNER
Susquehanna graduate Nicole Shay is a sophomore catcher, third baseman and occasional pitcher on the Keystone College softball team.
Keystone is off to a 3-9 start. Shay has played in three games and driven in two runs. She is 0-for-2 with two walks and a sacrifice fly.
Shay played in 23 games, including 11 as a starter, last year as a freshman. She batted .233 with three doubles, 12 runs and eight RBI. She also pitched six times, including once as a starter, going 0-1 with four strikeouts and a 7.88 earned run average in eight innings.
THE WEEK AHEAD
The Lackawanna Track Conference Division 4 boys’ and girls’ seasons will open Wednesday with Elk Lake at Blue Ridge, Montrose at Mountain View and Susquehanna at Lackawanna Trail.
In boys’ volleyball, Mountain View is at Blue Ridge Thursday in a matchup of two of the three Lackawanna League teams that entered the week without a loss. Both teams also had been scheduled to play Tuesday.
In professional baseball, the defending Triple-A national champion Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders open the season Thursday at 2:05 at Buffalo.
The RailRiders play their home opener Monday, April 10 at 7 against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
Binghamton, which changed its name from Mets to Rumble Ponies during the offseason, opens the Eastern League season Thursday at 7 at New Hampshire.
In professional hockey, the Atlantic Division-leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are at the second-place Lehigh Valley Phantoms Friday.
In baseball, Susquehanna, Elk Lake and Forest City will each open their Lackawanna League Division 5 seasons at home Monday.
Susquehanna will face Lackawanna Trail, Elk Lake hosts Blue Ridge and Forest City takes on Montrose.
The Lackawanna Interscholastic Athletic Association had moved the division baseball and softball openers back a week because of weather and field conditions with a few exceptions. The exceptions were games already scheduled for this week at PNC Field in Moosic which gave Montrose, Blue Ridge and Mountain View the possibility of each getting their first baseball game in.
In softball, the Lackawanna Division 5 season opens Monday, April 10 with Lackawanna Trail at Susquehanna, Blue Ridge at Elk Lake and Montrose at Forest City.
TOM ROBINSON writes a weekly local sports column for the Susquehanna County Transcript. He can be reached online at RobbyTR@aol.com and followed on Twitter at @tomjrobinson.
