#1 Parkland vs #8 Allentown Central Catholic was about the only game last night in the EPC18 1ST round that kind of went as you thought, a number 1 beating an 8 in a dominant fashion, which was unfortunate for the Vikings bid to be the Cinderella story of 2026. The Trojans took care of business early taking a 6 point lead after 1 quarter and stretched that to 33-17 at the half, winning easily 74-37.
Leading Scorers for Parkland: Blake Nassry 15pts (9 in the 1st qtr) Ryan Kearney 14pts ( 4-3s) Jude Ruisch 14pts (3-3s) Tyler Beck 13pts (8pts in the 3rd qtr) Central: Grayson Schmell 9pts (3-3s) Cameron Hines 8pts Yariel Gonzalez 6pts
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | final | |
| ACC | 11 | 6 | 15 | 5 | 37 |
| PRKL | 17 | 16 | 26 | 15 | 74 |
#4 Allen vs #5 Nazareth was a much closer game 56-51 that came down to a big 3rd quarter, outscoring Allen 26-15. With the help of Zakary Noel contributing 7pts plus key free throws and offensive rebounds by the Blue Eagles down the stretch. the Blue Eagules pulled off the slight upset. But Nazareth showed why you can’t take them lightly, because on any given night they play with anyone. Allen is also that team, Chunk Wise hit a couple of 3s and made good at the FT line, but unfortunately for the Canaries it wasn’t their night. The Blue Eagles now face top seed Parkland, a challenge for sure.
Leading Scorers: For Nazareth Blake Nagurney 15pts (3-3s) Gavin Kershner 11pts (4-6 FT) Mason Marinelli 9pts (3-4 FT) Logan Hahn 8pts (4-4 FT) Zakary Noel 7pts For Allen Tiheed Wise Jr 23pts (5-6 FT) Jaylen Walker 9pts Majesty Hawkins 7pts
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | final | |
| NAZ | 5 | 15 | 26 | 10 | 56 |
| ALL | 9 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 51 |
#3 Pocono Mt West vs #6 Liberty had the Hurricanes making the trip up north and they came home with the prize, beating the Panthers 52-44. The Canes took a one point lead after one and held PMW to three points in the 2nd quarter and stretched it to 11 by half. Jake Pukszyn’s seven points in the third helped Liberty to a comfortable lead. And although PMW finally got over their cold spell and did put up 20 in the 4th, it was hack a shak time–the Canes made 8-12 FTs and earned the right to play Northampton.
Leading Scorers: For Liberty Jake Pukszyn 21pts Samir Brown 9pts Dylan Bilger 8pts For PMWest Aydin Smith 13pts Teddy Stiehler 9pts KJ Coles 8pts
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | final | |
| LIB | 10 | 13 | 16 | 13 | 52 |
| PMW | 9 | 3 | 12 | 20 | 42 |
And last but not least #2 Northampton versus #7 Whitehall had to be the best game of the night with the Zephyrs and Konkrete Kids tied at 46-46 at the end of regulation. The Konkrete Kids won in O/T against their cross-river rivals, shutting them out in the extra frame 11-0. This was like their earlier matchup a few weeks back– low scoring and physical. No one scored for the first three minutes until Talon Dogmanits got 2 for the Zephyrs and the Kids didn’t score until Korbin Sollars put in 2 at 1:17 left in the first quarter. The Kids picked up the scoring in the second; the Zephyrs kept pace with the Kids and the lead 26-19 but a key stat that would come back to haunt them was going 1-8 at the FT line. And that got worse because they could have put the game away in the 4th, but went 0-5 at the free throw line. The Kids, on the other hand, shot 9-12 from the line in OT, with Noah Walakovits going 6-6. Northampton advances to play Liberty.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | OT | final | |
| NAS | 4 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 11 | 57 |
| WH | 12 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 46 |
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