DXI February Frenzy Turns Into PIAA BBB MARCH Madness, Game Previews for 1A, 2A,3A

By Dan DiEdwardo

District XI has 15 teams qualified for PIAA State Playoffs 3 from 1A, 1 from 2A, 3 from 3A, 3 from 4A, 1 from 5A and 4 from 6A.

Class 1A

11-1 Bethlehem Christian (25-2) vs 4-3 Lourdes (12-13) at Easton Area Middle School 7:30 Friday The Panthers coached by Matt DeJesus had a fabulous February Frenzy beating Calvary 73-18, Alliance Christian Gryphons 78-44 and Salem 79-50 to repeat as ACCAC Champions They beat Lincoln Leadership 75-57, and Weatherly Area 86-56 to repeat as DXI Champions. They are led by one of the best scoring tandems in the state in Gabe Transue 29.1 ppg and Myles Harris 23.2 ppg and avg 77pts a game. Their record of 25-2 is even more impressive considering the fact that both looses were to a 6A team Nazareth who just missed states and Allentown Central Catholic the #1 seed from DXI in 4A. Lourdes, coached by James Sandri, lost to Nativity BVM in OT 71-68 then beat Millersburg convincingly 67-31 before getting by Bucktail 70-58. They then lost to Sullivan County 69-56 and wrapped up February Frenzy with a win over Meadowbrook Christian 58-42. I fully expect the Panthers to get the win easily and move on to the next round of the PIAA playoffs.

11-2 Weatherly (16-8) hosts 1-3 Plumstead Christian (10-14) 7:00 Friday The Wreckers, coached by Luke Medico, beat Williams Valley 76-75, Palmerton 57-54, and Nativity 69-66 before they lost in the District 11 1A final by 30pts to Bethlehem Christian 86-56. The Wreckers are led by Iam McKeegan 20.2 ppg 5.2 asst Corbin Wagner 14 ppg and Niko Saldukas 12.4 ppg 6.8 reb pg. Plumstead, coached by Justin McCuen, comes from District 1 and their road here was a loss to Church Farm 64-36, a big win against Martin Luther 69-30 followed up by a win over Springfield Township 57-49. They fell to Chester Charter Scholars Academy 51-45 and closed out February with a big win over Upper Bucks Christian 67-36. They are led by Julian Desiato 16 ppg 8 reb pg and Drew Mandid 16 ppg. Though Plumstead is battle tested coming from a tough District 1. The Weatherly Wreckers who made it to the DXI championship game against Bethlehem Christian will end Plumstead’s run at States.

11-3 Lincoln Leadership (14-11) at 3-1 High Point Baptist (14-8) at 7PM Friday Lincoln Leadership, coached by Pernell Hosier, started with a win over Wilson Area 64-59, then a big one over Salem Christian 78-39. Next, a loss to Bethlehem Christian in the Semifinals 75-57 before they rebounded with a squeaker against Nativity 51-49 to make it into states. Robert Baker 16.5 ppg and Brandon Young 10.5 reb pg 2.9 blks per game lead the way. High Point is coached by Anthony Burke. They beat New Covenant Christian 65-60, lost to Coventry Christian 52-42, then pulled out a one point win over Lancaster Country Day 51-50. They then avenged the Coventry loss 55-42 and won District 3 with a two point victory over York Country Day 51-49. They have three players that average double figures in Mason Rodgers 14.6 8.3 reb Reagan Wodicka 13.4 and Carlos Torres 12.5. This should be a close game but High Point has shown they can win the tight games and they win this one.

Class 2A

11-1 Schuylkill Haven (17-8) hosts 3-2 Delone Catholic (23-1) at 1:00 pm Saturday The Hurricanes, coached by Fran Murphy, a potential coach of year candidate, began their February Frenzy with 2 losses: one at Tri Valley 81-69, and another to Blue Mt 64-54. They then completed a season sweep of Marian Catholic 62-57 to end the regular season and avenged an earlier loss to Tri Valley 82 68 with five players in double figures: Justin Watcher 23pts, Alan Evans 22pts Max Heim 14pts Brady Kelly 13pts and Brayden Deihl 10pts. Schuylkill Haven got their first District title in 29 years. Delone Catholic is coached by Brandon Staub and their February Frenzy included a win over Camp Hill 79-36, win at Hanover 66-37, a loss York Suburban 51-46, victory against Linville Hill 62-56 and loss to York Catholic in the District 3 championship game 60-45. Key players are seniors Luke Rebert 20.4 ppg and Liam O’Brien 16.2 ppg. This is another tough match up for District 11–Schuylkill Haven will be trying to keep the momentum going against a very good Delone Catholic squad. I think they get it done and move on to the next round.

Class 3A

11-1 Notre Dame Green Pond Crusaders (24-3) vs 12-5 Tech Freire Charter Dragons (15-8) at Rockne Hall Allentown at 2:30pm Saturday The Crusaders are coached by Pat Boyle in his 30th season with 552 career wins. Key players are Justin Manning 20.2 ppg Drew Boyd 12.4 ppg Cody Driscoll 9.6 ppg and Tommy Murphy 8.5 ppg. Their February Frenzy went like this: won the final game of the season against Wilson Area 67-56, a win in the Colonial League quarterfinal against Bangor 69-61, but lost to Catasauqua in the Semifinals 72-65. Then in DXI tournament they beat Williams Valley 63-46 in the quarters, then avenged the loss to Catty with a 74-60 win. They then dethroned Executive Education 58-47, earning their first district championship since 2018 and 13th overall. The Dragons are coached by Justin Minter and key players are Duron Fuller, Zion Allen, and Ty’Sheem White. Tech Freire’s February Frenzy included a win over Bodine 65-56, a big win over Science Leadership Academy 57-31. They then dropped a big one to West Philadelphia 76-44 before using overtime to beat Mast Charter II 54-51. and a one point win against Overbrook 76-75. The Dragons are battle tested in the Philly Public League and can play better than their record indicates, but the Crusaders will take care of business and move on to the next round.

11-2 Executive Education (15-7) at 4-2 Southern Columbia (20-7) 1:00 pm Saturday. The Raptors are coached by Ray Barbosa. Key players include Ziyan Wilkens, Elijah Styles, Cam Michael, Noah Bass, and Eshaan Tung. Executive definitely had some Frenzy to their February losing two to start, first to Bethlehem Christian 70-67, a solid 1A school and then to Cheltenham 67-56. They got back in the win column beating Wyoming Valley West 63-42, then lost to Harrisburg, a 6A school 70-58. Then came three wins in a row: LaAcademia Charter 74-40, Williamsport 62-54 and Minersville 62-54 to make it to the championship game against Notre Dame Green Pond. Executive had won 16 straight playoff games and six championships in as many years since its first season in 2018-19, but lost to Notre Dame-Green Pond 58-47. The Tigers are coached by Mike Woytowich. His key players are 1,000-point scorer Nate Gallagher, Braydon Griscavage, Jake Gehret, and Ben Gehret. February Frenzy was just that, playing a total of ten games. Here are the last six: a win against Berwick 72-44, win over Shamokin Area 69-58, then a loss to Lewisburg 57-52, a win over Troy 74-55 another against Loyalsock Twsp 48-45 and most recently losing in the District finals to Warrior Run 70-65 in OT. This is a very good basketball team that has been battle tested and gives the Raptors all they can handle and I think they end Executive’s season.

11-3 Catasauqua (20-8) vs 12-2 Audenreid (8-15) Saturday at West Philly High School 12:00. The Rough Riders are coached by Eric Snyder and their key players are Fankie Pujols, Hamaad Jenkins, Reece Lopez and Aalani Nix. February Frenzy went like this: a win over Southern Lehigh 5A 62-47 in the last game of the regular season, then another game against that same Southern Lehigh team in round 1 of the Colonial League Playoffs. Next, they beat the eventual DXI Champions NDGP 72-65, but lost in the championship game to Northwestern Lehigh in a game they could have won. In the DXI tournament they beat Lehigh Valley Academy 70-50, but lost to NDGP 74-60. In the play in game they beat a tough Minersville team 64-57 to qualify for the state tourney. The Audenreid Rockets are coached by Marvin Stinson and play in the tough Philadelphia Public League. Their key players are Jordan Ellerbee, Rahmir Barno, Kachi Nzeh and Kevin Nowoswiat. Their February Frenzy was a 2-2 split. They beat Master Charter North 79-69 and Freire Charter 71-44, then lost to Paul Robeson 59-51 and West Catholic 66-50. I am picking Catasauqua–their team speed on offense and defense and recent state tournament experience gives them the edge.