ARCHBALD – Whenever the going gets tough, or the odds seem too much against him, Packy Doherty thinks of his dear friend, Sonny Crotti, and all that he endured in a brave fight against cancer.
On an emotional night at Valley View High School, which hosted its annual Coaches vs. Cancer/Suits & Sneakers ceremony, losing his friend, a Dunmore student, to the awful disease two years ago was all that he could think about.
So when No. 4 Scranton Prep fell behind by double digits early, it fought back. However, the Cavaliers found themselves in a hole late, dealing with an energized crowd and facing an intense rival in No. 5 Valley View; Doherty felt inspired.
Valley View had the ball and a one-point lead with less than a minute to play. Charlie Skoff, a menace on defense all night for Scranton Prep, created a turnover. Doherty tracked down the loose ball, locked in, and drilled a 3-pointer that gave the Cavaliers the lead. They didn’t relinquish it.
Chicky Skoff added a free throw with one second remaining, and Scranton Prep rallied to a 57-54 win over the Cougars in an important Lackawanna League Division I boys basketball game on Monday night.
Scranton Prep improved to 14-4 overall and 9-1 in Division I. The Cavaliers, who have swept the two games against Valley View, maintained first place in the District 2 Class 4A power rating standings. They also stayed alive for the division title as they head into a showdown with Abington Heights (14-5, 11-0) on Thursday night.
“In pregame, I was just thinking that I had to play this game for Sonny,” Doherty said. “He fought so hard. Whenever I feel tired or have any negative emotions in my head, I just remember him. I fought a lot of adversity in this game. We had some ups and downs, and I looked back and thought of Sonny.
“We never lost hope, and we did everything we had to do to win.”
In the second meeting between the two teams that have dominated Class 4A in the last four seasons, it was the Cougars who fed off the buzz in the gym, especially early.
Valley View (16-3, 8-3) jumped out to an 11-0 lead, controlled the pace, and held all the momentum. Four Cougars scored in the quick start, with Cash Roe hitting for four points. Brody Martin finally broke the ice for Scranton Prep with only 22 seconds left in the opening quarter.
It got worse for the Cavaliers.
Michael Muto, who scored 12 points, swished a pair of 3-pointers to start the second quarter, and Valley View had built an imposing 18-4 advantage.
Rather than panic, the Cavaliers turned up the defensive pressure, created turnovers, and chipped away. Doherty and Chicky Skoff scored the final four points of the half, and Scranton Prep darted to the locker room trailing, 24-19.
Scranton Prep delivered its next surge early in the third, trailing 29-24. Chicky Skoff started it with a 3-pointer, and Doherty ended it with one, and suddenly the Cavaliers climbed into the lead 36-29.
“We had to make defensive stops,” said Chicky Skoff, who contributed 13 points, five rebounds and three steals. “We dug ourselves a deep hole, but we needed to stop, get a bucket, have a stop, and get a bucket.
“We wanted this win.”
Valley View, while on wobbly legs, stayed poised. The Cougars responded with a flurry of quick-hitting offensive possessions. Noah Symuleski hit a 3-pointer, Roe scored inside, and Marco Ruby made a pair of layups, the second of which he converted into a three-point play.
The run ended when Symuleski collected an offensive rebound of his own miss and scored a layup that became a three-point play, and the Cougars had a 43-36 lead.
From that point, Valley View answered each time Scranton Prep scored, staving off a comeback. Aiden Plotkin knocked down a short jumper, giving the Cougars a 52-47 lead.
Then, Jimmy Doherty, a freshman, drilled the third of three 3-pointers in the game.
“Coming into the second half, we knew that we had to fight,” Jimmy Doherty said. “I had to come in and bang a couple of 3s. From there, we kept the pressure on and got the win.”
Roe, who finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, scored, and Valley View led 54-50. Packy Doherty scored on a breakaway layup, and Martin hit one of two free throws to pull the Cavaliers to within 54-53 with 1:07 remaining.
That set up Scranton Prep’s frantic finish. Charlie Skoff had his third steal, the 15th turnover forced by the Cavaliers, and launched a pass to Packy Doherty.
“Our motivation was that we needed this game,” Charlie Skoff said. “We want to win the league championship, and we want to be first in the District 2 Class 4A standings. It all came down to how badly we wanted to win this game. We still also remember the bad taste in our mouths from our earlier losses this season.”
Once Packy Doherty secured the ball, with the Scranton Prep student section right behind him, the senior calmly connected on the shot that ultimately decided the game.
“There is something about me shooting a 3; I just had a lot of confidence,” Packy Doherty said. “I dream about those shots. It’s my senior year, in a huge game, against a big rival. Hitting that shot is about all the hard work I have put in really paying off.”