DISTRICT 2-4 CLASS 6A SUBREGIONAL

Dates: Quarterfinals, Wednesday, Feb. 18; Semifinals, Monday, Feb. 23; Final, Saturday, Feb. 28, 8 p.m. at Mohegan Arena.

Advance to states: 2.

Defending champ: Scranton.

Seeds: 1-Wilkes-Barre Area (13-9); 1-Williamsport (D4, 12-10); 3-Delaware Valley (14-8); 4-Hazleton Area (11-11); 5-Scranton (7-15); 6-West Scranton (8-14); 7-Wyoming Valley West (1-20).

Players to watch: David Januzzi (WBA), 18.5 points per game; Mike Keating (WBA), 14.4; Trey Newton (DV), 15.9; Tyler Lombardo (DV), 12.4; Dylan Stish (HAZ), 16.4; Kendrick Ortiz (HAZ), 9.3; Tony Battaglia (SCR), 16.1; Jayden Mayers (SCR), 8.9; Nate Schimefenig (WS), 20.3; Lucia Ridore (WS), 6.7; AJ Hickson (WVW), 13.1.

Noteworthy: Scranton has won five straight District 2 Class 6A championships. Wilkes-Barre Area defeated Williamsport, 65-57, on Jan. 29. Hazleton Area beat Williamsport, 62-53, on Dec. 5, and defeated Wilkes-Barre Area, 51-45, on Jan. 15, and 44-43 on Feb. 5. Delaware Valley finished the Lackawanna League season with four straight wins, including a 69-54 victory over Scranton.

Bottom Line: This is as wide open as Class 6A has been in a long time. Scranton, the defending champion, has only seven wins this season. However, among those victories is a 56-47 win over Crestwood and a 61-48 win over Delaware Valley. Still, the Knights have lost four straight. Williamsport has gotten hot since a loss to Wilkes-Barre Area in late January. Hazleton Area has two wins against Wilkes-Barre Area. West Scranton, the No. 6 seed, took Delaware Valley to overtime earlier this season and has a win over Scranton. The team that plays with the most poise and confidence will claim the championship.

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DISTRICT 2 CLASS 3A

Dates: Quarterfinals, Wednesday, Feb. 18; Semifinals, Saturday, Feb. 21; Final, Thursday, Feb. 26, 8 p.m. at Mohegan Arena.

Advance to states: 2.

Defending champ: Riverside.

Seeds: 1-Riverside (21-1); 2-Dunmore (19-3); 3-Elk Lake (20-2); 4-Holy Cross (13-9); 5-Holy Redeemer (14-9); 6-Lakeland (10-12); 7-Montrose (9-13).

Players to watch: Nico Antoniacci (RIV), 30.6 points per game; Brayden Rose (RIV), 20.9; Brayden Canavan (DUN) 18.8; Carter Sload (DUN) 17.9; Jimmy Clark (DUN) 13.5; Nate Aviles (DUN) 13.1; Chase Pond (EL) 17.0; John Heitsman (EL) 16.8; Adam Badyrka (HC), 19.5; CJ Thompson (HC) 16.3; Charlie Schaffer (HR) 8.4; Chase Rosenkrans (LAK) 14.6; Jai Herman (MON) 13.4.

Noteworthy: Riverside is the Lackawanna League Division II champion and has won the last two District 2 Class 3A titles. The Vikings’ only loss this season came against Dunmore, 72-67, on Jan. 6. Dunmore’s offense averages 73.5 points per game. The Bucks’ only losses came against Scranton Prep, 77-63, Riverside, 88-71, and Old Forge, 70-60. Elk Lake is the Lackawanna Division III champion. Holy Cross defeated Holy Redeemer, 49-40, on Dec. 15.

Bottom Line: There was much anticipation for a third meeting between Riverside and Dunmore for the Lackawanna Division II championship. Old Forge prevented it with a win in the league finale last week. Riverside is the favorite to defend its championship. The Vikings have won 11 straight since their loss to Dunmore, but did have scares against Old Forge (63-61) and Lakeland, which it trailed 32-29 at the half, before winning 61-44. Lakeland’s performance against Riverside certainly makes that quarterfinal game against Elk Lake very intriguing. This is going to be the most competitive and intense bracket, with the potential for a Holy Cross-Riverside semifinal battle, with the loser eliminated from a state-playoff berth.

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DISTRICT 2 CLASS 2A

Dates: Quarterfinals, Wednesday, Feb. 18; Semifinals, Saturday, Feb. 21; Final, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2 p.m. at Mohegan Arena.

Advance to states: 2.

Defending champ: Old Forge.

Seeds: 1-Old Forge (16-6); 2-Susquehanna (17-5); 3-Lackawanna Trail (15-6); 4-Blue Ridge (10-11); 5-Wyoming Seminary (8-14); 6-Mountain View (7-15); 7-Forest City (0-22).

Players to watch: Logan Fanning (OF), 17.2 points per game; Cameron Parker (OF), 16.7; Ryan DeMarco (OF), 10.0; Griffin Fisk (SUS), 21.8; Mason Keyes (SUS), 14.3; Logan Seigle (LT), 12.8; Jimmy Phillips (LT), 11.8; Paxton Pingarelli (BR) 18.2; Landon Bishop (BR), 10.8; RJ Gernhardt (SEM), 17.2; Will Flanek (SEM), 10.6; Hudson Bain (MtV) 16.1; Jordan Jagger (MtV) 10.7; TJ Collins (FC) 8.8.

Noteworthy: Old Forge played an extremely challenging schedule with an opponents’ winning percentage of .538. The next closest to the Blue Devils is Blue Ridge (.488). Susquehanna has two wins over Lackawanna Trail this season. Blue Ridge defeated Wyoming Seminary, 62-56, on Dec. 9 in a nonleague contest. Lackawanna Trail swept its two games against Mountain View in the Lackawanna Division III season.

Bottom Line: Old Forge is the overwhelming favorite. The Blue Devils, who have a bye into the semifinals, lost six games by an average of  4.3 points. The teams that beat them all play in higher classifications and have a combined record of 83-27. Old Forge has size in the paint with 6-foot-7 senior center Logan Fanning, and outside shooters Cameron Parker, Cam Krushnowski, Arthur Askew, and Ryan DeMarco, who have combined for 109 3-pointers.