Scranton girls’ and boys’ basketball teams wrapped up a successful summer season by sweeping tournament championship titles on Tuesday night.
Jaelyn Alers scored 23 points to lead the Lady Knights to a 48-41 win over The LBs (Lady Bucks) in the girls high school elite final. Jayden Mayers scored 25 points, and Justin Mayers added 18 as The Knights rolled to a 71-53 win over The Crusaders (Holy Cross) in the boys tilt at the Riverfront Sports Complex.
In the girls tournament, Scranton completed its run to the title, which included a forfeit win over Wyalusing and a 40-30 win over the Lady Comets.
“It is exciting to see our progress, knowing that this is a good way for us to start our actual season,” said Alers, who was an honorable mention selection to the Lackawanna League Division I Coaches’ all-star team last season. “We are building, because you know we only lost two starters from last season, and this experience gives us confidence, and it brought us closer as a team. We know we can compete now.”
Rhylee Bell, also an honorable mention all-star in 2025-26, scored nine points and had six steals for the Lady Knights, who forced 24 turnovers in the game.
Bianca Perez scored six points, recorded four steals, and made two assists, while Emma Sweeney and Jojo Baez each contributed five points, and Alers also had four steals for the Lady Knights.
“Our defense really helped lead to offense,” Alers said. “We picked up our energy, and that helps us to have confidence knocking down shots. We played with a lot of energy.”
Janaya Martin paced The LBs with 22 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Ava Walsh added eight points and four rebounds, and Ali Steeves collected 10 rebounds to go along with scoring five points.
The Knights completed a three-game run to the crown. They defeated Spartan Nation, 55-26, and The Vikings (Riverside), 81-76, to reach the final. The championship victory over The Crusaders gives the group confidence after Scranton finished 7-16 and lost in the quarterfinals of the District 2 Class 6A playoffs.
“This meant a lot to all of us,” said Jayden Mayers, who scored 130 points last season for Scranton. “We came together as a team all summer. We want to make up for last year.
“We stayed aggressive, kept attacking the basket, found the wide-open guys, shared the ball, knocked down shots and played defense.”
In addition to his offensive production, Justin Mayers had 10 rebounds and three assists. Mikey Chalk scored 15 points and had two assists and two steals, Avery Higgins scored eight points and had six rebounds, and Max DePietro dished out six assists.
“We played really well as a team,” said Justin Mayers, who scored 178 points last season. “We moved the ball well, and we pressured the ball. It all started with our defensive pressure and our help defense.
This performance is a great way to set the tone for our actual season. Everybody got to mesh together, and it shows what we can do.”
Colin Farrell led The Crusaders with 22 points. Colin Ritterbusch added 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Aiden Hughes, Finn Kennedy, and Thomas Gavin each scored four points.