Basketball teams from the Lackawanna League have had success in March, competing in the PIAA tournament.

At least some of the credit for that has to be given to athletic directors and coaches who schedule challenging nonleague games in December.

This past weekend, Scranton Prep traveled west to play in the North Catholic Tip-off Tournament, and Riverside played in the City of Basketball Love Showcase.

Scranton Prep started with a high-scoring loss to Cathedral Prep, 92-86, on Friday night. The Cavaliers came back with a 73-58 win over the reigning PIAA Class 4A champion, Devon Prep, on Saturday.

Last season, Cathedral Prep won the District 10 championship and lost to North Catholic, 78-75 in overtime, in the PIAA Class 4A quarterfinals.

Chicky Skoff scored 42 points in the two games, and Packy Doherty had 31 points against Cathedral Prep and 14 in the win over Devon Prep.

“The experience was unbelievable,” Scranton Prep coach Larry Reagan said. “Everything about how the event was run by North Catholic was first class. The competition was incredible. Cathedral Prep and North Catholic played in the state quarterfinals. They also brought in St. Mary’s from Maryland. Every single game had an incredible amount of talent on the floor and different styles.

“We feel like we have to play games like these every year because of the goals set for this program. We want to have played these types of games so when late February and March roll around, we aren’t seeing a level of speed and competition that we haven’t played against all year. Against Cathedral Prep, the pace put that game in the 80s and 90s. We probably won’t see that pace for a while.”

Next weekend, Scranton Prep, last season’s Lackawanna Division I champion that lost in the PIAA Class 4A second round, will play Cardinal O’Hara on Saturday at 3 p.m. Later this winter, Abington Heights will also play Cardinal O’Hara on Dec. 30.

Former Wilkes-Barre Meyers all-state player Ryan Krawczenuik is the head coach at Cardinal O’Hara.

“There was a players’only meeting that my guys had, and our seniors were adamant that we have a high expectation and we’re playing to win these games,” Reagan said. “As a coaching staff and as players, we are worried about how we are playing at the end of the season. We want to be playing our best basketball at the end of league play and through districts, and the ultimate goal is states.”

Riverside won its matchup against Penncrest, 57-51. Nico Antoniacci scored 40 points in the victory for his third straight game, where he had at least 40.

Penncrest was the fifth-place team from District 1 in the District 2 Class 5A tournament last season and reached the quarterfinals. The Lions were eliminated by eventual state champion Neumann-Goretti, 76-69, in overtime.

Abington Heights defeated Shamokin, 74-55, in a nonleague game on Saturday. Last season, Shamokin lost to Valley View in the PIAA Class 4A quarterfinals.

This weekend, Abington Heights and Holy Cross are part of the second Bradley Fisher Tournament hosted by Devon Prep. It is a two-day event that brings 10 teams to celebrate the memory of Fisher, a respected member of the Devon Prep community, and raises funds for The Parkinson Council.

Each team will play two junior varsity and varsity games in the event.

Holy War this week

On Wednesday, Holy Redeemer plays at Holy Cross in the annual battle between the programs in the Scranton Diocese at 7:15 p.m.

Holy Redeemer has started the season 1-2. The Royals lost to Wilkes-Barre Area, 64-50, on opening night. They beat Emmaus, from District 11, 57-46, and lost to Selinsgrove, 61-45.

Cody Quaglia leads Holy Redeemer in scoring with 32 points and three 3-pointers. Quron Drayton and Kaden Sepkoski each have scored 20 points, and Logan Shrader has 18 points and four 3-pointers.

Holy Cross opened with an impressive win over Fannie Lou Hamer from New York, 66-36, but lost to Valley View, 56-46, on Friday night.

The Crusaders have a tough road game at Pittston Area (1-0) on Monday, ahead of the rivalry game against Holy Redeemer.

Adam Badyrka is averaging 26.5 points per game in the early season, shouldering the offensive responsibility with CJ Thompson on the bench with an injury.

Holy Cross has won the last two meetings against the Royals and holds a 9-8 overall advantage in the matchup’s history.

Big nonleague matchup

Later in the week, two of the top teams in the Lackawanna League play in a nonleague game.

Old Forge, last season’s District 2 Class 2A champion, plays at Valley View, the defending District 2 Class 4A champion, on Friday at 6:45 p.m.

Before the two teams meet, they both have games earlier in the week.

Old Forge has a nonleague game at Montrose on Monday, while Valley View, which is coming off a win over Holy Cross, plays at Honesdale on Tuesday at 6:45 p.m.