Local teams gear up for playoff basketball

It's playoff basketball time for New York and Pennsylvania, with play starting on Tuesday.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Tuesday, February 23

Southern Columbia at Wyalusing, 7 p.m.

The Rams will host Southern Columbia in AA boys action. Wyalusing was, first and foremost, happy to get a home game with his new open format.

"It feels really good," coach Mark Fogel said.

Fogel added that Southern has two solid players.

"They've got a guard that's pretty good," he said, "and one big man inside that's decent."

He mentioned that both teams are very similar.

Fogel believes that his team's play has gotten better throughout the season.

"The biggest change has been defensively" he said, "They've seemed to pick up their intensity."

Wyalusing is led by Aaron Johnson in scoring at 16.1 points per game while Paul Hugo is in double figures at 11.3 points per game.

Mount Carmel at Troy, 7 p.m.

The Trojans will host Mount Carmel in the fourth round. Troy coach Bob Woodward says that the Red Tornado have some size.

"Mount Carmel has good size," Woodward said, "They're physical. They have a nice team. We'll have to play well to beat them."

Woodward is pleased to play another game in the Commons Building.

"Its definitely nice for our program," he said, "Our seniors get to play one more game on our home floor."

As for their preparation, the Troy coach is happy with how its gone.

"Our practices have been strong" he said, "The kids are determined to get better."

Jordan Brunelle leads Troy at 23.9 points per game while Chris Stroup averages 18.6 and Bryant House is at 14.7.

Line Mountain at Wellsboro, 7 p.m.

The Green Hornets will host Line Mountain in boys' basketball district four, AA action.

Wellsboro is led by Jason Greenfield at 14.4 points per game while Caleb Getty (12.8) and Ethan Callahan (10.4) also average double-figures.

Windsor at Waverly, 7 p.m.

The Wolverines will play host in Section Four, Class B boys basketball action.

"It's a nice reward for having a good regular season" Coach Lou Judson said about having home court through the first two rounds, "It's the first time since 1996 that Waverly has hosted the first game in the first round."

Judson is hoping that Waverly's stellar record at home, only two losses in two years, will help propel his team.

"Obviously you can't take any team lightly" Judson said about his opponent, that sports a 2-15 record, "We don't know as much about them."

The Wolverine coach believes his kids are playing well at the moment.

"We're at the peak of playing well right now" he said, "Based on things I've gathered, I think we stand a good chance."

Kevin Gorman leads Waverly at 17.1 points per game while Sophomore Ryan Hewitt is second at 10.7.

Marathon at Tioga, 7 p.m.

The Tigers will host Marathon with the winner to take on top ranked Moravia in Section four, Class C boys basketball action.

Tioga is led by Eric Zwierlein at 18.1 points per game while forward Larry Brink averages 10.5.

Wednesday, February 24

Central Columbia at Towanda, 7:30 p.m.

The Black Knights will welcome Central Columbia in AA District four action. Towanda coach Ken Fritchman has a lot of respect for the Central program.

"They're a well-coached team" Fritchman said, "We think their strength of schedule is to their advantage. Coach Snyder does a great job down there."

However, the Black Knight coach isn't selling his team short.

"We feel we match up pretty well with them," he said, "They are excited to be playing at home against a quality opponent. In the playoffs you've really got to take your effort and energy up a notch. It should be exciting to watch the kid's respond."

The Black Knights are led by the backcourt duo of Anthony Ventello (14.7 points per game) and Nate Bennett (13.6).

Northeast Bradford at Benton, 7 p.m.

The Panthers will travel to Benton in District four, A playoff action.

"Were playing OK" Northeast coach Larry Otis said about his team heading into districts.

Rob Robbins leads the Panthers in scoring at 16.2 points per game.

Athens vs Shikellamy in Williamsport, 7:30 p.m.

The Wildcats will take on number four seed Shikellamy in district four, AAA play.

"I know they are a good team" Athens coach Jim Davis said about Shikellamy, "Obviously, when you get down here, we're both good teams. You have to play well to continue."

Davis mentioned that his team is looking forward to playing in districts.

"It's the fun time of year," he said, "I think we're playing well. The other night we played Wyalusing and I thought we played a good game."

Mike Williams leads three Wildcats in double-figures at 11.4 points per game while Jarred Gambrell averages 10.9 and Mark Wright averages 10.5.

Byes

Sayre

The Redskins will look towards advancing in District four, A basketball playoffs after receiving a bye.

"The best part about getting a bye is to get out there and have some full speed practices" Sayre coach Tony Lindsey said, "All the games going on the last six-seven weeks the practices have been preparations."

Sayre will face the winner of Benton and Northeast.

"We know a lot about Northeast Bradford" Lindsey said, "Benton we don't really know anything about."

Regardless, Lindsey believes there isn't a team they can't play with in the district.

"I thought we played a great game against Troy" he said, "a very strong team in a bigger class size than us."

Mansfield

The Tigers have the second seed in district four, class A.

The NTL West champs are led by Luke Berguson at 15.8 points per game while Cale Correll (11.5) also puts up double-figures.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Tuesday, February 23

Northeast Bradford at Sullivan County

The Griffins will welcome the Panthers in A district four play.

"I think we like our match-up" Northeast coach Bob Moore said, "We're finally playing class A teams. We match up better in size and depth."

One player Moore is looking to watch is Sullivan's Reilly Gavitt.

"Reilly's a good player" he said, "We've seen a lot of good players in our league."

Gavitt leads Sullivan at 15.5 points per game while Kelsey Carlsen leads Northeast at 15.1 points per game.

Wednesday, February 24

Southern Columbia at Towanda

The Black Knights will host Southern at 6 p.m.

"It's always nice to play in front of your home fans" Towanda coach Shawna Wygrala said, "It gives (the players) an extra boost."

Wygrala is hoping her team can get a little further in districts this year.

"The girls have been working hard," she said, "They seem to still be focused and want to continue playing."

Kylee Sutton leads the Black Knights at 23 points per game while Ali Wickwire (12.9) and Mariah Monahan (10.2) also put up double-figures.

Troy at Wellsboro, 7 p.m.

The Trojans will travel to the Green Hornets in AA district four action.

Troy is led by Meghan Manning (12.6) and Lauren Gustin (11.9) while Wellsboro is paced by Alex Marple (17.2).

Bloomsburg at Sayre, 7 p.m.

The Redskins will host Bloomsburg in AA district four action.

"Haven't had a lot time to do too much research," Sayre coach Bill Trump said, "I was kind of happy with the third seed draw, that was nice to get that. Any of those teams around that Williamsport area aren't quite what they seem. They have a 6-16 record and you can't overlook that. We've just got to be prepared for anything." "Not too bad," Trump said about how his team is playing heading into district, "We hit a little rough patch with injuries, I think that's kind of behind us now. The girls are all healthy for right now and playing well together. I think we're ready to go and just be prepared on a whole new level."

Liz Higley leads Sayre at 16.6 points per game while Megan Kyc is also in double-figures at 10.5.

Wyalusing at Loyalsock, 7 p.m.

The Rams travel to Loyalsock in AA district four action.

"Loyalsock's tough" Wyalusing coach Jon Schulze said, "They've been a quality team in the district for a couple years. They have impressive wins this year. They beat Towanda, they've beat South Williamsport a couple times, the defending district champs."

Schulze said he's going to make the Lancers play the game on the floor and not on paper.

"They're going to have to play our kids" he said, "I think our kids have played well all year."

The Wyalusing coach believes this will help his program in the future.

"We'll see it as a nice opportunity," Schulze said about the game, "We're only losing two seniors so it will definitely help them."

Erica Crawford leads the Rams at 10.0 points per game.

Midd-West vs Athens at Williamsport, 6 p.m.

The Wildcats will host Midd-West in district four, AAA action.

"I think we match up personnel wise pretty good with them" Athens coach Kelly Burkhart said, "We played a tough schedule to get us ready. Were just going to take it one game at a time."

Burkhart said the tough schedule is for times like this.

"It's not going to get any easier" she said, "You want face this type of competition to get ready."

The wildcats are led by Taylor Clark at 13.7 points per game.

Waverly at Corning West, 7 p.m.

The Wolverines will take on Corning West in Section four action.

"It will be a tough game," Waverly coach Brian Miller said, "Both teams are pretty equal. We played them earlier in the year on their floor and beat them but both teams were missing a key starter."

Miller is happy to have his team back and healthy.

"We went a two-three week period with everyone back" he said, "We started playing good ball down the last couple of weeks of the season."

Kelly Lyon leads Waverly at 13.5 points per game.

Byes

Mansfield

The Tigers drew the third seed in district four, A girls basketball.

Mansfield is led by Tanya Dewalt at 14.1 points per game while Taryn Rumsey averages 12.9.

Tioga

The Tigers received the first seed in Section four, Class C basketball.

"I guess its pretty good for us right now" Tioga coach Joe Robinson said, "I just think were going to walk right into a pretty good team, no matter who wins."

The Tigers will take on the winner of Oxford and Walton at home on Saturday.

"Any time you play at home is good" Robinson said, "They're driving over an hour to an hour and a half to get to us. That's an advantage for sure."

The Tigers' coach knows that his team has the potential to go far.

"We have a pretty good team" he said, "I'm not trying to be cocky. If we played up to our capabilities we're going to be a tough out."

The Tigers are led by Kara McDuffee at 22.9 points per game.