Tamaqua, PV, Thorpe set for PIAA openers

Three local basketball teams will begin the “Road to Hershey” with PIAA state playoff games this weekend.

The Tamaqua boys play Friday night, while the Panther Valley boys and the Jim Thorpe girls take the court Saturday afternoon.

PIAA TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND

CLASS 4A BOYS

D-4 No. 2 Danville (20-7) vs.

D-11 No. 3 Tamaqua (19-7)

TIPOFF: Friday, March 6 at Shamokin at 8 p.m.

COACHES: Danville - Lenny Smith; Tamaqua - Jimmy Barron

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Danville - Mavin Jones (6-4, Sr.), Jack Smith (5-10, Sr.), KJ Riley (6-0, Jr.), Dante Harward (6-2, Jr.), Mitch Vanden Hueval 5-11, Sr.); Tamaqua - Lucas Gregoire (17.5 ppg.), Brayden Knoblauch (17.2) and Barron Stauffenberg (7.8)

GAME NOTES: Danville had a nice run in the District 4 tournament, where it beat Mifflinburg in the quarterfinals and Jersey Shore in the semis, before falling to Montoursville in the final ... The Ironmen (20-7 overall; 11-1 Heartland I) went 10-1 at home, and were 7-5 in away games while going 3-1 at neutral courts. They average 62.7 point per game while giving up 49.9 ... After a four-game skid from Dec. 20 through Jan. 11, Danville won 13 of its next 14 games and had won 11 straight before falling in the district title game. The Ironmen graduated four seniors from last year’s team ... They have faced one District 11 team this season, losing 54-43 to Allentown Central Catholic to open the season ... According to Maxxpreps.com, Danville is ranked seventh in the Wilkes Barre area ... Tamaqua enters this matchup as the third-place team from District 11 ... In their district appearance, the Blue Raiders took out Pine Grove in the quarterfinals, before losing to Bethlehem Catholic in the semis. They dispatched of Wilson in the consolation game ... The Blue Raiders have made a strong name for themselves this season with an impressive effort in every outing, and look to add another victory to their strong resume in 2019-20 ... Brayden Knoblauch is a tough task for defenses, as he can not only score, and has a 2.28 assist-to-turnover ratio ... Down low, Lucas Gregoire is strong and leads the squad in scoring. He averages 9.88 rebounds per game.

QUOTE: “Danville is a very good offensive team, and they have five guys that can score. We’ll have to play good defense to win this one. The kids are really ready to go; it’s been a long week of practice and we’re ready to get back into games. We just can’t afford to have bad offensive possessions against a team that scores as well as they do.” - Tamaqua head boys basketball coach, Jimmy Barron.

PIAA TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND

CLASS 3A BOYS

D-11 No. 1 Panther Valley (13-11)

vs. D-12 No. 5 Murrell Dobbins Vo-Tech (11-13)

TIPOFF: Saturday, March 7, at 4 p.m. At Martz Hall, Pottsville

COACHES: Panther Valley - Patrick Crampsie, Murrell Dobbins - Lou Williams

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Panther Valley - Brandon Stilitino (13.75 ppg), Erick Marcharro (11.71), Aaron Gutierrez (11.29), Blake White (9.96); Murrell Dobbins - Tishyne Bailey (Sr.) 16.2 ppg, Shawn Donaldson (Jr.) 14.8, and David White (Jr) 9.6.

GAME NOTES: The last time Panther Valley won a state playoff game was back in 1986, twhen it reached the Eastern Finals ... This is the second time in the last three years the Panthers have qualified for the state playoffs. In 2018, PV lost its opening game to Math Civics and Sciences ... Panther Valley is 9-0 this season when scoring over 60 points, and 4-11 when it scores 60-or-under. It is also 9-1 in non-league games this season. The Panthers finished the regular season at 4-10 in Schuylkill League Division I play. Their only non-league loss came to Marian, a 62-60 defeat in which the Panthers actually led by 12 points midway through the fourth period ... In Stilitino, Macharro and Gutierrez, the Panthers are the only boys team in the Times News coverage area to have three players averaging over 11 points per game ... Stilitino hit three treys in Saturday’s district final, pushing his season total to 62 — tops in the TIMES NEWS area. Stilitino, who had 70 triples a year ago, became just the fourth player in TN history to hit 60-or-more three pointers in multiple seasons. The other three are Marian’s Tyler Fritz and Eddie McLaughlin, and Weatherly’s Ryan Nenstiel ... The Panthers have hit 153 threes this season, an average of 6.4 per game, and have extended their streak to 230 consecutive games of making at least one three ... The Panthers’ Bryce Krapf scored a season-high 10 points in the district championship game against Notre Dame of Green Pond. His previous high had been five, which he did on two occasions. Krapf had only scored 37 points the entire season entering the game against Notre Dame ... Murrell Dobbins Vo-Tech is often referred to as Dobbins Tech, a school that the late Hank Gathers attended before going on to star for Loyola Marymount in the 1980s ... Dobbins enters the game with a record of 11-13. They are a member of the extremely competitive American Division of the Philadelphia Public League ... “I think there are two guys (Bailey and Donaldon) that we really need to worry about. Defensively, they’re long, and that’s concerning.”

QUOTE: “I always thought this group was special, and I believed that this string of great things was something we could do. I think it’s a mix of the kids realizing that sense of urgency, but also they have been not caring about headlines and individual scoring. Instead, they’ve been playing that strong team basketball, and it’s been showing.” - Panther Valley head coach, Patrick Crampsie.

PIAA TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND

CLASS 4A GIRLS

D-11 No. 2 Jim Thorpe (23-4) vs.

D-12 No. 3 Bonner Prendergast (8-16)

TIP-OFF: Saturday, March 7, at Lehighton Elementary Center, 2 p.m.

COACHES: Jim Thorpe: Rob Kovac; Bonner Prendergast: Tom Stewart.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Jim Thorpe: Leila Hurley (16.1 ppg.), Skyler Searfoss (15.0), Olivia Smelas (12.6), Mackenzie Yuhas (5.7), Leah Snisky (3.6); Bonner Prendergast: Alexis Gleason (14.0), Bridie McCann (13.0), Emma Beaty (6.0), Alexis Eagan (6.0), Reagan Dolan (5.0).

GAME NOTES: The winner will face the either Eastern York (District 3, Seed 2, 18-8) or Villa Joseph Marie (District 1, Seed 2, 12-12) in the next round… Bonner Prendergast defeated Carver High School of Engineering and Science 65-20 in the District 12 Class 4A consolation game … A year ago, Bonner Prendergast made a run through the PIAA Class 4A playoffs after winning the district title game. The Pandas won three games before falling 64-50 to Bethlehem Catholic in the semifinals … This marks the seventh straight season that Bonner Prendie reached the state playoffs … Bonner Prendie head coach Tom Stewart is in his 27th year there, and his 47th year as a high school basketball coach after 20 years as a boys basketball coach. “They have more size than we have,” Stewart said. “That’s kind of an up-hill battle for us. We’re used to playing tough teams, as our Catholic League is the best in the state.” … A potential starting five for the Pandas could be No. 4 Emma Beaty (5-4, So., G), No. 5 Bridie McCann (5-5, So., G), No. 11 Alexis Eagan (5-7, Jr., G), No. 14 Alexis Gleason (5-11, Sr., F.) and No. 34 Reagan Dolan (5-9, Jr., G/F) … The Pandas’ Bridie McCann (So., PG/SG) and Alexis Gleason (Sr., PF) were Second Team All-Catholic League selections … Kovac said point guard McCann is outstanding, calling the sophomore a potential Division 1 player down the road. He also called Gleason the best post player the Olympians have seen this year … Kovac said to throw Bonner Pendergast’s 8-16 record out the window. “They’re overall record is a product of their schedule,” he said. “When you play Archbishop Wood, Neumann-Goretti, West Catholic, Cardinal O’Hara, there’s eight of their losses right off the bat. Lansdale Catholic beat us in the state tournament last year, who beat them twice. This team is coming from the best league in the state.”

QUOTABLE: “We’re excited to play. No Jim Thorpe girls’ basketball team has been able to advance in the state playoffs ever. Obviously, since last year was the first time, we ever made it. Since the season began, our goal was to advance in the state playoffs. We have put ourselves in a position to do that. It’s going to take our best effort of the season if we’re going to accomplish that on Saturday. Hopefully our kids are up for the task,” – Jim Thorpe head coach Rob Kovac.

Preview capsules compiled by

T.J. Engle and Andy Steinmetz