Postponements – most of them for weather, plus some for COVID – have reduced today’s District 2 sports schedule to two basketball games, one in boys and one in girls.
The boys game, however, is a first-place battle.
The last two unbeatens within Division 3 of the Lackawanna League go head-to-head to break a first-place tie in a matchup between teams in the My City Mortgage Super Six Basketball Power Rankings of District 2 teams.
Mid Valley (10-2 overall) takes a seven-game winning streak to Dunmore (7-4). Both teams are 3-0 in the division.
The visiting Spartans are the sixth-ranked Big School in the Super Six. The Bucks, who have won three straight, are ranked second among Small Schools.
Dunmore is the senior-oriented team with Adriel DeNaples leading the offense, averaging 15.9 points with the help of hitting 3-pointers at a clip of 2.8 per game.
Kevin Walsh joins him in double figures at 10.2 points while leading in rebounds with 7.0 per game. He also leads in steals and blocked shots.
Zach Cruser joins Walsh in sparking a defense that has allowed just 28 points in the last 6 quarters and has held 9 of 11 opponents below 40 percent from the floor. He is first on the team in deflections and second in steals while taking on tough assignments.
Nico Ruggerio leads the team in assists with more than four per game.
Mid Valley is the rising team. Its three leaders are two sophomores and a junior who were all prominent in the team’s run to last season’s District 2 Class 4A final.
Sophomore Gabe Tanner is the team’s leader in points (14.4 per game), assists (2.8), steals (2.6) and blocked shots (0.9) while ranking second in rebounds (6.4).
Ricky Vinansky, another sophomore, leads in rebounds (6.7) and is second in scoring (11.3).
Junior Danny Nemitz averages 10.3 points, 2.4 assists and 1.9 steals.
Vinansky has worked his way inside to shoot 53 percent while Nemitz is hitting 42 percent from 3-point range.
The only girls game has Pittston Area (0-1, 8-1) trying to bounce back from its first loss of the season in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 game at Wyoming Valley West (1-1, 4-5).
