The holiday basketball tournament schedule heats up Monday, although with some alterations from original plans because of COVID-related disruptions.
Four games in the Lynett Memorial Tournament at the Lackawanna College Student Union – two each in boys and girls – highlight the schedule that has been downsized by the cancellation of both Susquehanna County tournaments and the reduction of teams from the McGrane Tournament, Peter Turonis/NBT Bank Classic, Lou Camoni Memorial Tournament and Taylor Lions Boys Tournament.
Later in the week, the Milford/Matamoras Rotary Tournaments for boys and girls at Delaware Valley join the McGrane, Turonis and Camoni tournaments as three-team events but there is some growth as well with the return of the Anthony “Badger” Marseco Tournaments at Old Forge where the girls will get started tonight.
The first two games of the day are Lynett Tournament girls games where unbeaten teams square off in the opener and defending District 2 champions play in the second game.
District 2 has seven unbeaten girls basketball teams and three of them – Scranton Prep, Scranton and Dunmore – are in the Lynett Tournament where they are joined by Holy Cross, which counts a three-point overtime game and a four-point loss to Scranton among its three defeats.
Scranton (4-0) plays Dunmore (3-0) in the 1 p.m. opener. Dunmore, the defending Lackawanna Division 3 champion, is the top-ranked Big School girls team in the My City Mortgage Super Six Power Rankings of District 2 teams with three wins over quality opponents by a total of 73 points.
Scranton Prep (4-0) plays Holy Cross at 2:30. Scranton Prep, the No. 2 Big School in the Super Six, won the tournament when it was last played in 2019. Holy Cross (2-3) is the No. 3 Small School and the defending District 2 Class 2A champion while the Classics are defending champions in both Lackawanna League Division 1 and District 2 Class 4A.
The Lynett boys tournament, the oldest of the area events, reaches its 70th year with two games following the girls.
Three of the four teams are ranked in the Super Six and the other had been ranked to start the season.
No. 1 Big School Scranton (3-0) faces No. 3 Small School Dunmore (4-2) at 5:30. The unbeaten Knights are defending Lackawanna League Division 1 and District 2 Class 6A champions.
Holy Cross, the 2019 champion and current No. 4 Small School, plays defending District 2 Class 4A champion Scranton Prep at 7. Holy Cross is 3-2 and Scranton Prep is 2-3.
North Pocono and Honesdale are also hosting four games with the James Akens Memorial Tournaments and the Honesdale Jaycees Tournaments also have two games each in girls and boys.
Honesdale was scheduled for Monday, but has been postponed to Tuesday for the first-round games.
The Marseco Tournament, created in the memory of the former Old Forge athlete who was coaching at Wyoming Area at the time of his death, returns to the format of four girls and four boys teams for the first time in 10 years.
The girls get the event started with Pittston Area playing Wyoming Seminary at 6:30, then Wyoming Area taking on Old Forge at 8.
Pittston Area has the best record in District 2 basketball, boys or girls, at 6-0. Wyoming Seminary, looking for its first win, will be playing for the first time under former championship boys coach C.J. Kersey, who takes over midseason.
With Carbondale sitting out the holiday season for COVID precautions, the Peter Turonis Classic (boys) has been moved to Valley View and combined with the Lou Camoni Memorial Tournament (girls).
Now three-team fields, the Camoni-Turonis combination will consist of girls-boys doubleheaders Monday and Wednesday with games at 5 and 7.
In both cases, Mid Valley and Lakeland will meet Monday with the winners taking on Valley View Wednesday.
The other three-team events are both long-standing boys tournaments.
Holy Redeemer and Hanover Area play in the McGrane Tournament at the Wyoming Valley Catholic Youth Center in Wilkes-Barre. Lake-Lehman sports are paused, leaving Crestwood with a bye into the final.
The Taylor Lions Tournament has just West Scranton against Stroudsburg in a single game with host Riverside awaiting the winner. Lackawanna Trail’s boys basketball team is on a break because of COVID.
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The full Monday District 2 basketball schedule can be found at: https://nepabasketball.com/composite-boys?d=2021-12-27.
