web1_Cusat_Jeff_toned.jpg

Hazleton Mayor Cusat called out on making half million dollar transfer without council OK

web1_nanticokewa02.jpg

Top-seeded girls basketball teams hoping to remain No. 1 by end of District 2 playoffs

WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Even the most meticulous plans can end up with a glitch.Delaware Valley was the glitch.District 2 athletic committee members explained Monday afternoon how Delaware Valley with a 10-12 overall record was seeded third in the District 2/4 Class 4A boys basketball playoffs. And how Abington Heights, whose 20-2 overall record is the best in the entire district, was seeded fourth.A glitch never before seen in the D2/4-4A seeding process caused it.Here&#8217;s how things transpired.On Sunday, District 2 released its seedings for Class 4A as follows: 1. Hazleton Area (19-3); 2. Delaware Valley (10-12); 3. Abington Heights (20-2); 4. Scranton (14-8); 5. Williamsport (13-8); 6. Valley West (7-15); 7. Wallenpaupack (4-18). Sites and times for quarterfinal games were also posted on the district website.About an hour later, everything was removed and a message posted saying the basketball committee was reviewing the seeding process for positions 2-5. Hazleton Area, Valley West and Wallenpaupack were locked into their spots.&#8220;It was my fault,&#8221; District 2 basketball committee member Mike Ognosky said. &#8220;We didn&#8217;t seed it right. I didn&#8217;t follow the criteria correctly. It was brought to my attention. I re-read it (Sunday) night about 6 o&#8217;clock, 6:30. I sent something out to everybody that said, &#8216;Hey, mistakes were made and we need to rectify.&#8217;&#8221;When things were sorted out Monday morning, Williamsport became the second seed, DelVal dropped to third, Abington Heights moved to fourth and Scranton to fifth.The problem was how the district placed District 4 Williamsport into the initial bracket. The protcol calls for the top Wyoming Valley Conference team (Hazleton Area), the top Lackawanna team (DelVal because of its divisional championship) and Williamsport to compare overall records.Hazleton Area got the top seed. Then it should have been Williamsport. But once Williamsport, which plays an independent schedule, was seeded the criteria revert back to the ones used in Classes A-3A. That meant DelVal&#8217;s divisional championship superseded Abington Heights better record in league play. (For the record, Abington Heights defeated Delaware Valley, 57-33, in Lackawanna League play).Abington Heights and Scranton then fell into place at fourth and fifth, respectively.&#8220;Delaware Valley was a divisional champion and 10-12 overall,&#8221; Ognosky said. &#8220;The contention was Abington Heights was 20-2. A 20-2 record is better than 10-12, shouldn&#8217;t they be considered the No. 1 Lackawanna team and not Delaware Valley? Speaking for the committee, there isn&#8217;t one sport that we have when we do bracketing where a team wins a divisional championship and gets seeded behind a team that hasn&#8217;t won one.&#8220;We&#8217;ve always giving the higher seed to the divisional championship. Even though in this case DV had worst record in the Lackawanna League, they were a divisional champion and Abington Heights was not.&#8221;District 2 chairman Frank Majikes added that seeding procedures for basketball will be reviewed for the next season.CLASS 4AOutlook: The highly anticipated rematch of last season&#8217;s championship game &#8212; defending champion Abington Heights (20-2) vs. Hazleton Area (19-3) &#8212; won&#8217;t happen in the title game. Because the way the seedings fell, two of what many feel are among the top-three teams in the district would play in the semifinals instead. That is, if Abington Heights gets past Scranton (14-8) in the quarterfinals. Scranton defeated Abington Heights 41-35 on Jan. 19 and lost to the Comets 77-45 on Feb. 9.The lower part of the bracket has just one team with a winning record &#8212; Williamsport (13-8). The Millionaires benefited greatly from the revised seeding since they won&#8217;t meet either Abington Heights or Hazleton Area until the finals. They should have little trouble with Wallenpaupack (4-18) in the quarterfinals.Delaware Valley (10-12) got the third seed based on its Lackawanna Division 2 championship even though it lost to Abington Heights and Scranton during the regular season. The Warriors have a tough matchup with No. 6 Wyoming Valley West (7-15), which has won four of its last five and seemed to have straightened out a leaky defense late in the season.Dark Horse: Valley West based on where it fell in the bracket. The Spartans have some excellent athletes, albeit some of them are better at other sports, but athletic teams can occasionally make runs.Upset Special: No. 6 Valley West over No. 3 Delaware Valley, although the teams might be closer than the seeds indicate.Best Opening Game: Valley West vs. Delaware Valley, 6 p.m. Wednesday at Dunmore High School. The game could come down to the wire.Prediction: Hazleton Area to defeat Williamsport for the only spot in the state playoffs.CLASS 3AOutlook: Defending champion Scranton Prep (19-2) is once again the team to beat. The Cavaliers have won 14 in a row and have scored 80 or more points in nine games. Their only losses were 76-71 to Georgetown Prep and 57-52 to Abington Heights.Moreover, Prep&#8217;s path to the semifinals looks smooth. There, the Cavaliers will likely see No. 5 West Scranton (14-8) or No. 4 Crestwood (16-6). West Scranton and Crestwood could meet in the quarterfinals. Both have had some issues on offense. West Scranton has scored 40 or less points eight times and has really struggled against better teams. Crestwood was upset 57-54 late in the season by Wyoming Valley West, a team it defeated 68-58 earlier in the season.No. 3 Nanticoke (18-5) and No. 2 GAR (15-8) are favored to get to the other semifinal, but it won&#8217;t be easy. Both could have tough quarterfinal games &#8212; Nanticoke against No. 6 Berwick (13-9) and GAR against No. 7 Honesdale (13-10).Dark Horse: No. 7 Honesdale, which played in the semifinals last season and has one of the area&#8217;s top players in Ian Langendoerfer, a Loyola of Maryland recruit.Upset Special: No. 11 Dallas over No. 6 Berwick. The Mountaineers (8-14) have been inconsistent, but know Berwick well and have decent depth.Best Opening Game: No. 9 Coughlin (12-10) at No. 8 North Pocono (12-11). North Pocono will be playing its fifth game in seven days and Coughlin has enough athleticism to wear on the Trojans.Prediction: Prep to defeat Nanticoke for the championship, with both teams moving to the state playoffs. Crestwood to defeat GAR for third place and the final spot in states.CLASS 2AOutlook: Meyers (15-5) is the top seed and all five losses came in the exhibition season when the Mohawks were still sorting things out after losing leading scorer Shahee Aurelus to graduation and big man Ryan Wasley to mononucleosis. If they get to the semifinals, they will likely play No. 4 Mid Valley (20-3), which has the best overall record among the D2-2A field.If No. 8 Holy Redeemer (12-10) gets past No. 9 Blue Ridge (9-11) on Wednesday, the Royals could give Meyers a battle in the semifinals. They&#8217;ve played the Mohawks tough twice in losses.The bottom of the bracket looks less predictable. A few WVC coaches have mentioned No. 6 Holy Cross (13-8) as a team playing very good basketball. The Crusaders won eight in a row before being roughed up 53-34 by No. 3 Dunmore (17-6) last Thursday and then losing by a points to Mid Valley.No. 7 Wyoming Seminary (14-7) and No. 15 Northwest (5-16) are the other WVC teams in the lower part of the bracket. Seminary has a decent chance of getting past No. 10 Carbondale (12-10). Northwest is a massive underdog against No. 2 Elk Lake (16-4).Dark Horse: No. 6 Holy Cross based on seeding. The Crusaders are a solid team.Upset Special: No. 12 Riverside (10-12) over No. 5 Montrose (14-6). The Vikings played in a much tougher division in the Lackawanna League.Best Opening Game: There&#8217;s none that stands out, so we&#8217;ll go with the possible upset &#8212; Riverside at Montrose.Prediction: Mid Valley to defeat Holy Cross for the championship, with both teams moving to the state playoffs. Meyers to defeat Elk Lake for third place and a berth in states.CLASS AOutlook: Like in the recent past, the bracket isn&#8217;t overly strong. Only No. 2 Old Forge (12-9) has a winning record. Next in line is No. 1 Forest City (7-14). No. 5 Susquehanna (0-21) is winless.No. 4 MMI Prep (5-17) played some teams tough early, but has lost 11 in a row. No. 3 Lackwanna Trail (3-18) completes the field.Dark Horse: Nobody and everybody based on those overall records.Upset Special: None. Things should go as expected.Best Opening Game: The only opening game is MMI Prep vs. Susquehanna. So that&#8217;s the choice by default.Prediction: Old Forge to defeat Forest City for the championship and a spot in the state tournament.<style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_wvwaustinjudge01.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Sean Judge (left), Aaron Austin and the rest of the Wyoming Valley West boys basketball team saw their opponent change overnight due to a mistake in the District 2/4 Class 4A seeding process. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_wvwaustinjudge01.jpg</photo0><caption0>Sean Judge (left), Aaron Austin and the rest of the Wyoming Valley West boys basketball team saw their opponent change overnight due to a mistake in the District 2/4 Class 4A seeding process. </caption0><photoCredit0>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Despite 20-2 record, Abington Heights seeded 4th</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By John Erzarjerzar@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach John Erzar at 570-991-6394 or on Twitter @TLJohnErzar</shirttailMeta></div>

District 2 sorts out confusing 4A bracket