Abington Heights holds off Williamsport for 5th straight D2 Class 4A title

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<p>WILKES-BARRE TWP. &#8212; As Meyers&#8217; Juwane Buckner and Simran Mangat waited to inbound the basketball, they kept glancing up at the video screen above the court at Mohegan Sun Arena.</p><p>Two minutes still remained, but by that time the only excitement was seeing their images on the big screen. Meyers had executed its game plan to near perfection Saturday evening, sapping any intrigue in the process.</p><p>Play smothering defense &#8212; check. Pound the ball inside &#8212; check. Win the District 2 Class 2A boys basketball championship with a 50-29 victory over Elk Lake &#8212; check.</p><p>Meyers (19-6) won the D2-2A title for the third time in five seasons. The Mohawks will play District 4 third seed Hughesville (19-6) in the first round of the PIAA 2A state playoffs on Saturday at a site and time to be announced. Elk Lake (21-5) will also play Saturday against District 4 champion Danville (15-10).</p><p>&#8220;Coach has his team where he wants them,&#8221; Elk Lake coach John Warnero said. &#8220;They&#8217;re not only athletic and big, but he does a good job getting what he wants out of them. It&#8217;s a great program.&#8221;</p><p>Since the start of the season, Toole&#8217;s main objective was getting his team to play strong defense. The process has blossomed during the D2-3A playoffs. Meyers held Holy Redeemer to 17 points, the worst offensive output ever in nine-year history of that program. Riverside scored a season-low 29 points in the semifinals. And Elk Lake has its worst offensive night of the season Saturday.</p><p>&#8220;Defense definitely helped us win this game,&#8221; Meyers junior guard Matt Dessoye said. &#8220;That&#8217;s what we preached all postseason &#8212; defense, defense, defense. As a team, we played great defense. Everyone on the team knows how to defend in man-to-man and zone.&#8221;</p><p>Meyers sophomore guard Omar Kelly is considered the team&#8217;s best defender, so it was no surprise he drew Elk Lake high-scoring guard Bailey Newhart as his assignment.</p><p>Newhart scored 108 points in three district victories, including 25 in a 76-73 semifinal win over Holy Cross. He finished Saturday with a team-high seven points. Two of his three field goals came on uncontested layups after steals in the backcourt.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s just lock down,&#8221; Meyers coach Pat Toole said of Kelly, who was selected the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 3 MVP. &#8220;The first-round game, he held his guy to zero points. The second-round game, he held his guy to zero points. (Newhart) was averaging over 30 points a game (in the playoffs) and he hold him to single digits.</p><p>&#8220;He loves the challenge of watching the other team&#8217;s best player.&#8221;</p><p>Meyers did play offense as well. After Seth Tewksbury opened the game with a basket for Elk Lake&#8217;s only lead of the game, Ryan Gilgallon and Dessoye nailed consecutive 3-pointers and Meyers was off and running.</p><p>The offense in the paint then took command, with 6-foot-6 senior Ryan Wasley muscling inside for two baskets against the undersized Warriors before Gilgallon added another. The 17-0 run gave the Mohawks a 17-4 lead after one quarter.</p><p>Elk Lake made a small dent into the deficit midway through the second quarter, but a Meyers burst in third quarter pretty much made the fourth quarter for academic purposes only.</p><p>Meyers is scheduled to merger with Coughlin in the near future, but made one mark Saturday that can&#8217;t be erased. It became the first WVC boys team to win a district title at Mohegan Sun Arena, the region&#8217;s largest venue that hosted the district playoffs for the first time.</p><p>&#8220;I loved this,&#8221; Wasley said. &#8220;It was like playing in a college atmosphere. It was all-around fun with everything.&#8221;</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>D2-2A Championship</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Meyers 50, Elk Lake 29</strong></p><p><strong>ELK LAKE (29) &#8212;</strong> Bailey Newhart 3 1-2 7, Seth Tewksbury 2 1-2 5, Ben Woolcock 1 0-0 2, Hunter Watkins 1 0-2 2, Tyler Cole 1 0-0 3, JJ Heft 1 2-4 4, Rierdan Reyan 2 0-0 5, Jason Vasquz 0 0-0 0, Alex Hewitt 0 0-0 0, Kyle Oakes 0 0-0 0, Griffin Bunnell 0 1-2 1, Evan DeBonis 0 0-0 0, Kobe Jayne 0 0-0 0. <strong>Totals 11 5-12 29.</strong></p><p><strong>MEYERS (50) &#8212;</strong> Omar Kelly 2 3-4 7, Matt Dessoye 3 1-2 9, Raheem Twyman 1 3-6 5, Ryan Gilgallon 3 0-0 7, Ryan Wasley 7 0-2 14, Juwane Buckner 1 0-0 2, Levaugn Soules 2 0-0 4, Julian Maffei 0 0-0 0, Simran Mangat 1 0-0 2, JJ Davidson 0 0-0 0, Khalil Saunders 0 0-0 0, Mark Robinson 0 0-0 0. <strong>Totals 20 7-14 50.</strong></p><p><strong>Elk Lake`4`10`8`7`&#8212;`29</strong></p><p><strong>Meyers`17`11`12`10`&#8212;`50</strong></p><p><strong>Three-point goals &#8212;</strong> EL 2 (Cole, Reyan), MEY 3 (Dessoye 2, Gilgallon).</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Meyers players, from left, Matt Dessoye, Raheem Twyman and Simran Mangat celebrate winning the District 2 Class 2A Championship at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_d2_champ1_faa.jpg</photo0><caption0>Meyers players, from left, Matt Dessoye, Raheem Twyman and Simran Mangat celebrate winning the District 2 Class 2A Championship at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Fred Adams | for Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_d2_champ3_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Meyers players hold the District 2 Class 2A championship plaque on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_d2_champ3_faa.jpg</photo1><caption1>Meyers players hold the District 2 Class 2A championship plaque on Saturday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Fred Adams | for Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_d2_champ6_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Meyers guard Omar Kelly starts to fall while going to the basket after running into Elk Lake defender J.J. Heft during Saturday&#8217;s District 2 Class 2A championship game at Mohegan Sun Arena. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_d2_champ6_faa.jpg</photo2><caption2>Meyers guard Omar Kelly starts to fall while going to the basket after running into Elk Lake defender J.J. Heft during Saturday&#8217;s District 2 Class 2A championship game at Mohegan Sun Arena. </caption2><photoCredit2>Fred Adams | for Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_d2_champ4_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Meyers guard Omar Kelly brings the ball down court as Elk Lake&#8217;s Rierdan Reyan chases him Saturday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_d2_champ4_faa.jpg</photo3><caption3>Meyers guard Omar Kelly brings the ball down court as Elk Lake&#8217;s Rierdan Reyan chases him Saturday night. </caption3><photoCredit3>Fred Adams | for Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_d2_champ5_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Meyers&#8217; Juwane Buckner goes up for a bucket against Elk Lake on Saturday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_d2_champ5_faa.jpg</photo4><caption4>Meyers&#8217; Juwane Buckner goes up for a bucket against Elk Lake on Saturday night. </caption4><photoCredit4>Fred Adams | for Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Mohawks use defense to rout Elk Lake</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By John Erzar</p><p>jerzar@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>RECENT DISTRICT 2</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>CLASS 2A CHAMPIONS</strong></p><p>2014-15`Meyers</p><p>2014-15`Mid Valley</p><p>2013-14`Meyers</p><p>2012-13`Holy Cross</p><p>2011-12`Meyers</p><p>2010-11`Riverside</p><p>2009-10`Holy Cross</p><p>2008-09`Holy Cross</p><p>2007-08`Holy Cross</p><p>2006-07`Bishop Hoban</p><p>2005-06`Bishop Hoban</p><p>2004-05`Bishop Hoban</p><p>2003-04`Carbondale</p><p>2002-03`GAR</p><p>2001-02`Bishop Hannan</p><p>2000-01`Bishop Hannan</p><p>1999-2000`Meyers</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach John Erzar at 570-991-6394 or on Twitter @TLJohnErzar</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Meyers wins District 2 Class 2A title