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Royals are back to climbing the ladder, and they look to take another step tonight in state opener against Danville.
Steve Ruch drives to the basket during Holy Redeemer practice. The Royals face Danville tonight in the Class 3A state playoffs.
DON CAREY/THE TIMES LEADER
When Holy Redeemer coach Mark Belenski looks at Danville, he sees a team akin to West Scranton.
Redeemer defeated West Scranton 42-29 for the District 2 Class 3A boys basketball championship.
So a similar opponent means a similar outcome, right?
“No, no, no,” Belenski said. “There are no weak teams. Anybody can beat anybody. It’s a 32-minute season now.”
Whether there will be another 32 minutes for Redeemer (22-4) after today will be decided tonight as the Royals face District 4 runner-up Danville (17-7) at 7 p.m. at Pittston Area High School in a PIAA Class 3A first-round game.
Belenski wasn’t inferring by his statement that West Scranton was a weak team. In fact, the Royals didn’t pull away from West Scranton until midway through the third quarter. And the Invaders’ cold shooting played a part in it.
However, there are a couple uncanny similarities that put the Ironmen in the same framework of West Scranton.
It starts in the backcourt where West Scranton had ultra-athletic Tyler Hughes, who was one of the best quarterbacks in District 2 and the state during the football season.
But so was Danville junior guard Andrew Andreychik, who set a school record with 32 touchdown passes in leading the Ironmen to the second round of the PIAA 2A football playoffs. Andreychik leads the team in scoring, tossing in about 17 points per game.
As Hughes had a big-play teammate in Malcolm Sweeting on the gridiron and hardwoods, Andreychik has one as well in Mikael Owens-Wright. Owens-Wright is bigger than Sweeting at 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, but averages in the same point range on the court – 14 per game.
The rest of the Ironmen’s lineup has specific roles, similar to West Scranton’s other starting three.
“They are West Scranton-like,” Belenski said. “They have a very good point guard. They have a kid inside who is very physical. They play an aggressive man-to-man. They’ll play fullcourt, they’ll play halfcourt. They’re tough kids.”
Redeemer’s first district title in the school’s four-year history didn’t come easily. The Royals struggled for a 50-40 victory in their district opener over Dallas, an opponent they defeated 62-41and 68-49 during the Wyoming Valley Conference season. They followed with a 58-51 win over defending champ Abington Heights, avenging an early-season loss.
“We’re playing well,” Belenski said. “At the end of the year, we played Crestwood then Hazleton then Berwick. We were climbing the ladder. Then we had that layoff, but we’ve started again. We played poor against Dallas, we played good against Abington and we played great against West Scranton.
“So we’re back up that ladder and going in the right direction.”
At the top rung is Peter Alexis, the 6-11 Penn State recruit who was the WVC Division II MVP. But fellow seniors – guards Austin Carr and Tim Lambert and forwards John McCarthy and Steve Ruch – have all had their moments to shine as well this season.
Tonight’s winner advances to the second round, playing the winner of tonight’s game between D12 runner-up Philadelphia Electric and Technology (22-4) and D1 third seed Pope John Paul II (16-7). Those teams play at 6 p.m. at South Philadelphia High School.
PIAA Class 3A boys basketball
Holy Redeemer (22-4)
vs. Danville (17-7)
When: 7 p.m. today
Where: Pittston Area H.S., Yatesville
Admission: $6
What’s At Stake: The winner moves to the second round on Tuesday, playing the winner of tonight’s game between District 12 runner-up Philadelphia Electric and Technology (22-5) and District 1 third seed Pope John Paul II (16-7). Those teams play at 6 p.m. today at South Philadelphia High School.
About Danville: The District 4 runner-up Ironmen enter the game off a 62-50 loss to Mifflinburg in the district championship game. It was the third time they lost to Mifflinburg (23-1) this season.
Danville is making its ninth state appearance in the past 10 seasons, missing the tournament in 2006-07. The Ironmen were the District 4 champions last season and lost 64-51 to District 12 third seed Archbishop Carroll in the second round.
About Redeemer: The Royals won their first District 2 championship by defeating West Scranton, 42-29. They will be playing in the state tournament for the third consecutive season in their four-year existence.
Redeemer was the District 2 runner-up last season and defeated District 3 third seed Steelton-Highspire, 59-39, in the first round. The Royals were eliminated by District 12 champion and eventual state champion Neumann-Goretti, 91-56, in the second round.