Click here to subscribe today or Login.
SCRANTON — Holy Redeemer and Scranton, the teams with District 2’s two best overall boys basketball records got together Wednesday night and when it was over, both coaches still felt the same way they had going in, that the game was good for both teams in the long run.
Jason Shields and Arvel Chandler scored 35 points and keyed an 11-point, fourth-quarter streak that allowed Scranton to pull away from a tie and post a 56-46, non-league victory.
Both teams came in with impressive credentials and generally played up to that status.
“I have a ton of respect for coach Tony Battaglia and his program and I was thrilled that my athletic director was able to link up with their AD and schedule this game,” Holy Redeemer coach Paul Guido said. “When we had some openings in the summer, I said, ‘try go get them’.
“This is going to be great for our team in the long run and I hope it’s going to be good for their team down the long run.”
They do not have to worry about meeting again because of the enrollment differences.
Scranton (12-1) is the defending Lackawanna League Division 1 and District 2-4 Class 6A Subregional champion and currently leads both the division and the race for the top subregional seed.
Holy Redeemer (15-2) leads Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 and District 2 Class 3A and had District 2’s best overall record until coming to Scranton Wednesday night.
“I thought both teams played really well,” Guido said.
The game not only matched top teams, but also top individuals, multi-year, all-stars Justice Shoats from Holy Redeemer and Shields.
At one point, the 6-foot Shoats blocked the 6-foot-5 Shields’ shots twice in less than 30 seconds, getting to a 3-point attempt and blocking a layup from behind. Shields shook it off to go 3-for-4 in the fourth quarter and finish with 17 points to go along with nine rebounds.
Shoats led Holy Redeemer in points (14), assists (four), steals (three) and blocks (two).
The Royals played from behind most of the game, but made two runs at the Knights, who suffered their first loss of the season Monday night at Wallenpaupack.
The two Shoats blocks and six points by Matt Prociak spark a 10-0 run to a 19-14 lead with 3:24 left in the first half.
Shields hit two 3-pointers in an 8-0 run to put Scranton back in front a little more than two minutes later.
Jacob Hunter did all the scoring in an 8-2 to a 39-39 tie with 5:30 left. He hit an 18-footer with a second left in the third quarter, then made back-to-back, 3-pointers 40 seconds apart.
“That was something myself and my assistant coach were very proud of,” Guido said. “Scranton’s tough. … They’re a 6A school and they’ve very good and very well-coached.
“They really threw some knockout punches at us in a couple different stretches in some runs that they were on. Credit to our club, we call a timeout, talk about a couple things, refocus, recircle the wagons and go right back out there and cut that deficit down.”
Scranton ultimately used a 35-19 rebounding advantage and the game’s last burst to produce the win.
Josh Williams had 10 points and matched Shields with nine rebounds as the Knights built a 35-19 advantage on the boards.
Shields sandwiched five points around back-to-back 3-pointers by Chandler in the 11-0 run.
Chandler finished with a game-high 18 points.
Hunter had 12 points while Perta and Prociak had nine each for Holy Redeemer.
“After last year’s COVID schedule, we were looking for games,” Battaglia said. “We just wanted to play the best teams we could play and obviously, Redeemer is one of the best teams in the area.
“Win, lose or draw, we were happy to come tonight and match up against them.”
Scranton 56, Holy Redeemer 46
HOLY REDEEMER (46) — Zach Perta 3 2-2 9, Daryl Wright 0 2-2 2, Justice Shoats 6 1-1 14, Jeff Kozerski 0 0-0 0, Matt Prociak 3 1-2 9, Jacob Hunter 5 0-0 12, Jarden Halstead 0 0-0 0, Chris Papchak 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 6-7 46.
SCRANTON (56) — Rykeese Cenard 1 2-2 4, Jason Shields 6 2-2 17, Arvel Chandler 6 3-3 18, A.J. Dinterman 2 1-3 5, Josh Williams 5 0-0 10, Dylan Lazdowsky 1 0-0 2. Totals 21 8-10 56.
Holy Redeemer`9`12`12`13 — 46
Scranton`12`12`13`19 — 56
Three-point goals – HR 6 (Prociak 2, Hunter 2, Perta 1, Shoats 1), SCR 6 (Shields 3, Chandler 3).