Ayden Davitt from Old Forge looks to pass while guarding by Wyalusing’s Hunter Moss in the state tournament.
Tom Robinson | Sunday Dispatch
Sean Donovan from Old Forge gets set to take a shot over Elk Lake’s Wyatt Casslebury in the District 2 Class 2A boys championship game at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
Tom Robinson | Sunday Dispatch
Old Forge went from the brink of elimination in the district championship game to being the only District 2 team to win in the first round of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state basketball tournament.
The Blue Devils struggled through a series of close games in the regular season, falling to 3-8 at one point before the five-game winning streak that took them into Saturday night’s state Class 2A quarterfinals with a District 2 championship along the way.
“With the year that we had with COVID, the whole motto all year was just being blessed that we’re here with an opportunity to play,” Old Forge coach Jared Yanniello said Wednesday night in Wyalusing after his team’s state playoff win. “It’s tough for high school kids to take those losses – those one-point losses, two-point losses, overtime losses early, but we just kept fighting.
“We’re an 8-8 ball team that comes and works hard every day.”
A look back at the two most recent playoff wins by the Blue Devils:
Old Forge 59, Wyalusing 52
WYALUSING – Michael DiGregorio led the way as Old Forge overcame five early 3-pointers by host Wyalusing to put the Blue Devils in a 10-point hole less than six minutes into Wednesday’s first-round state game.
DiGregorio scored 21 points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out five assists and blocked three shots against the District 4 champions.
Wyalusing started 5-for-7 from 3-point range to take a 17-7 lead with 2:21 left in the first quarter.
“We decided that we were actually going to start playing defense after that,” DiGregorio said. “They couldn’t miss.”
With the Blue Devils making the shots tougher, the Rams went just 3-for-12 on 3-point attempts the rest of the way.
Dante Lucarelli scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the win. Ayden Davitt came off the bench to go 5-for-6 from the floor while scoring 11 points.
Wyalusing was led by Abram Bennett, who had three of the early 3-pointers and finished with 15 points.
Old Forge 52, Elk Lake 43
WILKES-BARRE TWP. – Old Forge was seconds away from having its season end the morning of March 13 in the District 2 Class 2A championship game at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
That’s when Dante Lucarelli banked in a season-saving shot at the regulation buzzer, sending the Blue Devils on their way to an overtime victory and a longer season.
Coming out of a timeout with 3.2 seconds left, Lucarelli hit the shot from right in front of the Old Forge bench on the left sideline.
Lucarelli was not the first option on the play.
“They told me to be ready though,” Lucarelli said.
He was.
Lucarelli took a pass and stepped back to have room to get the shot over 6-foot-4 Wyatt Casselbury, who had just given Elk Lake its three-point lead by making two free throws with four seasons left.
“He was right in my face,” Lucarelli said.
Lucarelli also hit a 3-pointer in overtime, but Michael DiGregorio took care of the rest.
DiGregorio scored nine of his 25 points in overtime when Old Forge outscored Elk Lake, 12-3. He sealed by the game by going 7-for-9 on free throws, including one that completed a three-point play.
Lucarelli finished with 12 points and 19 rebounds. DiGregorio added eight rebounds and John Giglio seven for a 47-38 advantage on the boards.
Elk Lake, the Lackawanna League Division 4 champion, got 24 points and 8 rebounds from Matt Mowry, who led a comeback from nine points down in the second quarter.
“Elk Lake’s a real good ball team and they put their best player in situations to score on us,” Yanniello said.
