Luke Kopetchny and coach Anthony Macario received top honors in Division 2 when Wyoming Valley Conference boys basketball coaches selected their all-star teams.
Macario was named Coach of the Year after guiding the Warriors to just the second division title in school history.
Kopetchny, a sophomore, was selected as Most Valuable Player.
Senior Lukas Burakiewicz was a first-team division all-star.
Pittston Area’s Silvio Giardina was a first-team pick and sophomore Lucas Lopresto a second-teamer in Division 1 where Wilkes-Barre Area’s Dave Jannuzzi was Player of the Year and Jim Lavan was Coach of the Year.
Daniella Ranieli from Pittston Area was named Player of the Year in Division 1 on the girls team where coaches selected both a top player and Most Valuable Player.
Alexis Reimold and Kaitlyn Bindas from Hazleton Area shared MVP honors in Division 1 while their coach, Joe Gavio, was named Coach of the Year after the team’s perfect regular season.
Ella Wilson from Lake-Lehman was named MVP, Ella Stambaugh from Wyoming Seminary Player of the Year and Charlie Lavan from Lake-Lehman Coach of the Year in Division 2 girls.
Wyoming Area did not have a player selected to the first or second team.
Scranton Prep advances
Brycen Martin was the high scorer for Scranton Prep in both a District 2 championship game loss at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza March 1 and in Friday night’s victory in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 4A state tournament opener.
The loss in the District 2 Class 4A final sent Scranton Prep on the road for the first round of state play, but the Cavaliers had no trouble with Northwestern Lehigh in a 75-48 victory.
The Martin brothers from Pittston, Brycen and sophomore Brody, had four of Scranton Prep’s five first-quarter 3-pointers while opening a 25-10 lead.
Brycen Martin went 10-for-18 from the floor, including 5-for-9 on 3-pointers, while scoring 26 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Brody Martin was 3-for-4, including 1-for-2 on 3-pointers, while adding seven points.
Brycen Martin hit a 3-pointer and converted a three-point play during a 29-4 third quarter in which Scranton Prep extended the lead to 65-33 and put the game in the running clock of the Mercy Rule.
The game was a bounce back for the Cavaliers, who had their 8-0 record at the arena spoiled when Valley View stopped their attempt for a 10th title in 11 years with a 66-53 victory.
Beyon McLean led Valley View to its first title since 1997 and avenged championship game losses the last two seasons when he scored 26 points.
Scranton Prep ran off 15 straight points to end the first half and start the second half, but could not overcome a 31-14 deficit.
Brycen Martin was limited to 22 minutes because of foul trouble, but still managed 17 points to lead Scranton Prep. He was 6-for-10 from the floor with a 3-pointer and made all four of his free throws. He also added three rebounds and two assists.
Brody Martin had six points, two rebounds, two steals and an assist.
State tournament
The Old Forge boys and Scranton Prep girls, with Maya Jenkins from Old Forge as their second-leading scorer, were among the teams playing PIAA openers late Saturday afternoon.
The Scranton Prep boys (19-7) advanced into a matchup with District 3 champion Berks Catholic (21-4) Tuesday night.
The PIAA moves to neutral sites for the remainder of the tournament.
Old Forge, in Class 2A boys, and the Scranton Prep girls are trying to advance to Wednesday’s second round.
Old Forge was trying to get past Sayre Saturday to reach a game between the winner between Delaware County Christian and SLA Beeber.
Cameron Parker leads the Blue Devils with 15.2 points and 1.7 steals per game on the season. Logan Fanning, the leader of the District 2 championship game romp over Lackawanna Trail, averages 11.8 points and team-highs of 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 blocked shots. Ryan DeMarco adds 8.5 points and leads the team with 4.0 assists.
Scranton Prep, a state finalist a year ago, was facing Delone Catholic to try to get a shot at either Allentown Central Catholic or Jersey Shore.
Quarterfinals are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, then a break until the March 21-22 semifinals before the finals are held March 27-29 at the Giant Center in Hershey.
