Of the 13 Colonial League boys basketball champions that have been crowned, 10 have come from the East Division.
Bangor won six titles; Notre Dame-Green Pond, three; and Wilson, one.
So, while Northwestern Lehigh beat Catasauqua in last year’s title game, history says that an East member will win the Colonial League gold again in February, and not surprisingly, Notre Dame and Wilson are two of the favorites even though both teams lost some key personnel from last year.
The Crusaders made an immediate statement Saturday when they beat Eastern Pennsylvania Conference member Freedom in overtime in the Jeff Dailey Memorial Tip-Off tournament behind a 38-point performance by Justin Manning. Even though they lost to Pocono Mountain West 72-55 in Sunday’s title game, they showed evidence that they’re one of the area’s most talented teams.
Veteran Notre Dame coach Pat Boyle said he has one of the fastest teams he has ever had, and there was a lesson to be learned from a disappointing ending to last season, when the Crusaders had a quick postseason fade and didn’t reach either the league or district finals.
“We have a lot of the same guys back, and we want to emphasize being focused and being committed to wearing the Notre Dame uniform and how tradition here means something,” he said. “We want them to be committed to each other. They lost some of that after the Williams Valley game last year.”
Here’s a closer look at the Colonial League East:
4 players to watch
Wilson junior Lafayette Acree averaged just under 15 points per game last season and had 32 3-pointers.
Moravian Academy senior Sam Joseph averaged 13.8 points per game and made 47 3-pointers last season.
Notre Dame-Green Pond’s Justin Manning, a junior, made the Dailey All-Tournament team after scoring 38 against Freedom and 18 against Pocono Mountain West.
Notre Dame-Green Pond’s Drew Boyd, a sophomore, scored 20 points in the Dailey tourney title game against West.
3 questions to answer
1. Can new Pen Argyl coach Tyler King rebuild the Green Knights program after they went 0-18 in the league last season?
2. Can Bangor overcome the loss of several key players and maintain its standard of excellence?
3. Can Notre Dame-Green Pond finish the season stronger this year after things unraveled in the postseason a year ago?
2 games to see Friday night
Lehighton at Notre Dame-Green Pond
Saucon Valley at Bangor
1 man’s opinion
Predicted order of finish: 1. Notre Dame-Green Pond; 2. Wilson; 3. Bangor; 4. Moravian Academy; 5. Pen Argyl.
Team-by-team
Bangor
Coach: Colin Kessler (seventh season, 82-60)
Last season: 17-10, 13-5 league (second in East)
Postseason: Lost to Catasauqua 46-31 in the league semifinals. In District 11 5A, lost to Pottsville 33-30 in the championship game. In PIAA 5A, lost to Bonner-Prendergast 67-55 in the first round.
Players to watch: Jason Marcantonis (6-3, Sr., F), Loren Gaines (6-0, Sr., G), Adyen Fassl (6-2, Sr., F), Kamal Crockett (5-11, Sr., F), Blaine Waiters (5-10, Jr., G), Gino Merlo (6-0, Sr., G), Landon Childs (5-10, So., G), Lincoln Rehrig (6-0, Fr., G), Gavin Pysher (5-9, Sr., G), Frankie Renner (6-2, Jr., F), Chayse Panczer (5-8, Jr., G), Liam Gaines (5-6, Fr., G)
Outlook: The Slaters may not have a lot of returnees from a 17-win team — Gaines is the top returning scorer after averaging 4.7 ppg — but they have a team that’s hungry to show what it can do.
Moravian Academy
Coach: Steve Gabryluk (12th season at Moravian, 101-139)
Last season: 4-19, 4-14 league (fourth in East)
Postseason: Lost to Tri-Valley 45-30 in District 11 2A semifinal
Players to watch: Xavier Tongg Weiler (6-2, Sr. C); Nick Rodney (5-10, Sr. G); Marcus Horvath (5-10, Sr. G-F); Sam Joseph (6-1, Sr. G-F); Eric Gianforcaro (5-9, Jr. G-F); Aaron Gordon (6-0, Jr. F); Trevor King (6-3, Jr. F-C); Leo Woodworth (6-0, Jr. G); Roman Patricio (5-9, Jr. G); Jason Cho (5-10, So. G-F); Elijah Eckman (6-0, So., G-F); Kyran Khindri (5-9 So. G); Vir Patel (6-0, So., G-F); Kaleb Morgan (6-1 So. C); Joel Okune (6-1, So. C-F)
Outlook: The Lions had a young team last year that was competitive but lost several close games due to inexperience. Gabryluk is expecting better focus and foul shooting to improve the team’s record.
Notre Dame-Green Pond
Coach: Pat Boyle (30th season, 529-242, including win over Freedom on Saturday)
Last season: 19-7, 17-1 league (first in East Division).
Postseason: Lost to Catasauqua 69-66 in the Colonial League quarterfinals. In the District 11 Class 3A tournament, beat Northern Lehigh 89-61, lost to Minersville 52-50 in the semifinals, and lost to Mahanoy Area 65-56 in the consolation game.
Players to watch: Justin Manning (5-8, Jr. G); Thomas Murphy (6-2, So. F); Cody Driscoll (6-3, Sr. F); Drew Boyd (5-10, So. G); Quinn Bohn (5-10, Jr.. G); Hayden Levy (5-9, Jr. G).
Outlook: Even without Isaiah Miles, who has transferred out of the program to the Phelps School, where he has reclassified to graduate in 2027, and C.J. Diaz, who tore his ACL, NDGP figures to be as good as any team in the league. Boyle believes he has two all-league players in Manning, who scored just under 13 points per game last season, and Boyd, who played primarily on the JV team last year. “Usually you don’t see a player jump from JV to being one of the best players in the league, but we absolutely believe he’s going to do that,” Boyle said. “He’s really good.” Boyle is also big on Bohn, whom he believes will be the best defender in the league. “We’ve got the type of player you need at every position,” Boyle said. “We’ve got the lightning-quick point guard in Manning. We’ve got a great shooter in Levy and a great all-around player in Driscoll, who can guard anyone from one to five. It’s a very versatile group. We’ve got guys who can shoot it, and we’ve got guys who can put it on the floor, so they should mesh well together.”
Pen Argyl
Coach: Tyler King (first season)
Last season: 1-21, 0-18 (fifth in East)
Players to watch: Mason Soos (6-1, Sr. G); Jaden Hunter (6-0, Sr. G); Reid Kotulka (6-3, Jr. F); Blake Hendershot (6-0, So. G); Kaen Kaiser (6-3, Fr. F); Derek Stuckey (5-10, So. G); Giovanni Pezzuto (6-0, So. G); Joey Pysher (6-1, So. G)
Outlook: King, a Wilson Area High School graduate who played for Bob Frankenfield and was an assistant under Mike Glovas, replaces Mike Morris, who coached for seven seasons. He is looking forward to building a culture at Pen Argyl. “We return experienced guys from last season and have a talented young group coming into bigger roles this season,” King said. “Getting everyone to buy into the program has been a point of emphasis since getting hired, and every day we are getting more of that. We tell the guys every day to compete in everything we do, and that will turn into getting the results we are looking for. There is excitement with the kids, in the school, and around the town. The guys have been working extremely hard this offseason and now into the season. We are excited to get the season started.”
Wilson
Coach: Mike Glovas (10th season, 125-87)
Last year: 15-9, 11-7 league
Postseason: Lost to Northwestern Lehigh 66-62 in league quarterfinals. Lost to Lehighton 50-26 in District 11 4A quarterfinals.
Players to watch: Cole Shotko (6-0, Sr. G); Zyad Darwish (5-10, Sr. G); Jason Hall (6-0, Sr. F); Givanchy Durandisse (5-10, Sr. F); Shaun Danielson (5-10, Sr. G); Andrew Powell (6-1, Sr. F); Greg Carter (6-3, Sr. C); Michael DiBartola (6-0, Jr. G); Christian Samayoa (5-8, Jr. G); Lafayette Acree (6-1, Jr. F); Wyatt Deemer (6-5, So. C), Zion Velasquez (6-4, So. C)
Outlook: The Warriors lost five impactful seniors from last year’s team, but there’s cause for optimism. “We’re excited for the upcoming season, but the obvious question is who is going to step up for us?” Glovas said. “We lost five players who held significant roles and played a lot of minutes for us. We are a program that needs to have an identity of a tenacious group that gets after it on the defensive end. We need to protect the ball offensively and figure out what separates a bad shot from a good shot, and a good shot from a great shot. Going into the season, I feel like the team believes it can win each time we step on the court.”
