Lehighton senior Cole Dietz got the Indians’ boys basketball season off to a memorable start.
He scored 31 points Saturday night to lead his team to a 62-54 win over Northern Lehigh in the Hamburg Tip-Off tournament championship game and also reached the 1,000-point mark in his career.
Dietz, who made three 3-pointers and went 6-for-7 at the foul line, was voted the tournament’s MVP. Teammates Talin Fairchild added four 3-pointers and 14 points overall, and Blake Roberts chipped in seven points and made the all-tournament team. Roberts had 21 points and eight rebounds in a 78-38 win over Shenandoah Valley.
Northern Lehigh got 19 points from Coy Daubert and 13 from Kellen Bauer in the defeat. Bauer, a junior, had scored a career-high 35 points in his team’s 67-47 opening-night win over Hamburg.
While the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference begins league play Monday and the Colonial League starts Tuesday, these games got the ball rolling:
Notre Dame-Green Pond 63, Freedom 55
In Saturday’s Jeff Dailey Tip-Off Tournament semifinal, Crusaders junior Justin Manning poured in 38 points, making four 3-pointers and going 12-for-19 from the foul line. Freedom junior Pallo Odotte made a 3-pointer with one second left in regulation to force overtime, but Notre Dame outscored Freedom 12-4 in the extra period. Odotte led Freedom with 17, and junior Chase Sipel chipped in 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Trinity 77, Allentown Central Catholic 59
The Vikings got 23 points from Yariel Gonzalez and 10 from Cam Hines in his Central Catholic debut, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a nonleague victory by the Shamrocks from District 3. Nike Craig led a balanced Trinity attack with 16 points.
Executive 75, Wyoming Valley West 37
The Raptors opened the season with a well-rounded effort against a District 2 team. Elijah Styles and Jaxon Loper each scored points, and Styles added eight rebounds, while Loper contributed 10 steals. Ziyon Wilkins added six assists.
Stroudsburg 69, Palmerton 53
Tae El-Bassiouni scored 19 points and Jarel Jackson and Deon Davis added 13 and 12, respectively, as the Mounties opened the season with a nonleague win at home. Cameron Pengelly led the Blue Bombers with 15 points, all of them coming in the first half.
Salisbury 60, Mahanoy Area 45
Julian Makhoul scored 22 points, while Drew Petrike added 11 as the Falcons opened their season with a nonleague victory at home. Ryan Ziker led Mahanoy Area with 15.
Liberty 53, Hazleton 45
Jake Pukszyn opened his senior season with 25 points and Willie Cruz III added 12 as Liberty outlasted host Hazleton in a nonleague game. Hazleton, which led 35-33 after three quarters, was led by Dylan Stish’s 16 points.
Bethlehem Catholic 66, Brandywine 40
Parker McClary made seven 3-pointers and totaled 28 points overall as the Golden Hawks opened their season with a nonleague win Friday night at Brandywine. Brodie Muir and Sammy Barona added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Emmaus swept
It wasn’t the way new coach Eric Luckenbill wanted to get started as the Green Hornets lost to Old Forge 45-42 and Holy Redeemer 57-46 in the Wilkes-Barre Area Tip-Off tournament. Emmaus junior Lucas Stephan was named to the all-tournament team. He had 12 points in both games.
