Warriors seize control of Div. III standings

1-21-26

By Corey Gesford
Elk Lake used a pair of wins to remain undefeated in the Lackawanna League Division III standings including a win over previously undefeated Susquehanna. The Warriors used a big second half to pull away from the Sabers for a 72-51 victory to assume the top of the Division III standings.
Leading 25-24 at intermission, Elk Lake out scored Susquehanna 47-27 the final two quarters. John Heitsman and Chase Pond each had 23 points to lead the Warriors including a combined 7-7 from the free throw line. Connor Stephens added 12 points and Kendel Jones chipped in with eight in his return from an ankle injury.

Griffin Fisk led the Sabers with 19 points including 6-7 from the stripe and Hudson Stengel finished with 18 points including four connections from deep. Mason Keyes added 10 points. Against Lackawanna Trail the Warriors doubled up the Lions in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 58-52 win and hand the Lions their second loss of the first half.
Elk Lake led 27-21 at the half and 41-39 heading into the final quarter. Heitsman had 24 points including 13 in the fourth quarter to lead the way while Pond finished with 15. On the other end of the standings Mountain View outscored Forest City three of four quarters and pulled away for a 48-34 victory to keep the Foresters winless on the season. Hudson Bain and Jordan Jagger each had seven points as the Eagles opened 14-6 lead after the first quarter.
Mountain View led 23-12 at the half and 34-25 after three quarters. The Foresters cut the lead to seven midway through the fourth but Aidan McCloskey had seven points as the Eagles regained momentum to win by 14.
Bain led Mountain View with 11 points while Jagger and McCloskey each finished with nine points. TJ Collins and Jaxson Owens each had 11 points for the Foresters. For the second Friday in a row, Blue Ridge used a buzzer beater to the delight of their fans in a 62-60 win over Carbondale. Paxton Pingarelli hauled in a lob pass from Travis Rutter and scored ahead of the buzzer to stave off the Carbondale rally.
The Raiders led 40-36 going into the final stanza, but Carbondale rallied and led 60-58 with 12 seconds to go. But the Raiders knotted the game on a Pingarelli put back, and then gained the ball back when a desperation heave by Carbondale hit the ceiling of the Blue Ridge gym. Carbondale neglected to guard Rutter on the inbounds and his pass was deflected by a Charger defender into Pingarelli’s hands for the game winner.
Pingarelli finished with 15 points to lead the Raiders while Will Hobart added 13 and Landon Bishop and Jack Parks each had 11 including a combined five from three-point land. Lackawanna Trail doubled up Montrose three out of four quarters to roll to a 59-31 win.
Jude Adams led Montrose with 10 points and Sawyer Brown added eight – all in the first quarter. Susquehanna outscored Carbondale all four quarters and left the Pioneer City with a 54-42
victory to set the stage for Friday’s battle with Elk Lake. Mason Keyes led the Sabers with 16 points including 13 in the second half. Griffin Fisk added 13 and Hudson Stengel chipped in with eight.
Montrose closed the game out with a 12-0 run to rally past Mountain View for a 42-39 win. Evan McComb scored six points in the final stanza and provided a key defensive play to lead the Meteor comeback after the Eagles took a 39-30 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
McComb led Montrose with a game-high 12 points while Jai Herman finished with nine points
and Jude Adams added eight. Hudson Bain led Mountain View with 11 points, Jordan Jagger added 10 and Josh Miller had nine.
Blue Ridge outscored Forest City 28-13 in the third quarter to take control of the game in a 78-55 win over the Foresters. Paxton Pingarelli had 32 points to lead Blue Ridge who also got seven three-pointers from Landon Bishop, who finished with 21 points and Travis Rutter added 10. TJ Collins led the Foresters with 18 points while Jaxon Owens had 14 and Jaydin Carter added 12.