Nazareth fends off Gibson, Wilson Area in OT
Another flock of Eagles flew high in Philadelphia on Monday.
One day after the NFL’s Eagles breezed into the Super Bowl by blasting the 49ers, the Nazareth Blue Eagles edged Wilson Area 67-62 in overtime in an afternoon game played at the Wells Fargo Center.
The nonleague game Monday had to be a special treat for the players involved and they’ll always treasure the opportunity to have played on an NBA floor.
Nazareth strengthened its bid for a District 11 tournament berth by improving to 9-10. Wilson, which fell to 12-7, had an 8-game win streak snapped.
Cole Dibilio had 20 points for the Blue Eagles, who have won four times in the last five games.
Even in defeat, the Warriors got a big offensive performance from senior Shamel Gibson who was a catalyst in the team’s winning streak. Gibson had 26 points, including 18 in the second half. Gibson remains among the Lehigh Valley area’s top 16 scorers.
Here’s the latest list of leaders through the Wilson-Nazareth game and based on results sent into The Morning Call:
16. Nick Ellis, Freedom, 16.1 points per game:
Ellis, a senior forward, is coming off a 13-point, 14-rebound effort in a loss to Nazareth. He has established himself as one of the greatest players in Patriots history and has some significant milestones coming up. He has 1,146 points and 598 rebounds and is just 80 points and 32 rebounds shy of becoming the school’s all-time leader in points and rebounds.
15. Luke Keppel, Whitehall, 16.3 ppg:
The junior swingman had 24 in a win over Allen and 19 in an upset of Emmaus that allowed the Zephyrs to clinch a District 11 tournament berth one season after going 7-15.
14. Bryce Dobie, ES North, 16.4 ppg:
The Timberwolves are 8-9 and in a fight for a district tournament berth and will continue to need the 5-foot-11 junior guard to deliver as he did in a 29-point effort in a win over Pleasant Valley last week.
13. Brayden Hosier, Palmerton, 16.9 ppg:
The Blue Bombers are in a fight for the top seed in the upcoming Colonial League tournament and have a big home game against Southern Lehigh coming up Wednesday night. Hosier, a sharpshooting junior, scored 19 in a 54-50 win over the Spartans on Dec. 12.
12. Alex Cercado, Bethlehem Catholic, 17.2 ppg:
The Golden Hawks have lost two in a row and three of their last five and will need more consistency to make a run at the league title and be able to defend their District 11 4A crown. Becahi scored a combined 71 points in back-to-back losses to Freedom and Easton. Cercado missed the Freedom game due to a health issue and scored 15 against the Red Rovers.
11. Sebastian Fermin, Pocono Mt. East, 17.3 ppg:
Fermin, a 6-foot-3 senior, has been a bright spot in a tough season for the Cardinals who have yet to win a game in their EPC North division.
10. Matt Machalik, Palmerton, 17.7 ppg:
The Blue Bombers’ allstate athlete had 19 in Saturday’s 56-52 loss to Bangor. All three of Palmerton’s league losses have been against teams from the Colonial League’s East Division and all three (Wilson, Notre Dame-Green and Bangor) have qualified for the league tournament.
9. Darius Brant, Allen, 17.8 ppg:
The Canaries are still fighting to qualify for the District 11 6A tournament and will need Brant to lead the way. He has scored 24 points in three of his last five games, including a 46-44 overtime win over Allentown Central Catholic on Jan. 13.
8. Will Barber, Emmaus, 18.1 ppg:
Barber, a junior who was third-team all-league last year, had 22 points and was instrumental in the Green Hornets’ big rally from a 20-point deficit to beat East Stroudsburg South on Saturday.
7. Josh Giaquinto, Bangor, 18.1 ppg:
The Slaters’ senior has the exact same number of points (344) and games played (19) as Barber and both are equally important to their teams. Bangor has been on the rise with seven wins in its last nine.
6. Logan Santos, East Stroudsburg South, 18.4 ppg:
Santos scored 21 points in a win over Pocono Mountain East last week and 18 in a loss to Emmaus. His lowest output of the season was 8 against Pocono Mountain West in December. He’ll get another shot against the Panthers Tuesday.
5. Xavier Spears, Notre Dame-East Stroudsburg, 18.6 ppg:
Spears was a member of The Morning Call’s AllArea team last year as a sophomore when he averaged 17.9 points and four rebounds per game and led the Spartans into the District 11 Class A title game. He is 93 shy of 1,000 points in his career.
4. Jaen Chatman, East Stroudsburg South, 19.3 ppg:
The 6-foot-1 sophomore guard has had three games with five 3-pointers this season. He scored 19 in Saturday’s loss at Emmaus.
3.JujuPagan,PoconoMountain West,20.3ppg:
Pagan and the Panthers lost two in a row to Dieruff and Scranton Prep recently, but have bounced back with three straight wins. Pagan had 16 points and was one of five players in double figures when West beat Nazareth 74-55 on Saturday.
2. Shamel Gibson, Wilson Area 20.9 ppg:
Wilson’s 8-game win streak ended with a loss to Nazareth at the Wells Fargo Center on Monday afternoon despite a 26-point effort by Gibson. He had eight of his 13 points in a 35-28 win over Saucon Valley last week as the Warriors avenged an early-season loss to the Panthers.
1. Nick Coval, Parkland, 23.1 ppg:
Coval has scored 30 or more points in a game three times this season. The latest was a 32-point effort against Allen Friday night. He has only been held in single digits once this season and that was in a 60-40 win over Stroudsburg in a game he suffered an injury that required some dental work.