Southern Lehigh rides streak into title game
Spartans have won 13 of 14 heading into matchup vs. top-seeded Pottsville
DISTRICT 11 CLASS 5A CHAMPIONSHIP
Who: No. 3 seed Southern Lehigh (17-8) vs. No. 1 seed Pottsville (22-3).
When/where: 7 p.m. Thursday at Blue Mountain High School.
What’s next: Winner will play District 3 No. 5 seed (Elizabethtown or Lampeter-Strasburg); loser will play District 3 No. 4 seed (William Penn of York or Northern) on March 8 in the PIAA 5A tournament.
The coaches: Ben Tannous, Southern Lehigh, 96-52 in six seasons; Dave Mullaney, Pottsville, 257-68 in 12 seasons.
Players to watch: Southern Lehigh: 5-10 Sr. G Trey Trevis (9.2 ppg); F Quinn Schmidt (4.2 ppg); 6-3 So. G Daryl Coleman (11.4 ppg); 5-11 Jr. G Chris Andrews (14.3 ppg); 5-11 Jr. G Kyle Hoff (5.1 ppg); 6-4 Sr. F John Coyle (5.7 ppg). Pottsville: 6-1 Jr. G Mason Barnes (13.5 ppg); 5-9 Sr. G Trevor Sherakas (9.0 ppg); 5-11 Sr. G Aiden Stanton (4.5 ppg); 6-1 Sr. F Jr Hahner (6.0). Things to know: Southern Lehigh began the season 0-3 and 2-6 but has won 13 of its last 14 games. … The Spartans defeated Bangor 36-32 in the Colonial League championship game, getting 18 points from Coleman. … Southern Lehigh beat Blue Mountain 72-65 in overtime in the district semifinals, getting 27 points from Chris Andrews. Andrews was 14 of 15 at the foul line, including 12 for 12 in the OT period. … Coyle and Coleman added 11 points apiece for the Spartans, who had seven 3-pointers. … Southern Lehigh is in the district final for the first time since winning the 2009 title with a 48-35 victory over Pottsville in the 3A championship game . ... The Spartans lost in the district finals eight times prior to 2009. … Pottsville won the Schuylkill League title with a 51-13 win over Mahanoy Area in the semis and a 51-35 victory over Blue Mountain in the championship game. … Advanced to the finals with a 53-43 win over Bangor, getting 22 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists from Mason Barnes. … Pottsville has won seven straight since a 56-47 loss to Scranton Prep on Jan. 16. … The Tide is in the district final for the eighth time since 2009. … Won district titles in 2010, 2015 and 2016. … Pottsville lost to Central Catholic 57-41 in last year’s semifinals. … The Tide has won at least 20 games nine times in the last 10 seasons. … Pottsville has played the last three games without 6-foot-5 junior forward Kevin Schenk, the team’s leading scorer at 15.9 points per game, who has been sidelined due to a disciplinary situation.
Keith Groller’s prediction: Southern Lehigh has staged an amazing turnaround and remains one of the hottest teams in local basketball.
Andrews has emerged as one of the area’s most clutch players.
The Spartans will compete hard and refuse to back down, but the Tide’s defense, as Bangor found out, is as stingy as any District 11 team. Pottsville 50-45.