Gold gets brought back to the Slate Belt
Win over East Stroudsburg South gives Slaters their 1st district title since 1988
Three seasons ago when he first put on a Bangor uniform, CJ Miles so impressed then Slaters coach Bron Holland that Holland said Miles had a chance to be one of the greatest players in Bangor basketball history.
Holland, now the school’s athletic director, would know since he is arguably the greatest.
The discussion over who’s the Slaters’ all-time best is better suited to getting together a few old-timers and grabbing a few cold ones for a discussion in some Slate Belt taproom.
But Miles and the rest of this year’s Bangor team put themselves in select company Tuesday night when a 59-54 win over East Stroudsburg South in the District 11 Class 5A championship game at PPL Center meant the 2021 team joined Holland’s 1988 team as the only ones to win league and district championships in the same season.
Miles scored 25 points, grabbed five rebounds and took over the game at certain points as the Slaters added a second title to the Colonial League crown earned 11 days ago when they beat
Notre Dame.
Fittingly, Holland and Miles shared a brief hug before Miles left the floor at PPL Center.
“It’s a great feeling and I’m overwhelmed right now,” Miles said. “To bring home a Colonial League championship and a district championship in the same year is just a blessing for me and my teammates.”
Miles said Bangor did it with defense. “We were going to let the offense come to us and on defense we needed to know where their shooters were,” Miles said. “They have some good shooters and good players who could attack the rim.”
East Stroudsburg South, coming off an impressive semifinal win over Pottsville, started fast. Villanova football recruit Christian Sapp scored six points in the first quarter and the Cavaliers jumped out to leads of 12-5 and 15-8.
But Miles closed the first quarter with a 3-pointer and Bangor settled into an offense that produced a 10-3 run to close the first half with a 29-22 lead.
Sophomore Justin Petersen is not one of the Slaters’ marquee players, but he hit two key 3s in the first quarter to help stabilize his top-seeded team when things were getting a little rocky.
“Coming into the game, everyone was saying these are shooter’s rims and we just lit it up,” Petersen said. “CJ, Gabe [Zieba] and everybody did our thing. We got it done at the defensive end and it was just a great feeling.”
Second-year coach Colin Kessler told the guys in the locker room before the game that winning a district championship is one of the greatest feelings in the world. Kessler would know since he won district gold in both football and basketball at Pen Argyl.
“They went out and did it tonight,” Kessler said. “It’s all about our players. They step up to every single challenge that’s put in front of them. They listen at practice and make adjustments during the game. It’s all about them. They went out and executed offensively and defensively and did a great job of boxing out and rebounding. I’m so proud of each and every one of them.”
Kessler said he was three years old when Bangor last won a district title.
“We talk about memories throughout the course of the season and these guys made one heck of a memory tonight,” Kessler said. “It’s so great to bring this district gold back for not only our school, but also the whole community of Bangor.”
Of course, the celebration didn’t come without some anxiety.
Bangor had a 51-38 lead after a Miles 3-pointer, but East Stroudsburg South intensified its defensive pressure and got back within 51-46 before Petersen hit a trey to slow down the Cavaliers.
South never backed down, but couldn’t turn the game its way thanks to Miles and the clutch efforts of several Slaters.
“I like that our guys didn’t quit, but we didn’t play the style of basketball we’ve played all year,” Cavaliers coach Shawn Munford said. “Give credit to the people who won. CJ controlled the whole game. He was the difference. He was the best player on the floor tonight and as a result, his team got the win.”
BANGOR 59, ES SOUTH (54)
ES South 15-7-12-20— 54
Bangor 11-18-11-19— 59
ES SOUTH (54)
Patterson 0-30-00, Mileto 4-102-214, Sarr 4-8 0-08, Parker 4-73-412, Sapp 6-181-214, McIntyre 2-40-04, Cesanek 1-10-02. Totals 21-51 6-854.
BANGOR (59)
Miles 8-165-525, Zieba 3-83-39, Giaquinto 3-30-07, Petersen 4-60-010, Heald 4-60-28, Merklinger 0-10-00. Totals 22-408-1059. 3-pointers: ES South (6-20) Mileto 4, Parker, Sapp. Bangor (7-13) Miles 4, Petersen 2, Giaquinto.
Rebounds: ES South 22(Sapp 11). Bangor 20 (several with 4).
Turnovers: ES South 9, Bangor 9.
Fouls: ES South 12, Bangor 12.
Officials: Greg Haas, Karen Pammer, Steve Serensits.
Keith Groller can be reached at 610-820-6740 or at kgroller@ mcall.com