District 2 Boys Basketball Playoff Preview

The 2024-2025 regular season is complete in District 2. Division winners were crowned, tournament champions were decided and all roads now lead to Mohegan Sun Arena. 

This season, only five of the six classifications in District 2 will crown a champion. According to District 2 officials, the 1A title will be vacant because MMI Prep did not qualify for the subregional between District 2 and District 11. Thankfully, brackets have been set to crown a champion in 2A-6A, and here is a breakdown of each of those brackets. Each breakdown will preview the field, the contenders and include a prediction of who will reach the championship game at Mohegan Sun Arena.

2A: Old Forge, Mountain View, Lackawanna Trail, Wyoming Seminary, Blue Ridge, Susquehanna, Forest City

Old Forge has made the most of their first year in 2A, as they look to bring home their first district title since 2021. Led by juniors Cameron Parker and Logan Fanning along with senior DJ Fox, the Blue Devils went 17-5 and earned the one seed in 2A and an automatic bye to the semifinals.

Their biggest challengers will be Mountain View and Lackawanna Trail. The Eagles went 15-7 and won 10 of their final 13 games. They have a three-headed monster in the backcourt with seniors Ziggy Bradford and Jackson Gesford alongside junior Hudson Bain. Gesford surpassed 1,000 career points in the team’s regular season finale against Carbondale. Lackawanna Trail also has experience in the form of senior guard Jake Antolick.

The rest of the field should not be taken lightly. Wyoming Seminary showed their ability to pull off an upset earlier this year with a win over Berwick. Blue Ridge beat Wyoming Seminary earlier this year and knocked off Mountain View by 19 points. Susquehanna enters the postseason hot, winning four of their last five including a double digit road win over Lackawanna Trail. 

Championship game prediction: Mountain View vs Old Forge

3A: Riverside, Holy Cross, Elk Lake, Holy Redeemer, Dunmore, Montrose, Lakeland

This may be the deepest field with all but one of the teams having a record of .500 or better, however this is really a two horse race. Riverside and Holy Cross have met three times this season, with the Crusaders leading the series 2-1. Both teams took home gold last year, and appear to be set for a fourth clash. 

Holy Redeemer is the wild card of the field, with the Royals pulling off upset wins over Berwick and Wilkes-Barre Area to enter the playoffs hot. Elk Lake can also play spoiler, especially considering they have won 19 of 20 and a Lackawanna League Division 3 title. 

In the end, it will come down to talent and experience. Holy Cross returns their entire starting five from last year’s state runner-up team. Riverside has the best freshman in the district in Nico Antoniacci, who had 32 points against the Crusaders in the Division 2 championship game. Both of these teams are ranked top five in the state in 3A, so get your popcorn ready for round four.

Championship game prediction: Holy Cross vs Riverside

4A: Scranton Prep, Dallas, Valley View, Wyoming Area, Berwick, Mid Valley, Tunkhannock, Honesdale

The only District 2 classification that will send three teams to the state tournament, while every other bracket will send two. The top three seeds are the three true contenders for the title. Scranton Prep overcame a 3-5 start to win 13 of 14 games to close the year. Dallas dropped four of their last six games before getting back-to-back wins in the Wyoming Valley Conference Tournament for a 17-7 record on a team with four new starters, two of whom are freshmen. Valley View won 11 straight games to start the season as part of a 17-5 campaign. The Mountaineers beat the Cavaliers in December and the Cavaliers swept the Cougars in two regular season meetings. All three squads have a legitimate shot to bring home the gold. 

Outside of the top three, Berwick and Wyoming Area have the best shot to crash the state playoff party. The Bulldogs won 12 of their final 15 games and the Warriors won their first division title in over half a century. 

Picking this championship game was the most difficult of the article and the third place game was just as tough. In the end, Dallas had a comeback win over Holy Redeemer in the Wyoming Valley Conference Championship after being down 13 points entering the fourth quarter. That showed me they have what it takes to make it to the arena.

Championship game prediction: Dallas vs Scranton Prep 

Third place game prediction: Wyoming Area vs Valley View 

5A: Pittston, Abington Heights, Crestwood, Wallenpaupack, North Pocono, Nanticoke

The 5A bracket is probably the most balanced of any in District 2 this year. The top four seeds all have a shot to not only make the championship game but win it. All four teams have a player that can take over a game and win it. Pittston has Silvio Giardina, who is fully healthy after an injury derailed most of his season last year. Abington Heights has Robby Lucas, the only starter back from the back-to-back district championship teams. Crestwood has Ayden Agapito, whose positional flexibility makes him so difficult to defend. Wallenpaupack has Justin Blanding, who surpassed 1,000 career points earlier this year.

Pittston has the clearest path to their first district championship game since 2022, but their opponent is less obvious. It will likely be a clash of the Comets in the semifinals, where I have to give the edge to the program with back-to-back district titles.

Championship game prediction: Abington Heights vs Pittston

6A: Scranton, Wilkes-Barre Area, Hazleton, Delaware Valley, Williamsport, Wyoming Valley West, West Scranton

The 6A bracket will be the one with the most rematches, especially because Hazleton faced Wyoming Valley West twice this season and West Scranton faced Wilkes-Barre Area back in December. The semi-finals will be more of the same if Delaware Valley and Hazleton win, as it would set up the third meeting in a trilogy for both Scranton and Delaware Valley and Wilkes-Barre Area and Hazleton.

The Knights have won the last three 6A titles and are likely to get back there again, but they did lose to the Warriors back on January 16 and only beat them by six when the two teams met again. Both games between the Wolfpack and Cougars were decided by two points. The semi-finals would be must-see games.

In the end, I can’t go against the three-time champs and a team that wants revenge after having their home floor stormed last year. 

Championship game prediction: Wilkes-Barre Area vs Scranton