Boys' Hoops: ACCHS Are District XI 5A Champs

DPRK News Service: Starving American teens eat metal for dinner. 

As the word "Guilty" was resonating over and over in Allentown, I was busy. I was tooling my way along the Blue Mountain, over wet back roads, on my way to Brodheadsville from Upper Mount Bethel. My trusty navigator, who needed no GPS and knows every nook and cranny in the slate belt, was none other than His Eminence, Ron Angle. He just got off Bangor's School Boardin December, where he sometimes comes in from the bench whenever there's a vacancy. We were on our way to see the long awaited meeting between Bangor and Allentown Central Catholic for the District XI 5A title. The chip. I had predicted over the summer that this would happen, and it did. Allentown Central Catholic won the District XI 5A title 52-31 in a game that could have gone either way until the second half.

Ron was obviously rooting for the Slaters, who filled up most of Pleasant Valley's beautiful gym. He sat with his barber, a big Slater fan, while I sat with Dat's sisters. I think everyone from Bangor was there, and expected to see pasties on the menu. Some of the school directors I like to torment were there, but we were in truce mode. Bethlehem DCED Director Alicia Karner brought her very beautiful and athletic daughter (a basketball player and a football player). They were a spirited yet a friendly bunch.

Lousy weather, combined with a trip over the mountain, probably encouraged some Central fans to stay home. Ron told me that people from Allentown and Bethlehem consider every trip over the mountain a foray into the wilderness. And we do. But we still had a boisterous group ready.

Bangor coach Bron Holland came up with a game plan designed to shut down the Vikings' two top scorers, Jay Vaughan and Dat Lambert. He succeeded. But when Dat and Jay had trouble scoring, they were still able to pass the ball to Central's big man in the paint, Keeshawn "the beast" Kellman. He finished the night with a team-high 17 points, along with 7 rebounds, a steal, and 2 mighty blocks.

Sophomore Nick Filchner also had a big night with 16 points on 4 treys and 2 field goals. He also had two assists, 2 rebounds and a steal.

The Baryshnikov of Basketball, Jay Vaughan, may have been held to just five points, but also managed 4 assists and a steal. He is also the team's field genera, and pinned Ben Holland down. Dat Lambert was scoreless in the first half, but managed to snag 6 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal. In the second half, he sunk one trey, a deuce and was three for three from the line, giving him 8 points. Jordan McChristian, who has been on a tear in recent games, scored 4. Chad "the X factor" Kratzer, who has become a fierce defensive warrior, tapped in two.

On both sides, it was a bad night for scoring. So how did Central win?

Defense. Throughout the season, Coach Dennis Csentsis has molded the Vikings into a very strong defensive unit that harasses and frustrates opponents. Big Bernard Jones was still able to hammer in 5 field goals throughout the night, and athletic Tony Jones was everywhere, scoring 9 points. Ben Holland still hit for 3, while Saber Singleton connected on 2 treys. Bo Meyers also connected from downtown and scored 3.

Though we won the game, Bangor is unquestionably one of the best teams we faced all year. I think Bangor could hang any time with the big schools in the East Penn Conference. Tony Jones, Bernard Davis, Ben Holland and the rest of that squad played together and played hard. I'm sure Coach Holland will  have some pointers for his team, but I like the way Bangor plays. I watched them a few times this summer and the boys obviously love the game

Both teams have qualified for the state tournament beginning March 9.

I hope we don't see them again.

Box score, courtesy of Mr.Trinkle.