D-11 Boys’ Basketball: Wreckers edge NDES late, end playoff drought
Weatherly head coach Luke Medico (left) and junior guard Ian McKeegan (right) look on during free throws during the Wreckers' District 11 Class A quarterfinals boys' basketball game Tuesday at the Lehighton Elementary Gymnasium. Weatherly defeated Notre Dame East-Stroudsburg 70-66 (Photo by Eli Doyle).
LEHIGHTON — It was truly a relentless effort from head coach Luke Medico’s Weatherly squad.
Niko Saldukas, a junior, highlighted a team-high 23-point scoring performance with a go-ahead 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter as Weatherly stunned Notre Dame East-Stroudsburg 70-66 in a wire-to-wire District 11 Class A boys’ basketball quarterfinal playoff game Tuesday at Lehighton Elementary School.
“They’re a good team,” Medico said about the Spartans (11-12), “and they have some great players on that team, and (the Wreckers) didn’t back down. That, I couldn’t be more proud of. The effort the entire game was amazing to watch. Nobody gave up.”
Weatherly (14-10) ended a 19-year district playoff victory drought following Saldukas’ clutch fourth quarter, where the junior netted eight points off a pair of 3-pointers and two lead-padding free throws with 3.9 seconds remaining. Weatherly’s last district win was over Pius X, 62-60, in the 2006 Class A semifinals.
Saldukas, a 6-foot-1 forward, is one of a trio of juniors who have seemingly helped reignite the Wreckers’ program. Ian McKeegan, a 5-7 guard, chipped in 16 points and Corbin Wagner, a 5-8 guard, collected 14 for Weatherly in the win over Notre Dame.
“I’ve never given up on this program or the town,” Medico said. “This is awesome to see. I know that people count us out, we’re a small, public school, but that is not what we’re really about. Now it’s coming to fruition. We’re turning it around. The young kids are excited, these guys are freaking pumped.
“This is bigger than basketball, it is about bringing the kids and community together and having something to be excited about, and work toward. And I couldn’t be more happy.”
Medico, a Wreckers alum in his second season at the helm, celebrated across from the Weatherly bench with team members, coaches, families and fans after the final buzzer.
The game started out smoothly for Weatherly, which led in a close battle 19-16 at the end of the first quarter. Wagner gave his squad a 15-14 lead after scoring two points and drawing a foul off an inbound pass from McKeegan. Wagner couldn’t get the and-1 free throw to fall. McKeegan added a steal and transition layup to add to Weatherly’s lead before Rizos Katranis stopped the momentum with a layup to draw the Spartans within one. McKeegan netted a circus layup to put his team ahead 19-16 at the end of the frame.
The Wreckers’ forwards, Saldukas and 6-2 sophomore Matt Adler, were tasked with holding Spartans’ 6-5 senior big man Marc Jackett in check. Jackett totaled 20 points and had two massive dunks but later fouled out with 13.2 seconds left in the game.
The second quarter was neck-and-neck as neither squad gave an inch.
Preston Protheroe kicked off the second frame with an inside two to get Notre Dame back within one. Protheroe, a 5-10 senior guard, was a menace for Weatherly all game. He scored a game-high 32 points. Adler countered Protheroe’s bucket with a 3 for the Wreckers.
Weatherly maintained the lead throughout the entire frame as McKeegan added a steal and went coast-to-coast for an easy two to put the Wreckers ahead 37-30 with less than 20 seconds to play before the half.
Wasting little time, the Spartans got the ball in quickly and freshman Rodderick DelaPaz nailed a 3 to cut the deficit to four points at the half. More importantly, DelaPaz may have set the tone for Notre Dame’s script-flipping third quarter.
