Cougars could not slow down Comets this time

CLARKS SUMMIT – An Abington Heights team on the way to a District 2 Class 5A championship and a trip to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state quarterfinals seemed to also be headed for the 2022-23 Lackawanna League Division boys basketball championship.

That is, until being derailed by Valley View.

The Cougars knocked off the Comets in the regular season and again in a playoff that decided the division championship.

In a game filled with players from those 2023 showdowns, a veteran Abington Heights team was not about to let it happen again.

“Last season, these guys beat us two out of three, so there was definitely a chip on our shoulder to get back against these guys,” Mason Fedor said after leading all players with 15 points and eight rebounds Feb. 1 when the Comets took their next-to-last step in securing a Division 1 title by handling the visiting Cougars, 56-39.

The win was the 19 ^th straight for an Abington Heights team, which locked up the division and moved within two games of a perfect, 22-0 regular season three nights later.

Valley View made its shots for a lead after one quarter and Fedor sat the last 6:54 of the first half with two fouls.

The Comets moved into the lead without their senior center and season scoring leader, then pulled away when Fedor returned to provide 11 of his points and five of his rebounds in the second half.

“Our coaches say that having me on bench doesn’t help us,” Fedor said, “so, I was just trying to be as sound as I could just to stay on the floor.”

Valley View controlled the pace and converted some difficult shots while starting 6-for-9 before missing a desperation shot as the first quarter ended with the Cougars in front 13-11.

“We knew they were going to try to slow the game down as much as they could,” Fedor said. “So, we just had to keep playing our game and keep pushing the ball throughout four quarters.”

After Abington Heights yielded just one second-quarter field goal while moving in front 23-17, Valley View had no choice but to accommodate a faster pace in the second half.

Fedor led four players who finished in double figures.

Ryan Nealon had 12 of his 14 points in the second half. Jordan Shaffer finished 5-for-7 from the floor and 3-for-5 on 3-pointers while adding 13 points and four steals. Roby Lucas chipped in 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Lincoln Anderson grabbed three of his five rebounds, dished out two assists and had one of his two blocked shots while filling in for Fedor in the second quarter.

Nick Kucharski was 5-for-5 inside the arc while leading Valley View with 12 points, five rebounds and four assists.