Five things we learned from Wednesday's boys basketball games

FROM KEITH GROLLER

It was an abbreviated card and I still don't understand why Easton didn't have school and Allen-Easton was postponed again, but it did give me a chance to get up to the Poconos and see what two of the district's most talented boys basketball teams have to offer as I saw Pocono Mountain East beat Pocono Mountain West on Wednesday night.

Really wasn't that bad up that way, although I did get nervous when it was snowing as I came out of the building around 11. One slick turn and I was headed for the Mount Airy Casino for an overnight stay.

But that wasn't necessary and my back account was spared.

Here's what else we learned:

1. Northern Lehigh still has a shot at making the Colonial League tournament. The defending league champion Bulldogs were routed by both Bangor, Notre Dame and Saucon Valley, but at 5-3 in the league, they are positioned to snare the last slot if the South Division teams -- Saucon, Notre Dame and Southern Lehigh -- beat each other up down the stretch when everybody plays within its own division again. That was a key win for the Bulldogs over Palisades on Weds.

2. Palmerton's coaching change hasn't help on the court. Maybe things are quieter in the stands, but the Blue Bombers shouldn't be losing by 36 to Southern Lehigh, although the Spartans are coming on strong.

3. Don't crown Central Catholic as your 3A district champion just yet. The Vikings have to qualify for the tournament first and they have not played great basketball in the last two weeks. CCHS has been exposed as a weak defensive team and to score just 31 points against Liberty -- even though the Hurricanes are excellent defensively -- shows that Rich Fatzinger and Co. still have a lot of work to do at Rockne.

4. Stroudsburg is coming on strong. The Mounties have now won six of their last seven and have established themselves as the third best team in the Mountain Valley Conference. If they beat Pocono West on Friday, you might consider them the second best team in the MVC. The Mounties will definitely make the District 11 4A tourney and could be dangerous in what should be a well-stocked field.

5. Pocono Mountain East is good, real good. They had a few sloppy moments, but overall, the Cardinals were impressive in beating Pocono Mountain West on Wednesday night. Lamont Tillery and Kamall Richards form as good a 1-2 scoring punch as there is in District 11 and if they get some help from the outside, watch out. Rather than talk about doing it, the Cardinals have to just go out and do it. We've seen them fall short when it mattered most too many times before. But this could be the year a Mountain Valley Conference team wins district gold, and East is the best bet.