Like the Lehigh Valley Conference, the MVC semis will be played tonight.
The venue is Pocono Mountain West, which earned the top seed on the final night of the regular season.
The winners from tonight meet Friday night at a neutral site.
The matchups:
No. 2 seed Stroudsburg (13-9, 10-2) vs. No. 3 seed East Stroudsburg North (17-5, 9-3) at 6.
No. 1 seed Pocono Mt. West (18-4, 10-2) vs. No. 4 seed Lehighton (13-9, 5-7) at 7:30.
A quick look at each team
STROUDSBURG
Coach: Shawn Thornton (22nd season, 308-258).
Top players: Jacob Battle (6-0, Sr. G) 15.4 ppg; Danny Cuevas (6-5, Jr. C) 14.9 ppg; Edwin Lopez (5-11, Jr. G) 10.0.
About the Mounties: Average 62.3 ppg, allow 58.2 ppg. .... Lost in last year's semis to Pleasant Valley.... Seven of its nine losses are to LVC teams. ... League losses are to PM West in December and to Pleasant Valley in last game of MVC regular season. ... Swept ES North this season, winning 63-45 on Jan. 18, 72-61 on Jan. 28. ... In second meeting, Battle had 23 points and made five of team's 9 3-pointers.
EAST STROUDSBURG NORTH
Coach: Kevin Kennedy (10th season, 104-130).
Top players: Malique John (6-0, Sr. G/F) 9.5 ppg; Isiah Battle (6-2, Sr. F) 16.1 ppg; Will Quiles (5-9, Sr. G) 6.1 ppg.
About the Timberwolves: Average: 57.9 ppg, allow 50.6 ... Having the best season in school history ... Made a turnaround from a 7-15 record last year .... All five starters are back from last year's team ... Slow starts have been costly in the two losses to Stroudsburg. Trailed 22-15 after one quarter in the Jan. 28 meeting and 15-8 after eight meetings on Jan. 18. .... Battle's 18 points led a balanced attack that saw four players reach double figures in second meeting with Stroudsburg.
Groller's Corner prediction: Stroudsburg 60-53. This is going to be quite a battle with two kids named Battle leading their teams. Not easy to beat the same team three times in the same season, but Mounties are, well, more battle-tested.
POCONO MOUNTAIN WEST
Coach: Brad Pensyl (12th season at West, 25th season overall, 464-186).
Top players: Joe Wiggins (5-9, Sr. G) 23.5 ppg; Sean Cooper (6-3, Sr. F) 8.7 ppg; Lance Singh (6-0, Fr. G) 12.0 ppg.
About the Panthers: Average 72.3 ppg, allow 53.3 ppg. .... Beat ES South and Pleasant Valley to win last year's MVC title, but were then upset by Stroudsburg in the District 11 4A quarters. ... Have won 10 in a row since a 61-58 loss to Stroudsburg on Jan. 17 ... All four of its losses have been five or less (Easton 66-61, ES North 59-57 and Allen 84-82 in three OTs). ... Two of its best players are freshmen. In addition to Singh, Isaiah Wiggins is a 6-foot freshman guard, who has averaged 8.8 ppg. .... Swept Lehighton, winning 77-47 on Jan. 10 and 84-49 on Feb. 4. ... Winnings combined for 48 points in those two games.
LEHIGHTON
Coach: Rich Oertner (third season, 28-40; 189-139 including 10 seasons at Northern Lehigh).
Top players: Anthony Rossino (5-10, Sr. G) 10.0 ppg; Vince Mele (6-4, Sr. C) 8.4 ppg; Jordan Knappenberger (6-1, Jr. F) 13.1 ppg; Tyler Crum (6-1, Jr. G) 13.0 ppg; James Farano (6-3, Sr. F) 9.1 ppg.
About the Indians: Average 58.0, allow 56.6 ... In their final season in the MVC before moving on to the Schuylkill League, the Indians are making their first tournament appearance. ... Had lost four of six before ending regular season with back-to-back wins over East Stroudsburg South and Notre Dame-East Stroudsburg. ... Crum has been held to just 12 points, total, in two games against PM West. ... Knappenberger had 16 points in first game against PM West, Rossino and Mele had 12 apiece in the second meeting.
Groller's Corner prediction: PM West 70, Lehighton 50. No reason to think this one will be any different than the previous two.
THIS YEAR'S MVC ALL-STAR TEAM:
1st Team –
Joe Wiggins – Pocono Mt. West (Conference MVP)
Jake Battle – Stroudsburg
Isaiah Battle – East Stroudsburg North
Lance Singh – Pocono Mt. West
O’Neil Holder – East Stroudsburg South
2nd Team –
Danny Cuevas – Stroudsburg
Marquis Brown – Pleasant Valley
Isaiah Wiggins – Pocono Mt. West
Andre Jackson – East Stroudsburg South
Jake Steckel – Pocono Mt. East
Honorable Mention –
Maliqe John – East Stroudsburg North
Anthony Rossino – Lehighton
James Farano – Lehighton
Will Quiles – East Stroudsburg
PAST MVC CHAMPS (as a 7-team league)
2002-03 -- Pleasant Valley
2003-04 -- PM East
2004-05 -- PM West
2005-06 -- PM East
2006-07 -- PM West
2007-08 -- PM West
2008-09 -- Stroudsburg
2009-10 -- PM East
2010-11 -- PM West
2011-12 -- PM West
2012-13 -- PM West
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