Eastern Pennsylvania Conference basketball began this week after several teams competed in tipoff tournaments after Thanksgiving. All six schools in the EPC North competed against each other on Tuesday and Thursday, and there are early signs of who the teams to beat in the division.
On the boys’ side, District 5A champs Pocono Mountain West, now in class 6A, is still the team to beat after a strong opening week that included two 20-point victories over Notre Dame of Green Pond and East Stroudsburg South. East Stroudsburg University commit Adrian Brito is averaging a double-double to start the year, with his most impressive game coming against the Crusaders, where he recorded 32 points and 15 rebounds.
But the real surprise for the Panthers has been senior Jonathan Mateo, who’s had a couple of 20-point games to start his senior season. Rich Williams was confident Mateo would flourish with a larger role, and it’s coming to fruition.
The other program that’s started strongly is Pocono Mountain East. The Cardinals won their first three games, including a 73-42 blowout of Stroudsburg. In addition to returners Aiden Pierre, Parker Scoz, and Stephon Bethea, East also has transfer Rayshawn Harris, who’s brought some scoring punch with a physical frame. Harris had 28 against Dallas in the opener, while Scoz had 25 against Stroudsburg. This isn’t the first time East has started well, but there is much to like about them.
Regarding the rest of the mountain, East Stroudsburg North and Pleasant Valley are fun in their own ways. The Timberwolves are playing with a level of athleticism and pace that makes their brand of basketball entertaining, while the Bears’ senior center, Zach Prator, will give defenses fits.
Those teams met Tuesday night, and Pleasant Valley won its home opener. However, there are things to like about both teams. It will be interesting to see how they progress after a couple more weeks of EPC play.
At the bottom of the EPC North are Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg South, both programs in rebuilding years while facing contenders on the front end of their schedule. It will be a rough season for the Cavaliers and Mounties, one that will see many young guys who will take their lumps in their first varsity experience.
The girls’ side of the EPC North is the same as last year, at least at the top: it’ll come down to Pocono Mountain West and Stroudsburg. After losing by 26 to Valley View on the road, West paid it forward by beating South by 18 in the EPC opener. The Panthers are full of players ready to blossom after last year, namely Mia Bowden and Ashley Hunter-Ali, the latter of whom had a game-high 14 against the South.
East Stroudsburg women’s hoops commit McKayla Strunk has continued her scoring prowess, scoring 23 against Carbondale and 19 against East. Additionally, Teagan Strunk has taken a step forward this season, serving as the team’s leading scorer (18) in a close loss to Wallenpaupack.
We won’t see these teams compete against each other until January, but it should be another classic that fans will want to see.
Pleasant Valley, Pocono Mountain East, and East Stroudsburg South girls all have new head coaches: Angelica Zimmerman for the Lady Bears, Ben Battle for the Cardinals, and Jose Hernandez for the Cavaliers. All three programs struggled last year, so it’s reasonable to wait until we have a better idea of how those teams will look.
That leaves East Stroudsburg North, which has shown progress in its first EPC game, a 45-25 win against Pleasant Valley. It was only last year that the Timberwolves were on the other side of those score gaps. They aren’t EPC title contenders, but Jerome Taylor’s squad, led by a core of Amber Beckworth, Ayla Hashway, Maiya Baptiste and Donazia Jarrett, should be much more competitive this season.
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