Elk Lake’s Matt Woolcock shoots a jump shot in the District II Class AA quarterfinals on Saturday. TIMES-SHAMROCK PHOTO/BUTCH COMEGYS

BY JOBY FAWCETT

Times-Shamrock Writer

COVINGTON TWP. – Elk Lake’s boys basketball team needed a spark. Coach John Warnero ignited a fire.

With his team playing erratic at the start, the fiery leader called a timeout, gave an inspired pep talk and turned things over to his players.

They responded.

Led by Tanner Reyan and Rob Heft, the third-seeded Warriors raced to a 68-43 win over 11th-seeded Hanover Area on Saturday afternoon in the District 2 Class AA quarterfinals at North Pocono High School.

Elk Lake improved to 20-4 and its second impressive win in the tournament advanced it to a semifinal match up against second-seeded Holy Cross (21-5) on Wednesday.

“We came out and this was an unfamiliar court with a lot of space,” Reyan said. “We all knew how we should have been playing and we weren’t. He let us know, too.

“That really got us going.”

Elk Lake moved the ball well, created open looks and knocked down shots after Warnero’s timeout that came with his team trailing 2-1 at the 4:32 mark of the first quarter.

Sprinting back onto the floor, the Warriors went on a 11-4 run to finish the first quarter and then poured it on in the second, outscoring Hanover Area, 19-5. Reyan scored nine of his 19 points and Nick Dudock came off the bench to score six of his 12 as Elk Lake enjoyed a 31-11 lead.

“I had a lot of fun in this game,” Dudock said. “I knew that I was due for a good game. I hadn’t had one like this all year.

“It was really exciting.”

Elk Lake was also active defensively.

Tyler Arnold, Matt Woolcock and Pete McGee helped to limit Hanover Area to a 14 for 60 shooting game.

“Coach stresses defense and that’s all that I try to do,” Arnold said. “I saw Nick come in and start diving for the ball and giving a heck of an effort, so I figured I better, too.”

In the second half, Reyan and Heft were razor sharp shooting, combining to hit nine of 12 shots while scoring 25 points.

“Once we started getting stops, our confidence was there,” said Reyan, who has scored 42 points in two District 2 playoff games.

Elk Lake’s Tyler Arnold tosses in a layup as time runs out in the first half of Elk Lake’s 81-60 victory over Lakeland in the first round of District II Class AA playoff action in Dimock on Wednesday. STAFF PHOTO/KEVIN WOODRUFF

For the second straight game, Heft blistered the nets from beyond the 3-point arc. He made all five of his attempts in the second half, finished with a game-high 24 points and now has 12 3-pointers in the tournament.

“Whenever we get into that type of rhythm, it really clicks for us,” Heft said. “I was in a slump at the end of the year shooting and I think I am coming out of it. I am just going to try to keep it going.”

Hanover Area (11-13) - J. Barber 4-18 3-4 11, J. Colon 4-9 2-4 10, N. Hemsley 2-7 2-2 7, E. Hoolick 2-9 2-2 6, T. Marcincavage 1-4 4-6 6, D. Williams 1-2 1-1 3, R. Kerestes 0-5 0-0 0, I. Moreno 0-1 0-0 0, T. Kriton 0-2 0-0 0, R. Brenner 0-0 0-0 0, J. Kwiatkowski 0-1 0-0 0, T. Major 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 14-60 14-19 43.

Elk Lake (20-4) - R. Heft 8-10 3-6 24, T. Reyan 8-14 2-2 19, N. Dudock 6-7 0-0 12, M. Woolcock 4-9 0-0 8, T. Arnold 0-2 4-6 4, P. McGee 0-3 1-2 1, W. Warner 0-0 0-0 0, H. Watkins 0-1 0-0 0, C. Tyler 0-0 0-0 0, S. Tewksbury 0-1 0-0 0, Newhart 0-1 0-0 0, Townsend 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 26-48 10-16 68.

Han.   6    5 14 18 – 43

EL     12 19 20 17 – 68

3-point shooting: HAN 1-16 (Hemsley 1-4, Colon 0-3, Barber 0-3, Kerestes 0-2, Hoolick 0-2, Kriton 0-1, Williams 0-1), EL 6-18 (Heft 5-6, Reyan 1-5, Woolcock 0-3, Arnold 0-1, Tewksbury 0-1, Watkins 0-1, Newhart 0-1). Rebounds: HAN 31 (Hoolick 6), EL 40 (Heft 13, Reyan 12). Assists: HA 4 (Colon, Hoolick, Marcincavage, Hensley), EL 15 (Reyan 5). Steals: HA 6 (Colon 3), EL 3 (Arnold 2). Blocks: HA 2 (Barber, Marcincavage), EL 1 (Reyan). Turnovers: HAN 11, EL 15. Technical: Colon. Fouled out: Colon.

First round game

The No. 3 seeded Elk Lake boys’ basketball team took an 81-60 victory over No. 14 seed Lakeland in the District II Class AA playoffs in Dimock on Wednesday night.

The Warriors wasted no time putting up a 26-11 lead after the first quarter and held a 51-28 advantage over the Chiefs by halftime.

In the second half, the Warriors came out to pace Lakeland 18-9 in the third, and despite a 23-12 run from the Chiefs in the fourth, Elk Lake took the win.

Rob Heft hit seven three-pointers and scored 27 points to lead the Warriors while Tanner Reyan chipped in 23 points.

Matt Woolcock added 14 points and Tyler Arnold chipped in 10.

Lakeland (9-14) - K. Kiehart 8 2-2 22, E. Grabowski 4 0-0 10, N. Morgan 2 2-2 6, P. Clauss-Walton 3 0-0 6, A. Wormuth 1 3-6 5, T. Brady 2 1-2 5, B. Bylotas 1 1-2 4, T. Harding 1 0-0 2, R. Burke 0 0-0 0, J. Natale 0 0-0 0, B. Petrunich 0 0-0 0, K. Clauss-Walton 0 0-0 0. Totals: 22 9-14 60.

Elk Lake (19-4) - R. Heft 9 2-2 27, T. Reyan 7 5-9 23, M. Woolcock 6 0-1 14, T. Arnold 2 6-7 10, P. McGee 1 1-2 3, N. Dudock 0 2-2 2, S. Tewksbury 1 0-0 2, H. Watkins 0 0-0 0, C. Tyler 0 0-0 0. Totals: 26 16-23 81.

Lak. 11 17    9  23 – 60

EL    26 25  18  12 – 81

3-point goals: K. Kiehart (LAK) 4, E. Grabowski (LAK) 2, B. Bylotas (LAK), R. Heft (EL) 7, T. Reyan (EL) 4, M. Woolcock (EL) 2.