Fleetwood shot down by Scranton Prep, sees season end
2024 Berks basketball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Vincent Rinella — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
SCRANTON — Emotions ran high for the Fleetwood Tigers after their season came to an end Friday with a 79-52 loss to District 2 champ Scranton Prep in the first round of the PIAA Class 4A Tournament.
The Tigers (20-6) couldn’t stop the red-hot Cavaliers (17-9), especially sophomore Packy Doherty who scored 40 points. Prep became the first team to top 70 points this season against Fleetwood.
“I’m proud of the guys,” senior Aiden Soumas said of teammates he has played with since grade school. “We fought our butts off; I wouldn’t (want to) go out with any other guys.”
Soumas, an all-division pick, lead the team with 16 points; fellow seniors Liam Hilburt and Nate Herb each scored 10 points.
Fleetwood started with a strong first quarter, going toe-to-toe with the red-hot Cavaliers. After falling behind 10-4, the Tigers responded with an 8-4 run. Soumas scored three points and Hilburt knocked down two from the line. Five different Tigers scored in a first quarter that ended with the Cavs leading 14-12.
The Tigers, who finished fourth in the District 3 Tournament, began the second quarter strong, retaking the lead 19-18 after back-to-back buckets from senior Hunter Svoboda and Soumas.
That lead was short-lived as the Cavaliers responded with a 13-3 run to end the quarter. They went 8-for-9 from the free throw line to lead 36-26 at the half.
That late flurry, said Tigers coach Terry Sitler, was a turning point.
“It was the four fouls on my point guard (Herb) on little, little fouls that really shouldn’t have happened,” he said.
Midway through the third quarter Scranton Prep began to pull away.
“They just started hitting their 3’s in the second half, which really took us out of reach,” said Sitler.
Doherty was a one-man wrecking crew for Prep. The 5-8 sophomore guard knocked down nine 3-pointers.
He didn’t score in the first quarter but had 13 points in the second quarter, 10 in the third quarter and 17 in the fourth, when he hit five 3’s. He came in averaging 8.9 points.
Prep finished with 12 3-pointers, eight in the second half.
“They came out and they could not miss,” said Soumas. “Not every shot was open, but they were just knocking down shots. There’s not much you can do.”
Even with the game out of reach the Tigers continued to put it all on the court, just as they have played all season.
With 38 seconds left Sitler called a timeout and pulled his all-senior starting five off the floor. Sitler and the Tigers received a standing ovation from the Fleetwood fans.
Sitler had nothing but amazing things to say about his players.
“They are the best group of kids I’ve ever had,” said Sitler, who said before the season that this, his 12th year as Fleetwood coach, would be his last. “Their understanding and desire, I would not want to coach another team and I am just so happy that we did what we did this year.”
His message to all his guys, both departing seniors and returning players, was heartfelt.
“They have said a lot to me,” Sitler said. “they have given me a lot, so it goes both ways. Keep on fighting, keep on playing hard.”
“Coach took a chance on me my freshman year,” said Soumas, a four-year starter and 1,000-point scorer. “I couldn’t ask for more from him and I wouldn’t be where I am now without that opportunity, and I can’t thank him enough.
“He’s had a great career at Fleetwood and everywhere he’s coached, and I wouldn’t want to go out with anyone else.”
