Cedar Beach Showcase: Parkland, Nazareth, Bangor and Berks Catholic are unbeaten in big school division as teams beat the heat

For the first time in the four decades that Glen Klein has been running summer basketball tournament everything is inside this weekend for his Cedar Beach Showcase.

Talk about good timing.

With temperatures soaring into the upper 90s and heat indexes hitting three digits, it was tough to spend any amount of time outside on Saturday, much less try to play basketball on the hot macadam.

So, while originally many may have lamented that the Cedar Beach Showcase was no longer at Cedar Beach where fans could monitor four games at one time without having to go far, no one was griping about it on Saturday.

“It’s relaxing, it’s enjoyable in here,” Klein said. “Its a great place to sit down and watch a game.”

It’s questionable whether or not the tournament would have been allowed to continue outdoors in such conditions. Heat exhaustion and dehydration are always a concern at this time of year for athletes and non-athletes, especially the elderly. A few players have needed some medical attention caused by dehydration over the years.

The weather could come into play again when the A-Town Throwdown, the summer’s second major high school basketball tournament, takes place at Cedar Beach the weekend of July 25-28.

But for this weekend, being in the air-conditioned gyms in three different buildings on the Whitehall-Coplay School District campus has been a godsend.

“It’s brutal outside,” said Nazareth coach Joe Arndt. “I was sweating just walking from the parking lot to the gym and sitting here and watching Dave Wickmann run the team this weekend. It’s good to be inside. I don’t know how many games the kids could get through if it were outside.”

The St. Luke’s Health Network is one of the major sponsors of the event and athletic trainer Sydney Wright said playing outside on a day like Saturday would have been a major concern.

“We’d be using a wet bulb globe, a temperature reader, to tell us what the temperature and the heat index and use that as a gauge as per St. Luke’s policy,” Wright said. “We’re here to provide first aid and treat those with injuries, and it wouldn’t be our call as to whether or not to play if this was outside. But it would be a definite concern.”

Klein was happy to have no such concerns. He has built a network of strong sponsors, including some great local eateries such as Salvatore Ruffino’s in Allentown which delivered lots of pizzas to the gym, and has found a permanent home for an event that’s a local sports staple.

After years of worrying about the heat and pop-up thunderstorms and having to move from outside to indoors efficiently, he could plan a schedule and have it go off without a major interruption.

“If I was still running the tournament outside, we would have moved it inside today,: Klein said. “But the good news is that I’m not outside.”

Klein has had nothing but praise for the treatment he has received from the Whitehall-Coplay School District particularly superintendent Bob Steckel and Whitehall athletic director Bob Hartman. He also runs his summer league at the same complex.

“This facility and this campus is second to none,” Klein said. “In addition to the four courts we use, you’ve got a beautiful football stadium, a beautiful field hockey stadium, a baseball field for the high school, baseball fields for the youth, a playground, tennis courts, outside basketball courts. It’s a great place and I am happy to be a part of it. Some people say I got lucky, but I know what I am doing.”

The tournament concludes Sunday with games starting at 8 a.m. and continuing through the championship games at 6 and 7 p.m. in the main gym at the high school.

Fly, Eagles, fly

Nazareth had one of the more interesting basketball seasons of all Eastern Pennsylvania Conference teams last year

The Blue Eagles began the season 5-2 and were 12-4 at one point before an eight-game losing skid soured things. The season ended with postseason defeats to Parkland and Liberty. The Parkland game came in the EPC quarterfinals and was decided on a last-second 3-pointer from near half-court by Jayden Thomas.

“We had a great start last year and a lot of that had to do with the football guys who joined us after a great season and they gave us a lot of energy,” Arndt said. “And then we kind of hit the wall in mid-January and really struggled down the stretch and lost all of those games in a row. But we had a good JV team and a good freshman team that lost only a couple of games and those kids are joining us now and we’re building for the future.”

That is evident this weekend as Nazareth posted wins over both Southern Lehigh and Whitehall to earn a spot in the winners bracket final four. The Blue Eagles will play Berks Catholic at 10 a.m. Sunday while Parkland faces Bangor at the same time in another winners’ bracket semifinal.

The 10 a.m. winners then meet at 12 noon with that winner automatically advancing to the 7 p.m. championship game.

The small-school division will have Holy Cross playing Lehighton at 9 a.m. Sunday in the winners bracket final. As of late Saturday afternoon, Milton Hershey and Panther Valley were also still alive.

Many teams playing this weekend offer new faces, none more so than Nazareth which is team that often features often two freshmen, a sophomore and two juniors on the court. The entire roster has just two seniors.

One of the freshmen is Mason Marinelli, a rising star on the local scene who has had several high-scoring summer league league games. Rising sophomore Blake Nagurney had 23 in the win over Whitehall.

“These guys are growing and they’re just getting used to playing together,” Arndt said. “I like our nucleus right now. They have a very high basketball IQ and enjoy playing the game. We have a lot of bright spots.”

From states to stating their case

Parkland was the story of the 2023 boys basketball season.

But while the Trojans were rolling their way to EPC and District 11 6A titles, four PIAA victories and 26-6 record, the program’s younger kids were also shining on lower-level teams behind the scenes.

So, while Nick Coval, Thomas, Zaire Smaltz, Robbie Ruisch and the rest of the 2023-24 team has moved on, a new group of talented players is set to take center stage.

And, they just might get their shot at a first championship on Sunday after Parkland advanced to the winners bracket semis with solid wins over Allentown Central Catholic and Hazleton. Scott Bauer scored 16 against Central and Blake Nassry tallied 20 in the victory over Hazleton.

“We played two good teams so far in this tournament and I thought our guys played really well offensively,” said assistant Austin Beidelman who is filling in for head coach Eddie Ohlson this weekend. “We’re sharing the ball well, moving it well and building more confidence day by day. It’s a learning process, but the kids are bought in and they’re easy to coach. They’re a coaches’ dream.”

Belidelman said that while talent is in place, the players have to learn how to win and this weekend’s tournament offers that chance.

“We have a new group after graduating 10 kids and there are some really talented kids,” Beidelman said. “But it’s going to take some time. We’re here, so we might as well win and at least get to play as many games as we can.”

In the win over Central, soon-to-be senior Scott Bauer scored 16 and Blake Nassry, the rising sophomore who had a lot of key moments in the postseason in February and March, scored 20 in the victory over Hazleton.

Saturday’s results

Big School

Whitehall 61, Liberty 58 … (2 OT) Seth Hoderewski 18.

Bangor 41, Freedom 32 … Jeremiah Singer 12.

Berks Catholic 47, Emmaus 45 … Zach Suski, Kingston McKay 14 each.

Nazareth 68, Whitehall 60 … Blake Nagurney 23,

Parkland 50, ACCHS 34 … Scott Bauer 16.

Parkland 54, Hazleton 44 … Blake Nassry 20.

Pocono Mt. East 67, Delaware Valley 58 … Aiden Pierre 26.

ACCHS 54, Notre Dame-GP 40 … Lucas Mushrush 18.

Daniel Boone 69, Liberty 40 … Brendan Gaines 17.

Phillipsburg 49, Northampton 41 … Matthew Scerbo 17.

Small School

Holy Cross 64, Salisbury 31 … Matt Lyons 16.

Lehighton 45, Warren Hills 37 … Cayden Meek 14.

Milton Hershey 48, Salisbury 46 … Josh Sessoms 13.

Panther Valley 43, Warren Hills 25 … Logan Fisher 13.

JV results

Holy Cross 65, ACCHS #2 45 … Colin Farrell 18.

Wilson West Lawn #1 86, Easton #1 51 … Barima Archampong 19.

Panther Valley 45, ACCHS #1 42 … Chase NcArole 14.

Emmaus 47 Easton #2 42 … Lucas Stephan 17.

Whitehall 60, Wilson West Lawn #2 45 … Alsaiah Gross 22.

Nazareth 50, Freedom 41 … Zakary Noel 16.

Liberty 42, Southern Lehigh 34 … Vamir Brown 13.

Holy Cross 57, Easton #2 … Colin Farrell 19.

Wilson West Lawn #1 80, Fleetwood 22 … Conner Moreland 22.

Sunday’s schedule

Big School varsity

Parkland vs. Bangor (10 a.m.) main gym; Nazareth vs. Berks Catholic (10 a.m.) middle school; Whitehall vs. P’burg/Quakertown (8 a.m.) main gym.

Small School varsity

Holy Cross vs. Lehighton (9 a.m.) main gym.

Holy Cross/Lehighton loser vs. Milton Hershey/Panther Valley (10 a.m.) Zephyr Elementary.

Championship game, 6 p.m.

JV basketball

Whitehall vs. Emmaus (8 a.m.) middle school gym; Liberty vs. Nazareth (8 a.m.) Zephyr Elementary School.

Wilson West Lawn #1 vs. Holy Cross (9 a.m.) Zephyr Elementary School.

Freedom vs. Southern Lehigh/Panther Valley (9 a.m.) middle school gym.