When a high school basketball program switches from one league to another, it can be compared to the experience a family has when they move from one home into another. Both the program and the family have to adjust to a new environment and to different neighbors.

As this season ends, Lehighton High School's boys' and girls' basketball teams have made a successful move from their prior residence in the Mountain Valley Conference to a new neighborhood in the Schuylkill League.The reviews are in and the Indians like their new home.Several benefits have come along their way. Athletic Director, Kyle Spotts says that the economics of the move have provided two positive returns."Previously, we traveled long distances to the Stroudsburg and Pocono Mountain schools. Since we now play more schools that are closer to us, our transportation costs have dropped," he says. "We have also gained more revenue in home ticket sales because schools like Pottsville, Tamaqua, and even Pine Grove, which is an hour away, have larger traveling fan bases than many of the schools in the MVC. When we add our fans, our gym is pretty packed on most nights."According to Spotts, another advantage is that the Schuylkill League teams are similar in population to Lehighton's student numbers."As a 3A school, we could compete against the MVC teams as long as we avoided injuries to our starting players, but in general, the 4A schools, with more athletes, have better depth and that makes a difference in the long run with won-lost records."Speaking of records, this year was the first time since the 2000-01 season that the Lehighton boys' basketball team did not have a losing record in league play.Boys' coach, Rich Oertner believes the competitive quality of the Schuylkill teams is more balanced."Except for Pottsville, which is as good if not better than any MVC team we played, anybody can beat anybody else and the records prove it," says Oertner, whose Indians finished its regular season with a 7-7 league record."Overall, I think the style of play is different, too. In the MVC, the game was up and down the court at a freestyle faster pace with noticeably better athleticism. In the Schuylkill League, teams rely more on fundaments and work longer for the better shot."Oertner agrees with Spotts about team depth."Most schools in the MVC could shuttle eight to 10 players onto the court during a game and not miss a beat. I've noticed that SL teams average about six or seven."In the MVC, Lehighton's girls' teams fared no better than the boys'. Many of its 47 losses in the past five years were to the five schools from the Stroudsburg and Pocono Mountain areas.Eric Gidney, girls' basketball coach at Lehighton, likes that the Schuylkill League's style of play is more physical."Like us, SL teams will drive to the basket and as a result draw more free throw attempts. In the MVC, there were more zone defenses, Now we see more man to man, which also creates more physical play."Although the SL teams might play a slower game, Gidney enjoys the traditional style of basketball because coaching and strategy have more of a significant effect upon the outcomes.Historically, the Schuylkill League has proven it can compete and win at the state championship level as Marian, Pottsville Nativity, Mahanoy Area, Pine Grove, and Tamaqua all display state championship hardware in their trophy cases."It's a strong team-centered program that wins titles and this league has a great track record for excellent girls' basketball," says Gidney, whose Lady Tribe finished with a 5-9 SL record this season after going 3-9 last year in the MVC. "The team concept is the foundation of our philosophy that begins in our middle school feeder program. In fact, many of our league's schools emphasize teamwork instruction at their youth levels."Gidney also points out that if you look at previous years' MVC team statistics, you will find that teams like East Stroudsburg North or Pocono Mountain West were led by an individual star who averaged 25 points a game."In the SL, top scorers may average 16 or 17 points a game," he says. "And on any given night, a top scorer can get shut down by a good man to man defense, which comes from a philosophy of team play and coaching strategy."For all of these reasons, Spotts, Oertner, and Gidney approve the move, but they say the best feature about being a member of the Schuylkill League is that they now play "backyard" teams like Jim Thorpe, Panther Valley, and Tamaqua twice in a season.These intense rivalries promise to attract even more fans of Lehighton basketball in the years to come.**********TIGER TANDEM ... A couple weeks ago, the three-point shooting of Northwestern's Parker Jones and Brady Mengel was mentioned in Hoop Scoops.Since that time, the duo accomplished a first in team history.With Jones hitting 50 three-pointers and Mengel finishing with 42, the pair became the first Tigers to hit at least 40 three-pointers in the same season.The feat has now been done 15 times among TN boys team. The last time it happened was the 2007-08 season when Jim Thorpe's Eric Busocker had 52 and Pat Dennis totaled 49.Teammates with 50-or-more treys in the same season is obviously more rare. That has only been done three times. The duos to accomplish that include Pleasant Valley's Nick Smull (54) and Tom Kresge (53) in 2005-06, Weatherly's Ryan Nenstiel (81) and Bob Nenstiel (52) in 2001-02 and Marian's Ryan Nesgoda (65) and Eddie McLaughlin (52) in 1999-2000.**********THE LINE IS MY FRIEND ... Panther Valley's Chad Dubosky started the season with some struggles at the free throw line. But the senior turned things around in the second half.Through Jan. 5 (which included the Panthers' first 11 games), Dubosky had made only 19-of-38 foul shots for a percentage of .500.After that, however, the PV starter hit 34 of his final 42 attempts. That percentage of .810 was the highest figure by any Times News area boy since Jan. 5 with at least 20 attempts.**********WELCOME TO THE CLUB ... On Feb. 5, Tamaqua senior guard Bo Rottet scored his 1,000th career point against Pine Grove during a Schuylkill League victory. Rottet is the 12th Tamaqua boys player to reach that milestone, which includes his teammate Brett Kosciolek. In the same contest, Pine Grove senior Kobe D'Agostino also reached the 1,000-point mark.Rottet, the only player in the Times News area to score double digits in every game this season, currently stands at 1,044 points and has already moved up to eighth place on the all-time Tamaqua boys scoring list. Kosciolek, meanwhile, has tallied 1,430 in his career. That figure is fourth on the Raiders' list and 19th all-time among the boys team in the Times News area.**********NO THREES ALLOWED ... Speaking of the Tamaqua boys, the Blue Raiders clinched a Schuylkill League playoff berth last Friday by defeating Blue Mountain.In that contest, neither team hit a three-pointer. That was the only game this season among Times News area boys team where at least one-three point field goal wasn't made.The last time the Tamaqua boys were involved in a game where a three-pointer wasn't registered was Jan. 17, 2009 when the Raiders lost a 54-41 decision to Tri-Valley.**********LEAGUE PLAYOFF UPDATE ... Four Times News area teams qualified for their league playoffs this season, and two of them are still alive for a championsship.The Northwestern girls defeated Saucon Valley and Southern League in the Colonial League playoffs to reach Friday's championship game against Notre Dame. The Tamaqua boys slipped past Minersville Wednesday night in the Schuylkill League postseason and will also play for a title Friday against undefeated Pottsville.Both the Palmerton and Marian girls made their respective league playoffs but have been eliminated. The Bombers defeated Salisbury in the opening round of the Colonial playoffs before falling to Notre Dame. The Fillies dropped a narrow decision to North Schuylkill in the Schuylkill semifinals.**********DISTRICT BOUND ... All four of the teams (Tamaqua boys; Northwestern, Palmerton and Marian girls) mentioned above will be part of the District 11 playoffs. In addition to the four, the Lehighton boys have also qualified.One other area squad is also hoping to punch its ticket to the postseason. With a win Thursday against Weatherly, the Marian boys would claim a spot in the Class AA bracket.