Catasauqua boys basketball coach Eric Snyder has had teams in holiday tournaments over his 34 seasons as a head coach, and years when his Rough Riders weren’t in one.
Snyder could find some good and bad in each scenario, but he’s mostly happy that his Catty team is participating in the 42nd Slatington Rotary Basketball Tournament on Monday and Tuesday nights at Northern Lehigh.
The Rough Riders will play Pleasant Valley at 6 p.m. Monday in the first game of the tournament, with host Northern Lehigh and Bethlehem Christian to follow at 7:30. The consolation and championship games follow at 6 and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
An added feature of this year’s tournament is that Rough Riders senior star Frankie Pujols is just seven points away from becoming the school’s 13th boys player to reach 1,000 points. Since Pujols is averaging 18.2 points per game, the milestone will likely come Monday.
“It’s going to be a great moment for him,” Snyder said. “He’s a great kid. He’s technically a four-year starter, but he got hurt in his freshman year and only played four games. If not for that, he would have reached 1,000 points last year. He and Hamaad Jenkins make a wonderful backcourt for us. Frankie’s so intense, so knowledgeable. He’s a great team leader because he makes everybody better. He does so many different things for us. It’s not just scoring. He talks on defense, he rebounds, he passes, and he communicates with the other guys on offense and defense. He keeps everybody in line. He’s just a tremendous kid.”
It’s the second year in a row that Catty is in the Slatington tournament.
“We were in the Northampton holiday tournament for the longest time, but after Mike Schneider retired as athletic director and that tournament ended, we weren’t in one for the longest time,” Snyder said. “I like to play in one because it gets the kids together and gives them a chance to do something during the holiday break from school. We used to be in the Northern Lehigh tournament back when it first began, so it’s nice to be back there, although if you’re not playing games, you could have a lot of time in the gym to practice and work on things. In these tournaments, there are no JV games, so it’s not such a long night. You go up and play your game and then come home.”
Here are the matchups for the six most intriguing tournaments in the area:
At Allen High School
Monday: Woodson High School, Fairfax, Virginia vs. Wilkes-Barre GAR, 5:30 p.m.; Allen vs. Edison from Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Tuesday: consolation, 5:30 p.m.; championship, 7 p.m.
At Allentown CCHS
Monday: ACCHS vs. Frankford, 3:30 p.m.; Pope John Paul II vs. Notre Dame-Green Pond, 5 p.m.
Tuesday: championship, 3:30 p.m.; consolation, 5 p.m.
At Easton
Monday: Executive vs. Pennridge, 4:30 p.m.; Easton vs. Phillipsburg, 6 p.m.
Tuesday: consolation, 4:30 p.m.; championship, 6 p.m.
At Fleetwood
Monday: Octorara vs. Brandywine Heights, 6 p.m.; Fleetwood vs. Upper Perkiomen, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday: consolation, 6 p.m.; championship, 7:30 p.m.
At Whitehall
Monday: Nazareth vs. Northwestern Lehigh, 5:30 p.m.; Whitehall vs. Delaware County Christian, 7 p.m.
Tuesday: Consolation, 5:30 p.m.; Championship, 7 p.m.
At Wilson Area
Monday: Notre Dame-East Stroudsburg vs. Palisades, 5 p.m.; Wilson vs. North Schuylkill, 7 p.m.
Tuesday: consolation, 5 p.m.; championship, 7 p.m.
Player of the Week
Seth Hoderewski, Whitehall
Hoderewski was given the nickname “Sudge” by a family member years before he became a multisport athlete, shining in both baseball and basketball at Whitehall.
These days, that nickname could be tweaked a little bit from Sudge to Surge, because the senior standout is definitely leading a mid-season surge for his Zephyrs squad. After starting 0-5, Whitehall has won three of its last five games, and Hoderewski has been at the center of the revival.
He scored 25 and 26 points, respectively, in wins over Stroudsburg and Bethlehem Catholic, and then pumped in 35 in a 60-50 loss at Allentown Central Catholic. Then he closed his pre-Christmas spree with 25 points in a nonleague win over Hazleton.
His 18.1 scoring average is tops on his team and makes him one of the leading scorers in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. He is much more integral to the offense this season after averaging 10.6 points per game last year as a junior. He had 13 3s all of last season, but has matched that total already this year.
“Sudge has been on an unbelievable roll the last five games, averaging more than 25 points per game in that span,” Whitehall coach Jeff Jones said. “He has been attacking the basket and getting to the foul line and making 3s. He has become our go-to guy when we need a basket. He’s tough to guard right now, and his motor never seems to slow.”
Hoderewski and the Zephyrs are back in action against Delaware County Christian in the Zephyrs’ holiday tournament on Monday night.
Did you know?
With Northwestern Lehigh losing to Pottsville 64-62 on Tuesday, Allen became the only remaining undefeated team in District 11. The Canaries are back in action Monday in their holiday tournament against Edison High School of Philadelphia. Allen has not started a season 7-0 since the Tyrese Martin/Talek Williams team of 2016-17 began 21-0. That team’s first loss wasn’t until Feb. 8 against Bethlehem Catholic. Those Canaries won the EPC, lost to Parkland in the District 11 6A semis at PPL Center, and then fell to Hempfield in the first round of the state tournament.
Coming attractions
Once the new year arrives, the league play heats up quickly with Notre Dame-Green Pond visiting defending league champ Northwestern Lehigh on Friday. At 1 p.m. Saturday, Parkland travels to longtime rival Allentown Central Catholic. Then on Tuesday night, ACCHS visits Pocono Mountain West.
