SWIFTWATER — Pocono Mountain East boys basketball needed extra time in its third contest against Stroudsburg, but with a district playoff spot on the line, the Cardinals win in overtime over the Mounties 42-37.
East (12-11) led at halftime 20-16, but the Mounties (11-12) opened on a 7-0 run and outscored East 12-5 in the third quarter. The Cardinals clawed back to tie in the 4th, and the lead kept changing hands until Tae El-Bassiouni tried to win it on a last-second heave in regulation.
With the score 33-33 going into overtime, Aiden Pierre and Fred Allicock brought it home, combining for 6 of East's 9 points in the period to end the Mounties' season.
"It wasn't pretty, but we ended up getting the win," East head coach Joe McManus said after the game. "We knew it was going to be tough. Stroudsburg is very well-coached, they have good talent on their team. It's tough to beat a team three times. But in the end we got the win and it feels good."
McManus said he even took off work the day of the game so he could get in some extra film study, and it paid off: East's defensive gave a young Stroudsburg team a lot of problems, especially in the fourth quarter when the Cardinals needed to make a late push.
The question about the Cardinals is how good the offense will be on any given night, but Pierre and Allicock were the ones that held down the fort on that end. Pierre finished with a double-double, 16 points and 10 rebounds, and it was a hard-fought 16 for the senior. But it was something the coaches believed he had in him his entire career at East, and it showed up when it mattered most.
"Aiden started off a little slow, but the free throws he hit late, the rebounds and staying out of foul trouble were all massive," McManus said. "I'm always proud of him. He just has to put everything together. Sometimes it doesn't look pretty, but he helped us get the win. If he doesn't play the way he did, we don't win that game."
Fred Allicock isn't a name that was often mentioned throughout the season, but the times when he's impactful completely changes the dynamic for East in a positive way. A lanky frame with arms that can go on forever, Allicock finished with 11 points, a frew rebounds and 2 blocks and was very impactful on the interior.
McManus said Allicock has stepped it up recently and that he "looks ready" to meet the moment. While it was surprise to some, his teammates weren't surprised at all.
"I saw it all summer. I've just been waiting for Fred to show you guys," Aiden Pierre said about his teammate. "He's always going to show up when I need him, and I feel like he did what he had to do."
An underrated part about the game early on was how each team fed off the crowd. Both student sections were in full force; students from every area school were in attendance; and the energy definitely provided a playoff atmostphere. East's side had the advantage as the home team, and it ultimately paid off.
"I love it," McManus said about the fans and environment. "Their support means everything. They could've been anywhere else, and they came to watch our guys compete. We felt the energy. At times it overwhelmed our own players, but the support from everyone's great."
The next challenge for Pocono Mountain East is another opponent from the regular season in back-to-back reigning EPC Champion Northampton, who defeated the Cardinals 70-47 in mid-January. With at least three practices until then, East will look for a different result.
"It's the playoffs, anything can happen on any give night," Pierre said. "Northampton is phenomenal, they have great coaches and players, but it's the same over here. We're just gonna go give it all we got."
Both playoff boys basketball teams will be in action in the afternoon on Feb. 21: 8-seed East will play Northampton at Easton Middle School at 4 p.m., and 2-seed Pocono Mountain West will play against 7-seed Whitehall at Pleasant Valley at 2:30 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Pocono Mountain East boys basketball advances to 2026 district quarters