Night of comedy to benefit Holy Cross Boys Basketball

Posted on February 5, 2025 by The Dunmorean

Be prepared to hear uproarious laughter coming from Holy Cross High School as some of the best comedians in the NYC to Philadelphia corridor come to Dunmore to raise funds for the Holy Cross Boys Basketball Team on Saturday, Feb. 8, at 8 p.m.

The host and producer of the show is Tim Conniff. Originally from Eynon, Tim now lives in Doylestown, and is an award-winning keynote speaker and comedian who produces comedy shows and fundraisers all over Pennsylvania. He also happens to be the brother-in-law of Holy Cross’ head coach Al Callejas!

The show’s opener is Scranton’s own Jeannine Luby, who has alternated between performing comedy improvisation and stand-up comedy for over 20 years and currently focuses on producing and performing in comedy night events at wineries, women-owned businesses, and at private events to empower and entertain women.

Featured performer is teacher and comedian Troy Moore. His classroom stories will crack you up! He’s a regular at many great comedy clubs in the tri-state area and he has opened for the likes of Jackie “the Jokeman” Martling and the late, great Gilbert Gottfried.

The event headliner Tracy Locke travels all across the nation doing stand-up comedy. Based in New York City, Tracy is a warm-up comedian for ABC’s Tamron Hall Show and can also be heard on Sirius XM and on her podcast Girls Gone Green.

This is a BYOB event (must be 21 to attend) and tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. Tickets can be purchased in advance at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/holy-cross-boys-basketball/holy-cross-boys-basketball-comedy-night

Former Holy Cross standout eyes law school after scoring 1,000 points at Immaculata

Posted on February 5, 2025 by The Dunmorean

By Steve Svetovich

Former Holy Cross basketball standout Abbey Lentowski is a proud member of two 1,000 point clubs.

She scored 1,075 points in her basketball career at Holy Cross and then poured in 1,001 points in just three years playing at Immaculata University.

Abbey, 21, decided not to play basketball in her senior year at Immaculata in order to concentrate on academics and work in preparation for beginning law school after graduation.

Daughter of Atty. Andrew and Tricia Lentowski, Abbey plans to attend Widener University Law School in Delaware on a part time basis while continuing to work in a law office next year.

She currently works part-time in a law office in Media, PA and plans on doing the same next year while attending law school part time at night.

“I’m getting some great experience right now,” she said. “It’s really cool. My boss lets me shadow him, which is so nice because it has helped me to know that this is really what I want to do. And I will continue doing it while attending law school. Media is very close to Widener in Delaware.”

Always positive and energetic, Abbey ended her three-year basketball career with 1,001 points at Immaculata. She scored her 1,000th career point with just 15 seconds left in her final game, a close playoff loss to Newmann University.

“I scored in the last 15 seconds on a layup in a close playoff game, so it was both hectic and chaotic to score the 1,000th point. It was kind of crazy. It was an unreal feeling to score 1,000 points both in high school and college.”

Abbey was a first-team Lackawanna League Coaches’ All-Star in her junior and senior seasons at Holy Cross. She was named to the second team in her sophomore year.

She was named Academic All-District for three years and All-Conference for two years at Immaculata. A forward, she is also a member of the 500 career rebounds club at Immaculata.

The hard-working, well-spoken senior said she owes a lot to her parents. “My parents have supported me through all of this,” she said.

“They are always there for me. They tell me to support others and be a good person and just love people. This will help me in my future work as an attorney. I currently coach a AAU basketball team, so I give my girls the same advice.”

Abbey’s brother, Joshua Lentowski, is a standout senior baseball and football player at Holy Cross.

Always on the go and ready for a challenge, Abbey said she is taking on a new sport for fun– NCAA girls’ flag football. “I will be learning on the go, but it should be fun,” she said.

Abbey is a psychology major with minors in pr- law and political science at Immaculata. “I love psychology,” she said. “Learning about people, the mind, and human behavior will be useful for me as an attorney.”

The bubbly yet serious senior was a prolific scorer and rebounder at Immaculata. She averaged 14.5 points per game for three years, including 15.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in her junior and final season of playing. She certainly went out on a high note.

Well organized, she plans on spending the upcoming summer working, coaching basketball and getting ready for law school.

And she wants to enjoy the rest of her senior year.

“It feels unreal being a senior,” she said. “It’s been a great experience here at Immaculata, but I’m excited to be experiencing more things in the world. I want more experience in the working world in preparation for the future. I will be able to continue working part time, gaining more experience while attending law school three nights a week from 6 to 10 p.m. I also want to leave some time for studying, coaching and working.”

Senior Matt Lyons leading Holy Cross in big way

Posted on February 5, 2025 by The Dunmorean

By Steve Svetovich

Holy Cross Crusaders 6-6 senior forward Matt Lyons set some big goals for his team this season.

And thus far, he and his team are coming through in a big way.

Son of Mark and Eileen Lyons, Matt was named to the All-Tournament team for the second year in a row as Holy Cross defeated the Scranton Knights, 51-35, to win the Lynett Tournament. Matt poured in 20 points to lead the Crusaders. Teammate Adam Badyrka added 17 points and was named the Lynett Tournament MVP.

“It felt fantastic to win the Lynett Tournament,” Matt said. “It was great for the team and for the school. It felt great to bring the Lynett Tournament title back to the school for the first time in five years. This was one of our team goals and one of my personal goals.”

The rugged, hard-working forward said he and his Holy Cross teammates set the goals high for this season. “Our goals coming into the season,” he said, “were to win the Lynett Tournament, league title, district title and state championship.”

And with one of those lofty goals already achieved, the Crusaders are playing at high efficiency with a 12-3 record, including 6-1 in the conference, at press time.

A four-year member of the Holy Cross basketball team, Matt is also a four-year member of the track and field team. He does the high jump and throws the javelin.

Matt talked about the team’s basketball success. “We trust each other,” he said. “We played a lot of games together over the summer months. We played over 30 games. We had two freshmen and only one returning starter last year. This year we have the experience and know each other well. With the last two years starting together, we figured out each other’s tendencies. We know it like the back of our hands.”

A team player all the way, Matt is one of the leaders on the team. He is averaging over 15 points and over 10 rebounds a game.

A Times-Tribune athlete of the week last season, he is a member of the National Honor Society and has a highly impressive 4.14 academic average. His best academic subject is math.

The tough minded senior said he learned a lot from his parents.

“They teach me respect. Everyone should be treated the same way. Everyone deserves the time of day.”

Holy Cross basketball coach Al Callejas, Jr. also teaches Matt a few life lessons.

“He teaches us about accountability. He makes us all accountable whether the going is good or bad. Work hard and be accountable. It’s a lesson we will be sure to use later in life.”

Matt enjoys listening to music in his spare time. His favorite band is Future, a rap group.

The senior stalwart said he is not sure where he will attend college yet, but would like to study business and play basketball.

Right now, his focus is to help the Holy Cross basketball team go as far as possible.

“We love our chances at winning a state title this year,” he said. “We are excited and expect to be great. We definitely come to play against the better teams. We can beat them all. We will get our ‘A’ game going against the best of them.”

Matt’s late grandfather is legendary former Scranton Prep basketball coach Jack Farrell.

“He was my motivation for winning the Lynett Tournament. I wanted to win it in honor of my grandfather. I know he was looking down proud. It was especially big for me to win it in my senior year for him. I know how much the Lynett Tournament meant to him. It meant a lot.”