MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montoursville's Jimmy Mussina (10) tries to drive around Loyalsock's Braydon Cioffi (33) in the fourth quarter during a game this year.

All the offseason work, all the grueling practices and all the ups and downs have led to moments like the ones which start Tuesday night. It’s District 4 playoff time these next two weeks and the following is a look at the four boys’ playoff fields.

Williamsport plays through District 2 in Class 6A and is the No. 5 seed. The surging Millionaires (9-12) have won four straight and head to No. 4 Delaware Valley (13-9) for a rematch of last year’s thrilling quarterfinal that they won in the closing seconds. Top-seeded Scranton has won five straight championships and is the pick again.

CLASS AAAA

(Top 3 reach states)

This is a loaded field with the top six teams having all won 13 or more games. No. 3 Danville (16-6) is the defending champion and shared the HAC-II crown with No. 2 Mount Carmel (18-4), while top-seeded Shamokin (21-3) is coming off a Heartland Conference championship win last Friday.

This is the last shot for a senior-laden Shamokin team which has reached states three straight years but lost heartbreakers in the semifinals and final each time. The Indians, who open against Milton (2-20) possess good size, athleticism, experience and physicality and all can shoot the 3-pointer.

Assuming Shamokin wins its quarterfinal, it will play No. 4 Central Columbia or No. 5 Lewisburg in the semifinals. Central (16-6) has won three straight games, defeating Lewisburg and Warrior Run during that time and can do damage inside and outside.

On the other side of the bracket, No. 7 Montoursville (11-11) gets another crack at Mount Carmel after the Tornadoes swept the season series. A year ago Montoursville was the No. 2 seed and lost to Lewisburg after sweeping two regular season games, so it knows first-hand what is possible. The Warriors have five new starters this season but can be dangerous when their inside-outside game is clicking. They built momentum by erasing a 10-point deficit and defeating Jersey Shore, 47-41 in its regular season finale.

Mount Carmel opened the season 8-0, defeated rival Shamokin in December and flanks outstanding sophomore big man Jude Lazicki with quality shooters. This is a team with a bright present and future.

No. 6 Jersey Shore (13-9) has authored the district’s best turnaround story, winning its most games this decade after combining for eight victories the three previous seasons. Ben Dalton is one of the field’s best post players and a deep bench and relentless attitude has helped the Bulldogs thrive.

Jersey Shore heads to defending champion Danville (16-7) which battled late season injuries and lost its last two games but still won a share of a league crown and almost always seems to come together at the right time. Daniel Walker is an outstanding post player and Mason Kingery can seemingly shoot from anywhere.

Tournament sleeper–Lewisburg: The Green Dragons have a bit of everything, from good size to quality shooters to a reliable bench. It’s a matter of putting all the pieces together at the right time. Lewisburg has reached three straight state tournaments and has most of last year’s players back.

Best quarterfinal–Lewisburg at Central: These two almost always play close games and split the regular-season series. A year ago, Lewisburg edged Central Columbia in an overtime thriller to reach states and this will be the sixth time the rivals have met in the past two seasons.

Player to watch–Landon Lathan, Jersey Shore: The junior point guard has enjoyed a breakout season and runs the Bulldog offense well. He dealt 10 assists in a 61-54 comeback win at St. John Neumann last Wednesday.

Projected semifinals: Shamokin over Central; Mount Carmel over Danville Projected final: Shamokin over Mount Carmel; third-place: Danville over Central

CLASS AAA

(three advance to states)

Warrior Run (18-6) has made consecutive semifinals appearances and is hoping to kick in the door and win its first district title since 1988 this season. To do so, it must navigate a demanding field, entering as the No. 2 seed after winning its first league title of the 2000s. The Defenders (18-6) have an all-state candidate in Aiden McKee, a well-rounded rotation and experience. It also helps that they defeated Mount Carmel and gave Shamokin a battle at the HAC Tournament to prepare for districts.

Warrior Run hosts No. 7 Towanda (13-9) a tough-minded team which reflects its coach, former Hughesville standout point guard Landon Henry. The Black Knights have won their last two games, avenging a prior defeat and thumping Wellsboro, 56-27.

The winner of Towanda-Warrior Run faces either No. 6 South Williamsport or No. 3 North Penn-Mansfield in the semifinals. South (15-7) has made an eight-win improvement, and handed two-time defending District 4 Class AA champion Muncy its first Mid-Penn West loss in two years but were dealt a huge blow last week when leading scorer/rebounder Radley Knapp was lost for the season. Knapp put together an all-state caliber senior season, but the cupboard is not bare with Jordan Baier and Levi Butler both averaging in double figures. Chance Quimby is a quality point guard and Marc Molina excelled off the bench late in the year.

North Penn-Mansfield (20-4) is one the field’s most balanced teams with all five starters averaging more than seven points per game. Three of the team’s losses are against top-seeded Troy and the Tigers are 15-1 when three or more players reach double figures.

Troy has reached consecutive district finals, winning the 2023 crown, and has bulldozed 17 straight opponents. The Trojans (21-2) are athletic, deep, relentless and know how to win with several of their players having excelled on the state championship winning football last fall. No. 8 Bloomsburg (12-10) heads to Troy in the quarterfinals and has a good, young foundation in place.

Tournament sleeper–Mifflinburg: The No. 4 Wildcats (16-6) shared the HAC-III crown with Warrior Run and are the field’s hottest team minus Troy, winning nine straight games. Jackson Griffith is an explosive scorer and Chad Martin can fill it up, too.

Best quarterfinal–Southern Columbia at Mifflinburg: Which leads us to Southern. The No. 5 Tigers (13-9) have won five of their last six games and were a shot from beating Troy in last year’s semifinals. Southern lost twice against Mifflinburg, but those games were decided by seven points and one went to overtime.

Player to watch–Jordan Baier, South: The senior leader has surged down the stretch and was especially strong in exciting comeback wins against Muncy and Neumann. Baier fills up the stat sheet and will play an especially crucial role with Knapp sidelined.

Projected semifinals: Troy over Southern; Warrior Run over North Penn-Mansfield. Projected final: Troy over Warrior Run; third-place: Southern over North Penn-Mansfield

CLASS AA

(three advance to states)

Muncy (18-5) has captured the last two championships but enters as an underdog with top-seeded Northwest (20-3) the clear favorite after twice thumping the Indians, including in last Friday’s Mid-Penn championship.

Still, the Indians absorbed two blowout losses against Neumann two years ago before defeating it for the district title. Muncy returns a strong core from last year’s champion and all eight players in its rotation are capable of going off. Stiles Eyer and Kyran Lisembee also anchor a stingy defense.

Muncy has a tough quaterfinal, hosting rival Neumann. While the No. 7 Knights (7-15) might not have an impressive record they are dangerous and showed it by nearly defeating Jersey Shore last Wednesday. Daiton Thompson, Andrew Walter and Jager Woodring all average in double figures and Neumann would love exacting some revenge after losing to Muncy in consecutive finals.

The Neumann-Muncy winner faces either No. 3 Northeast Bradford or No. 6 Montgomery. NEB (14-9) is a well-coached, well-rounded team which has become a perennial contender. Montgomery (14-9) put together its best regular season of the 2000s and is trying to win its first playoff game of the 21st century.

Montgomery has overcome injury issues throughout the season and won its last two games, with Parker Bennett, Damaj Stewart-Williams and Hayden Wilt reaching double figures in both. Bennett is second among area scorers and Wilt and Stewart-Williams are excellent defenders.

Northwest (21-3) has won 11 straight games and 19 of its last 20. All five starters are back from last year’s state qualifier and Josh and Ryan Miner form an explosive backcourt duo. The Rangers host No. 8 East Juniata (6-16) in the quarterfinals and, barring a major upset, will play either No. 5 Line Mountain or No. 4 Sayre in the semifinals.

Tournament sleeper–Sayre: The Redskins (14-8) have been hard to figure out at times but showed how dangerous they can be at midseason when they blew out six straight teams, including NEB, North Penn-Liberty and Sullivan County. Don’t sleep on Line Mountain (12-10) either. The Eagles have heated up at the right time and reached the semifinals as a No. 6 seed last year.

Best Quarterfinal–Neumann at Muncy: How can we not go with what has been the championship the past two seasons? Neumann and Muncy played one of the most thrilling finals in recent memory last year and Neumann held a fourth quarter lead against the Indians when they played last December.

Player to watch–Daiton Thompson, Neumann: The junior point guard is among the area’s leading scorers and can score in a variety of ways, while also setting up his teammates well.

Projected semifinals: Northwest over Sayre; Muncy over NEB. Projected final: Northwest over Muncy; third-place: Sayre over NEB

Class A

(three advance to states)

This might be the district’s toughest field to project with records not meaning much and not many opponents having yet crossed paths. It was a similar story last year when Bucktail captured its first district championship since 1989 as a No. 4 seed and defeated No. 6 Galeton in the final.

Bucktail (10-11) is hoping that fourth spot holds some good fortune again and will host No. 5 Northumberland Christian (8-8) in a rematch of last year’s semifinals. Brody Pentz and Gary Whipp started on last year’s team and both are averaging in double figures while Ethan Charcalla, Talan Ditty and Gavin Pick also have had some big games.

Norry Christian has reached states the past three years and in four of the last five. Senior Conner Bennett is an explosive player and excellent shooter and Norry played Jersey Shore and South tough in January losses.

The Norry Christian-Bucktail winner faces top-seeded North Penn-Liberty or No. 8 Millville. The Mounties (15-8) captured their third NTL-II championship this decade and won nine of their last 10 regular season games. All five starters average at least nine points per game and four average in double figures. The Mounties avenged previous defeats against Sayre and NEB to win another league crown. They face a Millville team that can be dangerous when it is shooting well.

On the other side of the bracket, 2023 champion Sullivan County (12-10) earned the No. 2 seed and will host No. 7 Galeton. The Griffins hit a bump in the road after a strong start but righthed things late in the season. They enter the playoffs on a high after Cayden Smithkors hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to force overtime and Colin King made a steal and layup at the buzzer to win at Wyalusing, 56-54.

Galeton (5-17) won its season finale against Oswayo Valley and showed last year that seeds matter little to it.

Meadowbrook Christian (9-7) surged to No. 3 in the final week and hosts No. 6 Lourdes. The Lions have won four straight games and seven of their last nine, defeating Bucktail and Norry Christian along the way.

Tournament sleeper–Lourdes: While the Red Raiders are 6-16, they have title potential because they play in the demanding Schuylkill League. Lourdes highlighted its potential when it thumped Sullivan County, 46-27 a few weeks ago.

Player to watch–Luke Kreger, North Penn-Liberty: An all-state wide receiver, Kreger made a smooth transition to the court and averages 11.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.6 steals and 2.3 assists per game.

Projected semifinals: Norry Christian over North Penn-Liberty; Lourdes over Sullivan County. Projected final: Lourdes over Norry Christian; third-place: North Penn-Liberty over Sullivan County

Dr. Masse’s Top Five: 1. Warrior Run (18-6); 2. North Penn-Mansfield (20-4); 3. Lewisburg (14-8); 4. Muncy (18-5); 5. South Williamsport (15-7)

Players of the Week–Kyreek Bradshaw and Micah Washington, Williamsport: Bradshaw broke a 40-year old Magic Dome scoring record in Thursday’s 71-60 win against Executive Education, erupting for 39 points. This, after going for 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in a 76-62 win at Central Mountain. Washington scored 18 points on Bradshaw’s record-setting night and torched Central Mountain for a career-best 30 points and nine rebounds two nights earlier.