Blue Raiders rally past Danville

SHAMOKIN — Heading into the fourth quarter Danville had its biggest lead of the night and was eight minutes from advancing in the state playoffs.

Tamaqua’s Brayden Knoblauch wasn’t going to let that happen.

The Blue Raider senior scored 14 of his game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter to lead his team to a 48-42 win over Danville in the first round of the PIAA Class 4A boys basketball playoffs.

“We knew someone had to step up, and I just did my best to put my team in position to win,” said Knoblauch. “We wanted this very badly. Two years ago, we lost in the first round of states and last year we were one win away from going to states. We just wanted to keep this run going.”

Trailing 27-21 heading into the fourth, Knoblauch scored 12 points in the first two and a half minutes of the final stanza, accounting for all the points in a 12-3 run that put the Raiders (20-7) ahead by three.

Knoblauch had missed three days of school, and every day of practice, this week with an illness. He wasn’t 100% for the game, but he battled through it.

“I’ve been home in bed the last three days,” he said. “I was sluggish at the start of the game. I wanted to just lay down, but I knew I couldn’t do that. I just had to step up and help my team.”

“Through three quarters, it looked like it got the best of him,” said Tamaqua head coach Jim Barron. “Then in the fourth quarter, his competitive edge took over and he wasn’t going to let us lose. They were all big buckets.”

The Ironmen (20-8) managed to tie the game at 33-33 on a three-pointer from Jack Smith with 3:26 left in the game. But a pair of Danville turnovers, a basket by Lucas Gregoire, and a three from Knoblauch put the Raiders up 38-33 with 1:45 left.

Tamaqua went 10-for-12 at the free throw line down the stretch to seal the win.

The Raiders held the Ironmen well below their season scoring average of 62.7 points per game.

“Their defense all night kept us out of anything we wanted to run,” said Danville head coach Lenny Smith. “It was a struggle for us to score. They made the big shots when they had to. Hats off to them.

“They’re not the most physical team we played this year, but they play physical enough to take you out of your offense.”

Both coaches pointed to a couple first-quarter charging calls against the Ironmen as a factor in Danville’s scoring woes.

“We did a great job on defense,” said Barron. “Early in the first half, we took charges and that kind of deterred them from going to the basket. It kind of changed what they wanted to do offensively because we were in such good position when they drove to the basket.”

Tamaqua held Danville scoreless over the final 1:29 of the first quarter and the first 6:49 of the second quarter. But the Raiders only built a 12-7 lead over that stretch as they also struggled to score in the second quarter. They managed only a basket and a made free throw from Gregiore in the quarter, and went to halftime with a 13-11 lead.

The Ironmen tied the game early in the third quarter and took their first lead 3:23 left in the period. But when the horn sounded to start the fourth quarter, the game belonged to Knoblauch.

BEEN A LONG TIME ... Barron said the win marks Tamaqua’s first state playoff victory in 36 years. “I think it’s the first win since 1984. It’s been a long drought. We’re trying to make history and go as far as we can,” he said.

SOLID AT THE STRIPE ... Nate Boyle made seven of eight free throws in the fourth quarter to help seal the win.

DOWN THE ROAD ... Tamaqua advanced to Tuesday’s second round against Susquhanna Township, which beat Scranton Prep Friday.

TAMAQUA

Knoblauch 7-3-4-21, Ballentino 0-0-0-0 Boyle 1-7-8-10, N. Gregoire 0-3-4-3, L. Gregoire 5-1-4-11, Stauffenberg 1-0-0-3, Lavine 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 14-14-20-48.

DANVILLE

Riley 2-2-4-7, Dressler 1-0-0-2, Vanden Hueval 0-0-0-0, Persing 1-0-0-3, Sidler 1-2-2-4, Harward 3-2-3-8, Mavin 6-1-2-15, Smith 1-0-0-3. TOTALS: 15-7-11-42.

Tamaqua 10 3 8 27 - 48

Danville 7 4 16 15 - 42

Three-pointers: T - Knobluach 4, Boyle 1, L. Gregoire 1; D - James 2, Riley 1, Persing 1, Smith 1.