Fast start propels Panther Valley

The Panther Valley boys basketball team is no longer a pushover.

In fact, it is now a contender.

And it has the look of one, too.

Chomping at the bit, and before a crowded gym on senior night, the Panthers wasted no time Thursday against divisional rival Weatherly .

The Panthers put together an impressive first eight minutes of play to roll to a 63-33 Schuylkill League stomping.

The win inches Panther Valley closer to a league playoff berth for the first time since 2000. The Panthers improved to 8-1 in league play and 12-5 overall. They hold a comfortable two-and-a-half-game lead over Marian, the reigning Division 3 title holders.

“We’ve had limited practice time since Martin Luther King Day,” said Panther Valley coach Pat Crampsie. “We had a lot of makeup games, and with some snow we were unable to get into the gym as often. But the last few practices we did have, we were stressing defensive rebounding and getting stops on the defensive end.”

That was evident from the get-go. Panther Valley devoured any offensive production Weatherly was trying to impose, gushing to a 14-5 lead after eight minutes of play and racing to a commanding 33-9 lead at halftime.

“They’re so long, so quick that we had our problems as you can tell,” said Weatherly coach Corey Gerhart. “No matter what we tried to run, they defended it very well. They (basically) took away our outside game, and we struggled to get rebounds.”

So quick and so fierce was Panther Valley that it forced the Wreckers into a 2-for-16 opening-period shooting performance, and a 3-of-11 effort in the second period.

Panther Valley had no problem putting the ball in the basket, as it placed four players in double figures. Rene Figueroa led the way with 14, Erick Marchorro sank 11, Tristen Blasko and Ronnie Distler each added 10. Blasko is now within 25 points of 1,000 points for his career. Distler and Figueroa each collared nine of the team’s 51 rebounds.

“I loved the way we came out with that intensity,” said Crampsie. “We wanted to dial-in and focus on our rebounding, and our kids did a great job. We watched some film, and they realized what they weren’t doing.”

Leading 39-15 with 5:15 left in the third, Panther Valley continued to smother the Wreckers. It went on a 10-0 run, getting five points from Figueroa, recycled misses from Blasko and Trey Turner, and a Marchorro free throw off a technical.

After that, Crampsie started to evacuate the bench en route to a commanding 56-19 lead heading into the final eight minutes of play.

“Hey, there’s nothing that you can do about it,” said Gerhart. “We’ve got to move on and find a way to deal with the loss.”

OFF THE CHARTS … Panther Valley put up 72 shots, sinking 25. It took 23 in the first quarter alone. Weatherly went 11-for-40 from the floor.

SENIORS GET A NOD … Crampsie made a class move by starting all five of his seniors — Mark Sanchez, Allen Perez, Jason Wallace, Blake White and Blasko.

SPLITSVILLE … Weatherly claimed the JV game 51-41, led by Antonio Colecio’s 26 points and Mason Gerhart’s 16. PV was led by Bryce Krapf and Carter Brettle, who both scored eight points.

WEATHERLY

Yurchak 7-0-2-14, Knepper 3-0-0-6, Moon 1-2-2-5, Zoscin 1-0-0-3, Hinkle 0-3-4-3, G. Miller 0-2-5-2, Colecio 0-0-0-0, J. Miller 0-0-0-0, Arthur 0-0-0, Knepper 0-0-0-0, Obert 0-0-0-0, Buck 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 12-7-14-33.

PANTHER VALLEY

Figueroa 6-1-2-14, Marchorro 4-1-1-11, Blasko 5-0-0-10, Distler 4-2-2-10, Turner 3-0-0-7, Perez 1-2-2-4, Depew 1-1-1-3, Krapf 1-0-0-2, White 0-2-4-2, Sanchez 0-0-0-0, Edwards 0-0-0-0, Brettle 0-0-0-0, Prudente 0-0-0-0, Wallace 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 25-9-12-63.

Weatherly 5 4 10 14 - 33

Panther Valley 14 19 23 7 - 63

Three-pointers: Weatherly - Knepper 3, Zoscin 1; Panther Valley - Marchorro 2, Figueroa 1, Turner 1.