Jim Thorpe boys hold off Panther Valley

One of the toughest things in basketball for an inexperienced team to learn is how to finish off an opponent.

The Jim Thorpe’s boys basketball squad lost its four top scorers from a season ago — meaning they lost their finishers.

On Tuesday night, in an early season rivalry matchup against Panther Valley, the inexperienced Thorpe bunch showed it might be the exception to that rule. The Olympians (2-0) fought off every Panthers run and comeback attempt, and made the game-winning plays down the stretch, to earn a 50-46 non-league victory.

It was the second gutty performance for Thorpe (2-0), which got a key road win against Marian to open the season.

“To be honest, this is the type of play that I’ve seen from these kids since the summer. They haven’t backed down from the challenge of coming in and replacing the guys that we lost,” said Thorpe head coach Jason McElmoyle. “They just play so hard — 110 miles per hour at all times. I’m just really proud of the effort.”

The Olympians used a hot shooting streak to lead by eight after one. Thorpe hit four triples in the first quarter, while the Panthers struggled on the offensive end.

PV’s offensive struggles continued against the Olympians zone defense in the second frame. Rene Figueroa, who had 26 points, brought the Panthers within six to open the frame, but the Olympians answered right back with a 9-0 spurt, which included three-pointers from Rudy Forman and Nick Rosahac to extended the lead to 15.

“Obviously, the beginning of the game really hurt us tonight,” said Panthers head coach Pat Crampsie. “On the defensive end, we just didn’t do a good job, especially closing out and contesting their shooters and credit to them, because they knocked down some key shots.

“On the offensive end, you could tell it was our first game. We didn’t move the ball well enough, we were forcing the issue instead of making the defense work. After that, we settled in and I was happy with the way we fought back. The effort was there tonight, we just have to be better on the execution side.”

The Panthers did battle back — many times in the second half. After closing within six points after three periods, Panther Valley kept the pressure on Thorpe.

With about one minute remaining, Figueroa made a nifty open-court euro step and finished with Olympians guard Chris Valdez, trying to take a charge in the process. Valdez wasn’t quite in position, but still fell to the floor and was called for a technical foul on a flopping call. Figueroa then hit one of two free throws to bring the Panthers within three.

But like it did throughout the game, Thorpe answered the call. Numerous hustle plays extending possessions on missed shots and also clutch foul shooting down the stretch kept the Panthers at bay.

“One of the great things in this game for me was seeing two seniors seal the game from the foul line. Overall, we just made some big shots tonight at big times throughout the game,” said McElmoyle. “This is just a tough team, and that helps with our inexperience at times.”

FORMAN GRILL ... Thorpe’s Rudy Forman might have had his coming-out party because he was sizzlin’ to start the game for the Olympians. Forman hit three triples in the first half en route to a team-high 18 points. Nick Rosahac added 14.

POST DEFENSE ... JT’s zone defense was impressive, but it was its post “D” that made the difference. The Olympians did a good job of doubling down on Panthers’ talented big man Tristan Blasko, keeping him off the offensive boards. Blasko was held to just seven points.

PANTHER VALLEY

Marcharro 0-2-2-2, Stilitino 0-0-0-0, Turner 3-0-0-7, Figueroa 9-5-10-26, Distler 0-0-1-0, Blasko 3-1-2-7, Perez 1-0-2-2, Sanchez 1-0-0-2. TOTALS: 17-8-17-46.

JIM THORPE

Valdez 3-1-2-8, Forman 6-3-4-18, Marykwas 1-2-4-5, Na. Rosahac 1-3-6-5, Ni. Rosahac 4-5-8-14, Searfoss 0-0-0-0, Burak 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 15-14-24-50.

Panther Vy. 11 6 13 16 - 46

Jim Thorpe 19 9 8 14 - 50

Three-pointers: PV - Figueroa 3, Turner 1; JT - Forman 3, Valdez 1, Marykwas 1, Ni. Rosahac 1.