Jim Thorpe edges Blue Raiders

Two good teams and an electric atmosphere resulted in a great basketball game on Saturday.

The matchup between unbeatens, Jim Thorpe and Tamaqua, lived up to the hype as a late-game run and defensive stand by the Olympians helped them edge the Blue Raiders, 67-61.

“What a great atmosphere and basketball game,” said Jim Thorpe head coach Rob Kovac. “This was a fun one. This was a special one.

“That’s a good team right there. That’s a tough team, but we were able finish it out and gain some momentum in the Schuylkill League Division 1 race. We know it’s going to be tough to have another undefeated regular season, but one thing we want to accomplish is to defend the division, and this was huge for that goal.”

The first quarter was an indication of just how close this one was going to be with the game knotted at 20-20 after eight minutes.

In the second frame, the Olympians (5-0) put together one of their multiple offensive runs. A quick 16-2 burst to start the second quarter shot Thorpe out to a 14-point lead. Getting out in transition and scoring quickly is the key to the Olympians’ offense, and they were able to do that, with Leila Hurley leading the run with eight points during that span.

But as it did throughout the game, Tamaqua battled back to get within seven before the half, scoring the last six points of the frame.

“I was really proud of our team, and their relentless attitude to fight back on the day,” said Tamaqua head coach Erika Davis.

“There were times where we were down double digits, but we took it one possession at a time and battled our way back into it.”

That’s exactly what the Raiders (6-1) did the rest of the way. In the third, the Olympians once again shot out to a double-digit lead, led by a strong effort from leading scorer Skyler Searfoss.

Searfoss scored just six points in the first half, but came back strong, scoring eight in the third quarter.

But the story in the third was the Raiders’ ability to battle back again. A 10-2 Raiders run midway through the third pulled them within five and Tamaqua continued to chip away, closing within two at the end of the quarter to set up an exciting fourth quarter.

Tamaqua’s do-it-all offensive weapon, Emma Kuczynski, was great in the third, scoring 11 points to lead the comeback.

In the fourth, it was the Olympians’ turn to battle. With the game tied 57-57, the Raiders took their first lead of the game since the first quarter on a McKenna Kane triple from the top of the key at the 5:34 mark.

But then the Olympians answered with back-to-back buckets by Olivia Smelas and Searfoss to gain a one-point lead. Thorpe did not relinquish the rest of the way.

The Olympians allowed just one more Tamaqua point, finishing out with a 67-61 Schuylkill League Division 1 victory.

“I saw we were tired,” said Kovac. “Our starters haven’t had to play a full four quarters yet this season. You could see we were definitely fatigued, so we switched to a 3-2 zone to give ourselves a rest, and then we were going to go back to man-to-man.

“But we played really well in it, our length bothered them up top, so we stuck with it and played great defensively down the stretch and were able to make plays on the offensive end. It was a great effort by both teams on the day. It was great to get this one.”

LEADERS ... Thorpe was led by Searfoss with 24 points and Hurley with 22. Smelas also helped out with 13. For Tamaqua, Kuczynski led the way with 22. Titus had a big game as well with 11 first-quarter points and finished with 18. Kane chipped in with 10.

DEFENSIVE STAND ... After falling behind by three points at the 5:34 mark, the Olympians outscored Tamaqua 10-1 to come away with the victory.

TAMAQUA

Zuber 2-0-0-6, Hromyak 0-0-2-0, Titus 7-4-6-18, Kuczynski 6-9-13-22, Frederickson 0-0-0-0, Kane 4-0-0-10, Reinhardt 2-1-2-5. TOTALS: 21-14-23-61.

JIM THORPE

Scott 1-0-0-2, Snisky 1-0-0-2, Hurley 7-6-6-22, Searfoss 9-6-6-24, O. Smelas 6-1-3-13, Yuhas 2-0-2-4. TOTALS: 26-13-18-67.

Tamaqua 20 10 21 10 - 61

Jim Thorpe 20 17 16 14 - 67

Three-pointers: Tamaqua - Zuber 2, Kane 2, Kuczynski 1; Jim Thorpe - Hurley 2.