Pine Grove boys edge Palmerton

ORWIGSBURG — Palmerton has proved to be one of the more resilient teams in the Times News area this season, having battled back many times to earn wins in dramatic fashion.

Palmerton’s resiliency helped it earn 11 victories after winning just two games last season, and also aided it in qualifying for the District 11 postseason for the first time since 2002.

On Saturday, in the Bombers District 11/1 3A subregional quarterfinal against Pine Grove, Palmerton once again had to come from behind.

Trailing 15-4 after the first quarter, the Bombers did not go away, fighting back to take the lead midway through the fourth quarter. In the end,, the physical nature of the Cardinals’ defense proved too much.

Pine Grove finished strong down the stretch to defeat the Bombers, 45-42.

Attacking the rim has been the key to the Bombers’ ability to come back, and they did just that to get back in the game against the Cardinals. Trailing by nine in the second quarter, Palmerton received back-to-back three-point plays from Justin Hosier and Nate Dougherty.

“Good basketball players attack the rim, and that’s been one of the keys to our resurgence. Even when the three is working for you, you need to keep attacking the rim, and we were able to do that to get back in the game,” said Bomber coach Ken Termini. “I liked our patience too, we didn’t go one on three, we were patient and spread them out and got good looks.”

After the strong second quarter closed Palmerton to within six, the Bombers came out even stronger in the third, outscoring Pine Grove 17-9 to take a two-point lead into the fourth quarter.

“We did a really good job defensively in the first quarter,” said Pine Grove head coach Frank D’Agostino. “Basically, I just challenged our guys and they responded. Palmerton outworked and outplayed us during the second and third quarter, and that’s what I told them.

“Then our kids came out and finished strong in the fourth.”

With Palmerton leading by two with 3:41 remaining, the Cardinals made their move behind Andrew Griffith, whose four-point run would give Pine Grove the lead for good.

Palmerton did keep battling, staying within striking distance until the last possession of the game.

Trailing by three with a little under 20 seconds remaining, the Bombers couldn’t get off a quality shot as their long three-point attempt fell short.

“Give Pine Grove all the credit. That’s a tough typical Schuylkill County team that plays in your face defense, and they never gave up and they kept fighting,” said Termini. “For us, we know we’re headed in the right direction, and that we did a lot of great things this season.

But we weren’t ready for it to be over. In a day or two, we’ll look back and see all the good stuff we did and then we can build off that.”

LEADERS ... Ryan Yacone led Palmerton with 12 points, Dougherty had nine, and Hosier added seven. Griffith led Pine Grove with 12 points. Jordan Pena added 11.

NEXT UP ... Pine Grove will be at Valley Forge for a semifinal game on Wednesday.

RECORDS ... The Cardinals improved to 14-9. The Bombers finished the season 11-12.

PALMERTON

Yacone 5-1-1-12, Young 1-0-0-3, Baumgardt 2-0-0-5, Dougherty 3-3-7-9, King 0-0-0-0, Kratzer 2-0-0-6, Hosier 3-1-2-7, Silfies 0-0-0-0, Beahm 0-0-0-0. Totals: 16-5-10-42.

PINE GROVE

Soper 0-0-0-0, Zimmerman 0-0-0-0, Ibarra 3-0-0-6, Pena 4-1-2-11, Griffith 6-0-2-12, Morgan 2-0-0-5, Culbert 1-0-0-2, Leininger 3-2-2-9. Totals: 19-3-6-45.

Palmerton 4 14 17 7 - 42

Pine Grove 15 9 9 12 - 45

Three-pointers: Palm - Kratzer 2, Young 1, Yacone 1, Baumgardt 1; PG - Pena 2, Morgan 1, Leininger 1.