Tamaqua in boys consolation game
The Tamaqua boys basketball team will face Wilson on Saturday in the consolation game of the District 11 Class 4A playoffs.
CLASS 4A BOYS CONSOLATION
No. 3 Tamaqua (17-7) vs. No. 5 Wilson (16-10)
TIP-OFF – Saturday, March 3 at Martz Hall, noon
COACHES – Tamaqua: Jim Barron; Wilson: Mike Glovas
LEADING SCORERS – Tamaqua: Thad Zuber (Sr., 14.75), Lucas Gregoire (So., 12.50), Brayden Knoblauch (So., 9.89), Gabe Gregoire (Sr., 6.13); Wilson: Robbie Swiatek (Jr., 17.00 ppg), Vigan Gashi (Sr., 15.4), Peter Rivera (Sr., 11.3), Derelle McKinney (So., 9.6), Charbel Ghaleb (So., 6.9), Cam Clark (Sr., 1.3)
GAME NOTES – Tamaqua fell short of going for gold with a 68-58 loss to Lower Moreland in the District 11/1 subregional semifinals on Tuesday ... Wilson suffered a 68-49 semifinal loss to Bethlehem Catholic ... Both the Blue Raiders and Warriors have already qualify for the PIAA Tournament since four teams advance from Class 4A ... This will be Tamaqua’s first appearance in the PIAA Tournament since 1995. The Raiders had qualified for the District 11 tournament in 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017 without making it out into the state tourney ... Wilson is in the PIAA State tournament for the first time since 2012 ... In the semifinal loss to ACC, Robbie Swiatek led the Warriors with 24 points, while Vigan Gashi followed with 18 points. Peter Rivera was the only other Warrior to score … Wilson is 16-10 this season after going 10-12 last season … Wilson also qualified for the Colonial League playoffs this season. The Warriors beat Catasauqua in the opening round, but then lost in the semifinals to eventual league champion Bangor, 62-46 … Tamaqua and Wilson had one common opponent this season as both teams lost non-league games to Kutztown. The Blue Raiders fell 69-47, while the Warriors lost 57-51 ... After a 24-point performance against Lower Moreland, Blue Raider senior Thad Zuber only needs 16 points to become the 13th Blue Raider to score 1,000 points in his career .... The Blue Raiders will open PIAA State Tournament play on Friday, March 9 at a site and time to be determined.
QUOTEABLE – “We’re excited to still be playing basketball in March. Anytime your season is still going on at this point you are playing important basketball games. We’re not playing for a district championship like we want to be, but we know every game we have a chance to play from here on out is an important one. Getting a win against a good Wilson team will help build our confidence for the opening round of state playoffs next week,” — Tamaqua head coach Jim Barron.
