Tamaqua tops Wilson in consolation game

POTTSVILLE – It wasn’t good at the start.

Tamaqua was anything but sharp during the first half of Saturday’s game at Martz Hall. It couldn’t break the press, it couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean, and was turning the ball over too frequently.

Especially near the close of the first half against Wilson when the Warriors made a late surge to close the second period with momentum and a six-point lead.

Then suddenly the light went on.

Tamaqua found a way to protect the ball better, used its defense to frustrate the Colonial League visitors, and rallied for a 67-62 victory. The Raiders finished third in the District 11 Class 4A tournament.

“We just started to protect the ball better and got into the open floor,” said sophomore Lucas Gregoire who pulled down 10 rebounds and had a monster day scoring 20 points.

It wasn’t all Gregoire; Thad Zuber was without question the key to the win with his defensive effort. Zuber fired in 15 points en route to scoring is 1,000th career point, and came from nowhere to haul in 13 rebounds. Figure in 17 points from sophomore Brayden Knoblauch and that trio was enough to put the Raiders into a victorious mood.

“We’re down a player and the way we came back was big,” said Tamaqua coach Jimmy Barron. “Gabe (Gregoire) is home with the flu and the way we held together has a lot to do as a team.

“Our kids just dug in enough. We got the energy in the third quarter and just rode it the entire second half.”

The Warriors had their share of offensive firepower with Vigan Gashi (19), Peter Rivera (18) and Robbie Swiatek (17) all scoring in double figures, but where the Raiders started to exploit their opposition was to force six turnovers in the third period.

“That was big for us,” mentioned Barron about forcing the turnovers.

It was big for Wilson in the second period. Tamaqua came unglued with seven of its own turnovers, three of those coming at the onset of the period. Wilson ran off nine unanswered points to wiggle in front 23-14. Knoblauch scored eight of his team’s next 10 to close the gap, 25-24. But the Warriors finished on a strong note to forge a 30-24 lead at the half.

“I wasn’t worried,” said Zuber who seemed to stagger the opposition with his defensive pressure. “We just needed to stop making turnovers … those can kill you. To be honest, I was comfortable after the way we started the second half.”

Tamaqua went on a tear with Zuber, Knoblauch and Gregoire fueling the way. By the end of the quarter, the Raiders were sitting pretty, 48-39.

With 4:10 to play, Tamaqua had pumped up the score 58-48. Wilson still had some octane in the tank and came storming back on the wings of its scoring leaders – Gashi, Swiatek and Rivera. Twice Wilson came within three points the last on a Rivera triple (63-60) with 1:13 to play.

“We went a little flat there,” said Barron. “But with Thad and Brayden you want them to have the ball and they responded.”

LAST TIME IN … Tamaqua and Wilson both advance to the PIAA State Tournament. The Raiders are making their first visit to the state tournament since 2015. The Raiders will face District 2 champ Scranton Prep on Friday at 7:30 at Marywood University.

MILESTONE ... Zuber became the 13th player in school history to score 1,000 points.

WILSON

Gashi 5-6-6-19, Rivera 8-0-0-18, Swiatek 5-4-4-17, Ghaleb 3-0-0-6, Hindmarch 0-2-2-2, Clark 0-0-0-0, McKinney 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 21-12-12-62.

TAMAQUA

L. Gregoire 9-2-2-20, Knoblauch 5-4-4-17, Zuber 4-6-10-15, Rother 1-4-4-6, Stianche 1-2-2-5, Bonetsky 1-0-0-2, Kurek 1-0-0-2. TOTALS: 21-20-24-67.

Wilson 14 16 9 23 - 62

Tamaqua 12 12 24 19 - 67

Three-pointers: Wilson - Gashi 3, Swiatek 3, Rivera 2; Tamaqua - Knoblauch 3, Zuber 1, Stianche 1.