Gregoire lifts Raiders over Jim Thorpe

It might have been Friday night, but Lucas Gregoire clocked in, brought his lunch box, and worked a full shift to kick off the weekend against Jim Thorpe.

In a grind-it-out-type Schuylkill League affair, the Raiders’ big-man had a huge night, racking up a game-high 27 points, and helping propel Tamaqua to a 58-52 win over the Olympians.

“Lucas is one of our best players; it’s pretty obvious by the stats he’s put up this year,” said Tamaqua head coach Jim Barron. “We got the ball into the paint and he did a good job of finishing and also kicking it out to the open guys.”

In fact, from the 2:12-mark in the first quarter, all the way to the four-minute-mark of the second period, Gregoire either scored or assisted on each Raiders’ basket.

“They came out in zone and they really concentrated on Brayden (Knoblauch), they were sinking a man off in the corner,” explained Barron of the Thorpe defense. “We knew that would open up the inside, so we tried to pound it down there to Lucas, and he really benefited from it in the beginning.”

What was once a 19-19 ballgame in the second quarter, eventually turned into a nine-point Raiders’ advantage at intermission. The lead grew to as much as 14 in the middle of the third frame.

“Whenever they’re concentrating on one guy, it’s going to open up everything else,’ Barron said. “The second quarter, we moved Brayden out of the corner, and out on top, he got a couple looks, knocked down some three’s and opened up the game for us.”

But just like that, the Olympians cut the lead to six by the end of the third quarter, thanks to the marksmanship of Tyler Burak, who drained a trio of treys during the run. Burak and big-man Nate Rosahac combined for 31 of JT’s 43 points.

“I thought we were relentless and our guys are starting to see that,” said Jim Thorpe head coach Jason McElmoyle. “We hit some shots and started playing well. There were two minutes in the second quarter that hurt us where we let them get a few offensive rebounds; and we took some bad shots. We just have to play 32 minutes, I think we played about 31 tonight. We can’t do that against a good team like Tamaqua.”

After starting the game in zone, Jim Thorpe’s man-to-man defense came up big as the contest came down to the wire. The Olympians forced multiple turnovers late in the game, and had ball-in-hand to either tie or go ahead. However, Jim Thorpe never re-gained the lead in the final frame.

“Defensively, they present problems; they’re big and long,” said Barron of JT’s athleticism. “They have guards who also effect our guards that get steals, reach in effectively, and they thrive off of that defense to get momentum.”

Up by three with 1:26 left, Gregoire slashed to the hoop, bodies flew to the floor, and the Raiders’ center poured in an emphatic and-one layup, which enticed a roar from the Tamaqua crowd. The clutch bucket made it a two-possession game and sealed the deal for the Raiders.

FATIGUE … Tamaqua had a busy week, one that also included an overtime victory against Mount Carmel on Thursday. “Last night’s overtime game kind of set in,” Barron said. “We got a little tired and we’re not a very deep team. We couldn’t put the ball in the hoop (in the second half). But we called a timeout and had some leadership step up … Our guys that we count on at the end of the game really stepped up.

POSITIVE TAKEAWAYS … Despite the loss, Jim Thorpe battled and hustled until the end. “We played hard and I’m proud of the effort and way they fought back from 14-down in the third quarter, and gave us an opportunity to go ahead,” said McElmoyle. “Unfortunately some shots didn’t fall down the stretch. I think we’re heading in the right direction.”

TAMAQUA TRIO ... Knoblauch, Gregoire, and Michael Bonetsky combined for 54 of the Raiders’ 58 points.

JIM THORPE

Searfoss 0-2-3-2, Burak 4-2-2-13, Cannariato 0-0-0-0, Hurley 2-0-0-5, Adames 5-0-0-10, Lavar 2-0-0-4, Rosahac 7-4-9-18. TOTAL: 20-8-14-52.

TAMAQUA

Bonetsky 4-4-6-14, Stianche 0-0-0-0, Knoblauch 5-0-0-13, Zehner 0-2-4-2, Gutierrez 0-0-0-0, Agosti 1-0-0-2, L. Gregoire 11-5-9-27, Stauffenberg 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 21-11-19-58

Jim Thorpe 17 8 16 11 – 52

Tamaqua 15 21 11 11 – 58

Three-pointers: JT – Burak 3, Hurley 1; T – Knoblauch 3, Bonetsky 2.