Pottsville defense stymies Blue Raiders

The difference between Pottsville and other teams in the Schuylkill League can be summed up in one word — defense.

There is nothing fancy about the way the Crimson Tide comes at you — belly-button to belly-button. And you better be prepared to take on the ultimate pressure; or else sink faster than a Bull Market on the New York Stock Exchange.

The Tide brought their A-game to “The Hill” and totally dominated a hopeful Tamaqua squad Tuesday evening, rolling to an impressive 68-32 victory.

The win just about sews up Division I for the Tide, who now stand firmly atop the race with a 9-0 record.

No one could imagine this game getting away from the Raiders, not after they went toe-to-toe with Pottsville at Martz Hall earlier this season before they dropped a 45-40 decision. So the pundits figured it to be another donnybrook.

Instead, it fizzled in the third quarter when Pottsville (13-3) went bonkers with an uncanny shooting frame — missing just one shot from the floor.

It was also pleasing to their head coach Dave Mullaney, who wasn’t taking anything for granted even after he watched his team’s tenacious defense hog-tie Tamaqua’s Brayden Knoblauch to no points in the first half.

“I didn’t tell the players (at the half) that we held him scoreless, because I was worried he would (catch fire) in the second half,” said Mullaney. “He’s such a great shooter, and our defense was just terrific, especially the way our (two) kids did a great job of checking him.”

Mason Barnes and Matt Salata draped Knoblauch from end-to-end, enabling the Tide to keep him from draining treys. In addition, Pottsville shot 26-of-45 from the floor.

Sophomore Mike Sukeena had a monster night for the winners with 17 points, while Kevin Schenk dropped in 14 and Barnes added 13. Barnes also had 15 defensive rebounds.

“That’s quite an effort,” said Mullaney, when told of the Barnes’ rebounding. “We made a few adjustments from the first time we faced them. They’re prideful kids, well-coached; I knew that we would have to play our best here to beat them.”

The game looked like a possible down-to-the-wire affair the way it started. Lucas Gregoire – who is now four points shy of 1,000 in his career – teamed with his brother Nate to keep the Raiders (12-4; 7-2) within striking distance after eight minutes, trailing 14-9.

Tamaqua seemed to get a jolt of momentum to open the second quarter when Nate Boyle buried a triple from the corner, and Lucas Gregoire used his port side to kiss a bank off the window for a 14-14 tie.

“I thought that we were going to get a big lift at that time of the game,” said Tamaqua mentor Jim Barron. “But then we couldn’t play a lick of defense, and they just took off.”

Barnes put his team in front for keeps going inside, and then Sukeena was hacked taking a trey and sank all three shots before Riley Stanton ripped a triple through the cords. By halftime, the Tide was leading 30-18.

That momentum carried over to the second half as Pottsville buried four triples, three by Stanton, in the third quarter that upped the margin to a commanding 55-30.

“That was huge,” said Barron about the third quarter. “We didn’t have an answer and they made all the shots, or so it seemed.”

GETTING CLOSE … Lucas Gregoire, who is tough physically, keeps pounding the inside. Gregoire tallied 16 points and had seven rebounds. His career point total now sits at 996.

SHOOTING FROM THE HIP … Tamaqua connected on just eight shots from the floor. The Raiders shot 53 times. Pottsville ended with a 33-27 edge in rebounds.

SWEPT … Pottsville claimed a 73-22 win in the JV contest. Brady Sherry posted 11 points for the Raiders.

POTTSVILLE

Schenk 6-1-1-14 Heimbaugh 1-0-0-3 Barnes 5-3-4-13 Yost 1-0-0-2 Sukeena 5-3-3-17 McCuller 1-0-0-3 Boris 1-0-0-3 Stanton 4-1-1-11 Snowell 0-0-0-0 Salata 1-0-0-2. TOTALS: 25-8-9-68.

TAMAQUA

Taras 0-0-0-0 Knoblauch 2-0-0-5 Bollentino 0-0-0-0 Milot 0-0-0-0 Boyle 2-0-0-6 Sherry 0-0-0-0 Smith 0-0-0-0 N Gregoire 1-2-3-4 L Gregoire 5-5-10-16 Stauffenberg 0-1-2-1. TOTALS: 8-8-15-32.

Pottsville 14 16 25 13 - 68

Tamaqua 9 9 12 2 - 32

Three-pointers: Pottsville - Sukeena 4, Stanton 2, Schenk 1, Heimbaugh 1, McCuller 1, Boris 1; Tamaqua - Boyle 2, Knoblauch 1, L. Gregoire 1.