North Schuylkill gave Pottsville everything it could handle Saturday evening.
But when the Crimson Tide needed to turn it on, they showed why they’ve been the team to beat in the Schuylkill League all season and a top-10 Class AAA team in Pennsylvania.
Eli Nabholz scored 12 of his game- and season-high 25 points in the fourth quarter as Pottsville pulled away for a 60-34 win over the Spartans in a Division I contest at Martz Hall.
The game was closer than the final indicated.
Down 32-15 at halftime, North Schuylkill cut Pottsville’s lead to 43-32 at the end of the third.
Then Nabholz took over.
The 6-foot-5 forward scored the Crimson Tide’s next 12 points. When he knocked down two free throws after he was fouled on a putback attempt, Pottsville led 54-34 with 2:21 left in the game.
“I was trying to finish the game.” Nabholz said. “It was just a situation where any one of us could step up and today in the fourth quarter it was my turn to step up.”
Led by Nabholz, the Crimson Tide (17-0, 10-0 D-I) were 7-for-12 from the field in fourth and forced the Spartans (12-4, 6-4) into six turnovers. The victory inched the Crimson Tide closer to their sixth consecutive Division I title.
“We have a lot of experience,” said Nabholz, whose previous season high was 19 against Governor Mifflin on Dec. 1. “The whole game we knew we weren’t playing as well as we could have. Give North Schuylkill credit. They came out and were ready to play and we were caught a little off guard by that. We are mature enough to know when we needed to start playing harder and step it up a little bit.”
Jordan Melochick had 14 points for Pottsville, with all of them coming in the first half to help the Crimson Tide build their 17-point halftime advantage. Ty Painter also had four steals on the night and Travis Blankenhorn six rebounds.
Jordan Marlow had 11 points to lead North Schuylkill, while John Mercado had four assists. The Spartans’ Major Jordan also held Blankenhorn to a season-low seven points.
Saturday’s performance was marked improvement from the earlier-season meeting between the two Dec. 22, a 55-21 Pottsville rout. Since then, the Spartans have won 8-of-10, with Saturday’s loss snapping a five-game winning streak.
North Schuylkill didn’t make it easy for the Crimson Tide.
“We were doing what we normally do and we were trying to get them out of their comfort zone and make them work a little harder offensively,” Spartans coach Curt Ziegmont said. “It is tough to do that for 32 minutes. They are good. You have to give them a lot of credit, those kids responded in the fourth quarter. We did some silly things. I am proud of the effort of my guys.”
The Spartans trailed 37-15 early in the second half before finishing the third quarter on a 17-5 run to get to within 42-32. Marlow had seven of his points in third as North Schuylkill started to attack the basket. Jordan finished off the run, working his way inside for two after an offensive rebound with 37 seconds left in the quarter.
That was as close as the Spartans got.
Nabholz opened the fourth with a 3-pointer, one of his four in the game, from the top of the circle, and then completed a three-point play to make it 48-32 at 6:38. He later scored on an inside spin move and then again in the paint. After Marlow scored the Spartans’ last points of the game, Nabholz knocked down two foul shots for a 56-34 advantage.
“He was a beast,” Ziegmont said. “It is very difficult to guard a 6-5 kid who can post you up and knock down 3s all night.”
While Nabholz led the way in the fourth quarter, Melochick was the Tide’s offensive spark in the first half.
He gave Pottsville the lead for good at 7-5 with a 3-pointer at 2:29 of the first quarter. Melochick then scored nine of his points in the second period. He began the second with a three-point play off a baseline drive, and later on a layup off an assist by Nabholz. Melochick hit two foul shots with 1:11 in the first half and finished the half by knocking down a 10-foot baseline jumper as the buzzer sounded to give the Crimson Tide their 32-15 advantage.
“It’s a run play for me and Eli is supposed to pass it to me,” Melochick said. “The kid pushed me off so I just got the ball and knew time was expiring so I just turned around and shot it and it went in.
“I just try to be aggressive and score and make plays for my teammates.”
Game Summary
NORTH SCHUYLKILL (34) — Carney 0 0-0 0, Marlow 5 0-0 11, Murray 2 2-4 6, Mazur 0 0-0 0, Wood 0 0-0 0, Mercado 2 2-2 6, Smith 0 0-0 0, Mazeika 1 0-0 2, Jordan 3 1-2 7, Heaton 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 5-8 34.
POTTSVILLE (60) — Hinchliffe 3 0-3 6, Painter 1 0-0 2, Blankenhorn 3 0-0 7, Dunkel 0 0-0 0, Melochick 5 3-3 14, Shuman 0 0-0 0, Witman 2 0-0 4, Abdo 1 0-0 2, Nabholz 8 5-5 25, Renninger 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 8-11 60.
NS (12-4, 6-4) 8 7 17 2 — 34 Pot (17-0, 10-0) 14 18 10 18 — 60
3-point FGs: Marlow, Blankenhorn, Melochick, Nabholz 4
JV score: Pottsville 56-34