FOUNTAIN SPRINGS — A big first half from Tevin Murray helped North Schuylkill stay in the game.
Foul shooting, one of the Spartans’ sore spots this year, sealed the win.
Help will be needed, but North Schuylkill’s hopes for reaching the Schuylkill League playoffs are still alive.
Murray scored 15 of his game-high 24 points in the first half, while the Spartans went 15-of-23 from the foul line in the fourth quarter to hold on for a 50-43 victory over Tamaqua in a Schuylkill League Division I contest Tuesday.
The game was tied 17-17 at halftime before the Spartans (14-5, 8-4 D-I) used a 14-7 scoring advantage in the third quarter to go up 31-24 after three frames. North Schuylkill led by nine at 35-26 with 5:01 to go after a driving layup by Jordan Marlow.
Tamaqua (16-4, 9-3) cut the deficit to three twice, the final coming on a long 3-pointer by Bo Rottet with 1:55 left in the game, making it 38-35.
The Raiders got no closer.
The Spartans, who shoot around 50 percent from the foul line as a team, went 12-for-17 from the line the rest of the way and held off Tamaqua to put a tough loss Saturday behind them. North Schuylkill led by 10 points in the fourth quarter against Minersville, but blew the lead and lost on a 3-pointer by Chris Leshko with 10 seconds left in the game.
“We knew it was a big game for league wild-card contention. If we wanted to stay in the picture we had to win this one,” Murray said. “We need some help, but we just wanted to get this one done tonight. It was a big win, a statement win.”
Tamaqua could have clinched its first league playoff berth since 1995 with a victory Tuesday, but that will have to wait. The Spartans moved within a game of the Raiders with two league games remaining for both teams.
Tamaqua hosts Pine Grove on Thursday and travels to Blue Mountain on Friday. North Schuylkill travels to Jim Thorpe on Thursday and hosts Panther Valley on Friday. If the Raiders win out, they will be the Division I wild card. Pottsville has already clinched the Division I title.
“I think we just wanted it more,” Murray said. “The look on our faces before the game, we just wanted it. We wanted to shut down their guys. They got a lot on us earlier in the season in the first game and we wanted to shut them down tonight and try to keep them to as low as possible.”
Murray grabbed 14 rebounds, including seven in the fourth quarter, for a double-double. He also added two blocks. Justin Heaton had nine points and five rebounds for North Schuylkill, while Major Jordan had nine boards and three assists.
Rottet had 16 points for Tamaqua, while Brett Kosciolek added 11 points and six rebounds. Nate MacDonald grabbed eight boards.
Tamaqua won the first meeting between the two teams 60-46 on Jan. 10. It was much different this time around.
The Raiders had a rough shooting night Tuesday, hitting 17-for-60 (28 percent) from the floor in the game.
“Bad shooting night because North Schuylkill played great defense,” Tamaqua coach Caszy Kosciolek said. “They took us away from what we wanted to do. Out shooting percentage was horrific. It wasn’t just us, it was them playing really good defense.”
Jordan, who is 6-foot-1 and arguably North Schuylkill’s best defensive player, was matched on the 6-7 Kosciolek and held him to seven points through three quarters. Marlow guarded Rottet and held him to five through three periods as Rottet scored most of his damage in the fourth.
Spartans’ coach Curt Ziegmont felt the big difference Tuesday compared to the first meeting was the first quarter. In the early-season meeting, the Raiders got out to an 18-9 advantage and North Schuylkill never could recover.
The Spartans had a much better defensive start Tuesday, despite being down 8-7 at end of the opening frame.
“We made some different match-ups and adjustments for this game,” Ziegmont said. “We were ready for the zone they were going to be playing. We modified some of the things we try to do to dictate what the game is going to be played like.”
Murray was dominating in the first half, scoring the majority of his points off the baseline against Tamaqua’s 2-3 zone. He had just one field goal in the second half, but was 7-for-12 from the foul line, including a 6-of-8 showing in the fourth quarter.
Overall, the Spartans finished the night 15-for-34 (44 percent) from the field.
Game Summary
TAMAQUA (43) — Blaker 4 0-1 9, Miller 0 0-0 0, Rottet 6 3-4 16, Zuber 0 0-0 0, MacDonald 2 0-2 4, Skripko 1 1-2 3, Kosciolek 4 2-2 11. Totals 17 6-11 43.
NORTH SCHUYLKILL (50) — Carney 0 0-0 0, Marlow 3 0-2 7, Murray 8 8-14 24, Mazur 0 0-0 0, Mercado 1 3-6 5, Mazeika 0 0-0 0, Jordan 1 3-6 5, Heaton 2 5-6 9. Totals 15 19-34 50.
Tam (16-4, 9-3) 8 9 7 19 — 43 NS (14-5, 8-4) 7 10 14 19 — 50
3-point FGs: Blaker, Rottet, Kosciolek, Marlow
JV score: North Schuylkill 66-45