FOUNTAIN SPRINGS - North Schuylkill had a halftime lead against Panther Valley on Monday, but Spartans coach Curt Ziegmont didn't feel the intensity was there.
That wasn't a problem in the second half.
Sophomore Tevin Murray scored eight of his game-high 20 points in the third quarter as North Schuylkill turned a close game into a 69-45 rout in a Schuylkill League Division I contest.
The Spartans opened the second half on a 16-3 run to build a 44-23 lead.
"Coach just told us at halftime we have to come out tough," said the 6-foot-5 Murray, who competed a double-double with 12 rebounds. "We weren't playing too strong of a first half. He said we have to finish the last 16 minutes. We came out passionate. We came out strong, fired up in the third quarter."
North Schuylkill (9-4, 6-2 D-I) was leading 28-20 at the half and the advantage quickly grew, thanks to the Spartans' pressure defense, which led to easy buckets at the other end.
After Murray scored on a Jordan Marlow miss to open the third quarter, the Panthers (9-7, 3-5) turned the ball over on their first three possessions. North Schuylkill converted all of them into points as Jake Damiter hit 1-of-2 from the foul line, a Marlow steal turned into a Murray layup and Matt Manbeck hit 1-of-2 from the foul line.
Murray later scored off another steal, giving the Spartans a 36-20 lead at the 5:47 mark.
After the Panthers' Kyle Ferryman hit a 3-pointer, North Schuylkill continued to keep the pressure on.
Major Jordan scored the next eight points for the Spartans. He hit two foul shots, scored off a steal, hit another bucket and finished off North Schuylkill's 16-3 run with a fast-break layup.
"I wasn't very disappointed at halftime, we gave up 10 points each quarter, but it just seemed like we were going through the motions," Ziegmont said. "We weren't playing with any kind of sense of urgency or any kind of intensity.
"We stressed some things defensively, start picking up 90 feet a little more and put a little more pressure on them. We got some quick turnovers, some buckets, exactly what you have to do."
North Schuylkill built its lead to 48-28 by the end of the quarter, highlighted by a Murray dunk, his second of the season. Panther Valley cut the deficit to 50-37 with 6:15 left in the game, but the Spartans went on a 14-3 run to put the game away.
Manbeck finished with 12 points and Jordan netted 10 for North Schuylkill, which shot 26-for-49 (53 percent) from the floor and outrebounded the Panthers 37-15.
The Spartans also kept pace with Blue Mountain (12-2, 7-1) for the second place in the division and the wild-card spot in the league playoffs.
Murray's performance was a season high and the first time he's hit double figures in scoring since he had 11 against Pottsville on Jan. 8. He previous season high was 13 at Panther Valley on Dec. 19.
"I'd been in a slump the past couple of games," Murray said. "I just wanted to come out and prove a statement tonight and get back on track."
Jake Szczecina led the Panthers with 15 points, while Ferryman had 12. Panther Valley needs two more victories to qualify for the District 11 Class AAA playoffs.
"This is a frustrating one. It is," Panther Valley coach Patrick Crampsie said. "We need to play better. We had spurts where we played well, but it is not enough.
"We cannot go through three- or four-minute stretches where we lose our focus, because against these teams when you lose your focus, it is a 10-0 run. It is happening too much. It needs to stop."