RADNOR - The last thing Blue Mountain wanted to do in its PIAA playoff opener with Philadelphia Electric and Technology Charter is start slow.
But that's what happened.
The Eagles played hard all game but couldn't overcome a first-quarter deficit and suffered a 68-50 defeat in the first round of the PIAA Class AAA Tournament on Friday at Archbishop Carroll High School.
Larenz Thuman led the PE&T (17-11), the District 12 runner-up, with a game-high 23 points, with 11 coming in the first half. Thuman also hit all three of his 3-pointers in the first half, including two in the first quarter to help the Chargers build an early 19-6 advantage.
PE&T, which had all five of its starter 6-foot or bigger, advances to face District 1 champion Holy Ghost Prep in the second round Tuesday at a site and time to be determined. Holy Ghost Prep defeated Bermudian Springs 65-53 in a first-round game Friday.
The loss ended Blue Mountain's season at 21-7.
"That's a good team," Blue Mountain coach Dustin Werdt said. "We knew they were athletic, we knew they were big. They came out and shot the ball on top of it. When you have length and when you have quickness and you hit a bunch of 3s, it is not easy to defend. The kids defended as hard as they could and played as hard as they could."
Will Bornstein led Blue Mountain, the third-place finisher out of District 11, with 19 points, while Kyle Slane added 15 points and six rebounds.
Anthony Harris (15) and Devante Truitt (13) also reached double figures for the Chargers, while James Suber grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.
After Thuman opened the game with a jumper on the Chargers' first possession, Bornstein tied the game on a layup off a handoff pass from Skyler Panchari the first time the Eagles had the ball.
But PE&T followed with a 12-2 run. The spurt included Thuman's first 3-pointer of the game, while Harris later scored on a transition layup and added a 3 to give the Chargers a 14-4 lead, prompting Werdt to call a timeout with 4:04 left in the first quarter.
Slane hit two free throws after he was fouled on a putback attempt, but PE&T finished the quarter with a 5-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Thurman. Blue Mountain shot just 2-for-12 from the floor in the first quarter.
"We were getting shots, but you have to credit their length and quickness as well," Werdt said. "They closed out quickly, they contested shots, which, in the process, sped us up a little bit. We rushed, even in our jump shots, we were rushed a little bit. A lot of that had to do with their defense."
The Chargers built a 27-10 advantage with 3:47 left in the first half before the Eagles crawled back in it, going on a 9-2 run to cut to the deficit to 29-19 after Bornstein scored on layup off a back-door cut.
A layup by Nysir Marshburn gave PE&T a 31-19 halftime advantage. The Chargers then put the game away in the third quarter, opening the second half with a 15-5 run, finished off with a dunk by Truitt at 3:12 that made it 46-24.
It was a tough way to end what's been a great season for the Eagles. They followed up last year's 18-6 record by reaching the Schuylkill League playoffs for the second consecutive season. Blue Mountain then won its first postseason game since 2007 with its District 11 semifinal victory over Southern Lehigh 67-51 on Feb. 21. The Eagles also reached the PIAA playoffs for the first time since 2007 by beating Bethlehem Catholic 70-63 last Friday.
Friday was the final game for seniors Shane Grapsy, Luke Harding, Bornstein, Panchari and Slane.
"It is all the seniors," Werdt said. "It is tough to look in the locker room and their last game is over and distraught in their eyes. But I couldn't be more proud of them.
"They need to walk out of this gym with their heads held high. They played to the last horn, they did every game that they played in their careers and that continued tonight."