ORWIGSBURG – If there were any questions about the Pottsville Crimson Tide having any lingering effects from last week’s Schuylkill League championship game loss to Minersville, the Crimson Tide quickly put them to rest on Friday evening. The top-seeded Tide crushed Jim Thorpe in the Class 5A quarterfinals 61-27.
“We got in the gym on Sunday and were able to refocus a little bit,” Pottsville coach Tyler Heffner said about his team’s ability to refocus after the heartbreaking loss. “We had a little bit of fun. We have a lot of seniors, and they kind of led us through it, made sure that we were focused.”
Two of those seniors, Davey Kunstek and Christian Alvarez, not only led the Crimson Tide throughout the week in bouncing back from the loss but also led them on Friday in the win. Kusntek finished a game-high 19 points while Alvarez scored 12 of his own.
“We wanted to get right back in the gym, and get right back to work,” Alvarez said about the Crimson Tide’s mentality ahead of Friday’s matchup.
While it was a dominant win, Tyler Heffner’s squad had to grind through offensive struggles in the first half. Over the first two quarters of play, Pottsville was just 10-for-34 from the field. In the second half, the Crimson Tide found its shooting legs, making 13-of-23 second-half shots en route to its blowout win.
Defensively, it was a fantastic defensive effort with the Crimson Tide forcing 19 Jim Thorpe turnovers. They also dominated on the boards, out-rebounding the Olympians 27-18, including 10 offensive rebounds
“We’ve talked all year about rebounding and how important it is,” Heffner said. “It changes games.”
All season long, rebounding and offensive rebounding have been a focus for the Crimson Tide. Those extra efforts in practice paid off on Friday. “They work really hard at practice. We put a focus on offensive rebounding.”
“Every possession matters,” Alvarez discussed. “Getting one extra offensive rebound on these two buckets is so important. And just doing the little things goes a long way.”
While it was Pottsville’s night, it was Jim Thorpe striking first in the game with a Brody Schrantz jumper. The early lead was their lone lead of the evening, lasting just 25 seconds before Christian Alvarez tied the game 40 seconds in. After the pair of quick makes, both teams struggled throughout the remainder of the quarter from the field.
Pottsville made just three of its first 12 attempts, while Jim Thorpe, with six first-quarter turnovers, struggled to get shots off on the Crimson Tide, making just 2-of-8 attempts.
Despite the offensive inefficiencies, the Crimson Tide picked up contributions from Davey Kunstek, Max Clews, and Andrew Allen in the opening quarter of play, leading 15-5 after eight minutes.
Pottsville in the quarter utilized two extended runs, a 7-0 run to take a 7-2 lead before a Jim Thorpe layup and free throw narrowed the deficit to 7-5. The Crimson Tide immediately answered with an 8-0 run to end the first frame.
Pottsville picked up where they left off early in the second quarter with back-to-back baskets from Kunstek and Ryder Bowers to extend their lead to 20-5 within the first 10 minutes of action, and extending their run to 13-0. Pierce Gothard snapped the Pottsville run with a jumper at the 6:05 mark, serving as the Olympians’ lone basket of the second stanza.
The Crimson Tide tacked on nine more points before the half, including six points from Kunstek, bringing his first-half total to 10, allowing Pottsville to enter halftime ahead comfortably 29-7.
Coming out of the break, Jim Thorpe made a strong push in the opening minutes, outscoring Pottsville 10-4, including seven points from Brody Schrantz to cut the Pottsville lead to 33-17, but the surge from the Olympians did not last. Following a timeout from Pottsville coach Tyler Heffner, the Crimson Tide regained control, finishing the quarter on a 16-4 run.
Key rotational guard Juleon Bainbridge capped off the third quarter with each of the Crimson Tide’s final eight points to send the game to the final frame with Pottsville ahead 49-20.
“We all trust each other to make plays,” Alvarez said about Pottsville’s complete team effort in the win. “We did that in the second half when we were making our shots. It’s not always going to fall, so just keep trusting your shot, trusting each other to make the right plays, and you’ll be all right.”
Pottsville, after making 8-of-15 shots in the third quarter, continued to have the hot hand from the floor in the fourth quarter, making five of eight attempts in the quarter to close out the victory and advance to the District 11 Class 5A semifinals.
With the win, the Crimson Tide will face off against the No. 4 seed Southern Lehigh Spartans at Blue Mountain High School on Tuesday evening, with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m.