MINERSVILLE - The trademark man-to-man defense that Pottsville is known for got a little soft two weeks ago.
It returned this week, and the timing couldn't be better.
The Crimson Tide held Blue Mountain to two field goals through the middle quarters, while a hot-shooting first half helped propel Pottsville to a 51-42 victory over the Eagles in a Schuylkill League Division I tiebreaker contest at Thomas Fitzpatrick Gymnasium.
"We've really had some hard practices with our guys over the last week and they responded well on the defensive end," Pottsville coach Dave Mullaney said. "We still have some work to do, but I feel we are a much better team than we were a week and a half ago."
Travis Blankenhorn scored a game-high 18 points to lead the Crimson Tide (19-3), who won their fifth consecutive Division I championship with Saturday's victory.
Pottsville slowly seized control of the game with 10-2 run over the final 2:48 of the first half, giving the Crimson Tide a 28-22 halftime lead. Pottsville led by 10 midway through the third quarter before the Eagles (19-3) cut the deficit to five early in the fourth. But the Crimson Tide were able to ice what was a physical game from the foul line, hitting 10-for-16 over the final 8 minutes.
Pottsville's defensive effort Saturday was a marked improvement from when the two teams met Jan. 27, a 51-33 Blue Mountain victory. That loss snapped Pottsville's 51-game regular-season division winning streak and forced the tiebreaker game when the Crimson Tide won the first meeting of the season 53-36 on Jan. 4.
Saturday's outcome sets the pairings for Tuesday's Schuylkill League semifinals at Martz Hall, with both games a rematch of last year's semis. Division I wild-card Blue Mountain faces Division III champ Mahanoy Area (20-2) at 6 p.m., while Division II champ Williams Valley (17-3) takes on Pottsville at 7:30 p.m.
Connor Hinchliffe added 12 points for the Crimson Tide, while Jordan Melochick netted 11. Ty Painter had five assists and Eli Nabholz five rebounds and two blocks.
Will Bornstein led Blue Mountain with 14 points, while Kyle Slane had 13 points, seven rebounds and five steals.
A big difference for Pottsville on Saturday was taking away the Eagles' transition game and making Blue Mountain work much harder on the offensive end.
After shooting 17-for-27 (63 percent) in the game Jan. 27, Blue Mountain wasn't particularity bad Saturday, hitting 15-of-36 (42 percent), but were 2-of-15 through the second and third quarters, helping the Crimson Tide build a 34-25 lead after three frames.
"I always said Pottsville dictates tempo very well and they did tonight," Eagles coach Dustin Werdt said. "They controlled the tempo of the game. That is why we stalled out a little bit."
Blankenhorn turned in the most exciting defensive play of the game late in the first half, with Pottsville leading 23-21. Slane had a steal around half court and was heading in for a layup. But Blankenhorn sprinted back and got up to swat away Slane's shot.
"I was just trying not to let him score," Blankenhorn said. "I just went up and timed it good and got the block.
"We got the ball back and we ended up scoring. We had a lot of energy after that."
On Pottsville's next possession, Blankenhorn hit a 3-pointer from corner to make it 26-21. Blankenhorn then finished off the half, scoring inside on a back-door cut to the basket with 5 five seconds left off an assist by Hinchliffe.
The Crimson Tide shot 15-for-28 (54 percent) in the game, including a 11-for-17 showing in the first half, going 6-for-9 from 3-point land.
"I think you might be surprised how similar the two games were," Mullaney said. "Honestly, it's a difference of they didn't get out into transition as much. That's the difference. If we can stop them from doing that, we have a much better chance to win. And to be honest, we shot the ball very well in the first half and I think that was the big difference."
Back-to-back layups by Bornstein early in the fourth quarter helped the Eagles slice the deficit to 34-29. But Pottsville answered with an 11-1 run, building a 45-30 cushion with 3:02 left on a fast-break layup by Painter.
Saturday's game very much resembled physical Schuylkill League basketball. There were 39 personal fouls called in the game, and at one point late in the third quarter, Melochick, Nabholz and John Toomey each had four personal fouls.
None of them fouled out. Game Summary
Schuylkill League Basketball Playoffs
At Martz Hall Sponsored by Spark Orthodontics
Tuesday's boys' semifinals
Blue Mountain (wild card) vs. Mahanoy Area (D-3 champ), 6 p.m.
Pottsville (D-1 champ) vs. Williams Valley (D-2 champ), 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday's girls' semifinals
Pottsville (wild card) vs. Minersville (D-2 champ), 6 p.m.
North Schuylkill (D-1 champ) vs. Marian (D-3 champ), 7:30 p.m.
Friday's championships
Girls' championship, 6 p.m.
Boys' championship, 7:30 p.m.
Advance tickets cost $5 for adults and $3 for students and senior citizens (age 62 and over) and are available at all participating schools. All tickets will cost $5 at the door.