POTTSVILLE — The Mahanoy Area boys basketball team came up short Wednesday night at Martz Hall.
The Golden Bears (20-4) were defeated by Catasauqua, 61-36 in the District 11 3A semifinals.
Catasauqua had it going early getting out to a 10-2 start thanks to two free throws by senior center Matthew Fotta.
The fast start sparked the Rough Riders.
“It pumped us up and gave the kids a lot of confidence,” said Catasauqua head coach Eric Snyder.
Mahanoy Area’s senior guard Jace Yedsena scored eight first quarter points, scoring seven straight points to cut the Rough Riders lead to 13-11 at the end of one.
Catasauqua (15-9) remained hot starting the second frame going on a 6-0 run as junior guard Hamaad Jenkins scored on a layup increasing the lead to 19-11.
Senior guard Tanner Zawada swished two free throws for the Golden Bears at the 4:42 mark to cut the lead to 19-13.
Catasauqua responded closing the frame on a 11-0 run to take a 30-13 lead at the break.
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The Rough Riders held Mahanoy Area to just two points in the frame and scored 17 points on the offensive end.
“We didn’t play team basketball,” said Mahanoy Area basketball coach Teddy Styka. “We didn’t hit the open guy and when we did we didn’t hit the open shots.”
Mahanoy Area came battling back in the second half. The Golden Bears came out on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 30-20 when Zawada swished a triple, forcing a Catasauqua timeout.
“They came and cut the lead a couple times,” said Snyder. “Thankfully we were able to answer the bell every time.”
The Rough Riders extended their lead to 37-26 midway through the third quarter. Zawada hit another triple cutting the lead to 37-29.
Catasauqua’s Reece Lopez drained a triple extending the lead to 40-29. After a Yedsena and one finish, Lopez hit another three to give the Rough Riders a 43-32 lead at the end of three.
The fourth quarter belonged to Catasauqua.
They outscored the Golden Bears 18-4 in the final frame.
“We wanted to hold Zawada and Yedsena to under 40 points combined,” said Snyder. “We did our job defensively; they only got 36 points as a team.”
The Rough Riders got out to a 49-34 lead as Lopez hit a jumper. They extended their lead all the way up to 20 points at the 5:01 mark.
Jenkins scored a game-high 17 points for Catasauqua in the win. The Rough Riders closed the game out on a 8-2 run to secure the win.
Catasauqua will meet Minersville in the District 11 3A title game Saturday night at Martz Hall.
“They are a big team,” said Snyder. “They pass well, they shoot well, we have to handle them on the boards, they got a lot of rebounds against Notre-Dame Green Pond.”
Yedsena led the Golden Bears with 15 points while Zawada scored 12.
Mahanoy Area will meet Notre-Dame Green Pond in the 3A consolation round.The Crusaders lost to Minersville, 52-50, in overtime in Wednesday’s other semifinal.
“There is still light at the end of the tunnel,” said Styka. “We are going to try our best as a staff to keep them motivated and keep their eyes on the prize.”
CATASAUQUA (61) — Pujols 4 0-0 9, Lopez 5 0-0 12, Cofie 1 3-6 5, Delong 0 0-0 0, Vaz 1 0-0 2, Rosado 0 0-0 0, Lorah 0 0-0 0, Fotta 2 2-2 6, Jenkins 4 5-7 17, Nix 2 1-1 5, Bolmer 2 0-0 5. Totals 21 11-16 61.
MAHANOY AREA (36) — Yedsena 6 1-3 15, Zawada 4 2-2 12, Sendatch 2 1-1 6, Gallagher 0 0-0 0, Oblas 0 0-2 0, Rhoades 0 0-0 0, Zilker 0 0-0 0, Bowman 1 0-0 2, Green 0 0-0 0, Bowman 0 0-0 0, Mayberry 0 1-2 1. Totals 13 5-10 36.
CAT (15-9) — 13 17 26 18 — 61
MAH (20-4) — 11 2 19 4 — 36
3-FG: Jenkins 4, Lopez 2, Pujols, Bolmer, Yedsena 2, Zawada 2, Sendatch.
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