Finishing off an opponent is a key attribute that a team must have if they have any aspirations of qualifying for the postseason.

The Jim Thorpe boys basketball team showed on Monday that it is a bunch that is determined to get there.The Olympians (8-4) were challenged many times down the stretch by Schuylkill League Division 1 foe North Schuylkill, but made the crucial game-sealing plays to come away with a 51-48 victory.With the win, the Olympians have inched closer to a District 11 3A berth as well as a possible league playoff berth, improving to 4-1 in Division 1 play.Defensively, length has been key for Thorpe this season. Early on in the ballgame the Olympians ability to contest jump shots and rebound out of their 2-3 zone gave them a five-point lead after one and a six-point lead at intermission."First of all I would like to mention that we are all praying for our head coach Jason McElmoyle and his wife and we hope they have a safe delivery of their child," said JT assistant coach Terry McElmoyle. "I don't think people realize how long we are, even our guards are pretty long, which helps us rebound and it also makes it tough for teams to pass the ball on us."The problem for the North Schuylkill on the night (6-4) was slow starts. The Spartans struggled at the beginning of each quarter, while Thorpe did not.The Olympians looked poised to pull away in the third with a Brendan Carroll three that put them up 11 with 6:58 remaining. But North Schuylkill hung tough and rallied to close within seven by the end of the quarter.A big reason for the Spartans resiliency on the night was Jonathan Smith, who finished with a game-high 22 points, scoring 12 points between the second and third quarter."We struggled offensively at the start of each quarter tonight and there's no doubt that hurt us," said Spartans head coach Ty Wartman. "Credit to Jim Thorpe though, they played us great defensively. They're fast and they're long. They also seemed to want it more than us at times. But I think we're going to be OK, our kids still battled tonight and stayed in the game."In the fourth, North Schuylkill made its final run. The Spartans closed within two at the 4:20 mark after a Connor Wood triple, JT once again answered.The Olympians' Rayan Green, which sat out the whole third quarter because of foul trouble came through with a three-point play the old fashioned way, extending the Jim Thorpe lead to five with four minutes remaining.From there, the Olympians handled the North Schuylkill full-court pressure and made their foul shots to come away with the win."Besides the Panther Valley game earlier in the season where we turned the ball over a ton, we really haven't had double with turnovers," said McElmoyle. "Tonight our guards played stronger. Last year this North Schuylkill team would've pushed us around. We're finishing games and learning how to win close games, which is huge for us moving forward."THE BIG GREEN ... There's no doubt Jim Thorpe center Rayan Green has a big impact on the game.. His 6-6 long frame has disrupted many teams this season on both offense and defense. Green finished with 15 points and seven rebounds.CHARITY STRIPE ... The Olympians ability to get to the line made a difference. JT was able to get to the line 25 times, while the Spartans got their just eight times.NO. SCHUYLKILLMazur 1-0-0-3, Wood 2-0-0 6, Smith 10-2-4-22, Grigas 0-2-4-2, Jordan 7-0-0-15, Bolinsky 0-0-0-0, McCabe 0-0-0-0, Kotzo 0-0-0-0, Roshoe 0-0-0-0. Totals 20 4-8 48.JIM THORPECarroll 2-4-6-10, Elmore 4-2-4-10, Micciche 2-6-10-10, Green 4-6-7-14, Lauer 2-0-0-5, Joyce 0-0-2-0, McElmoyle 1-0-2-2. Totals 15-18-31-51.No Schuylkill 12 8 8 18 - 48Jim Thorpe 17 9 9 16 - 51Three-pointers: NS - Jordan 1, Mazur 1, Wood 2; JT - Lauer 1, Carroll 2.