So how close in talent are Tamaqua and Panther Valley boys' basketball teams?

A difference of about six points and a home court disadvantage. There is no home court advantage for either of these two teams when they play.Game 1 was a two-point win at Panther Valley for Tamaqua.Game 2 found the Panthers upsetting the applecart on the Blue Raiders with a gutsy 57-53 decision Tuesday evening at the Tamaqua Athletic Center.And the way the winners survived says a lot for Panther Valley. It led the entire first half, then watched the Raiders come storming through the third quarter to build a 41-36 lead."I can't say enough about the way our guys just kept battling," smiled Pat Crampsie afterward praising his team. "We did a great job holding down (Thad) Zuber, and we got a terrific game from Tristen (Blasko)."Zuber torched the Panthers in the first meeting for 18 points. He picked up just eight last evening. And the only thorn-in-the-side against the Panthers was senior jumping jack Russell Blaker. Blaker drained 25 points, a career high, and was the only double-digit scorer for the Raiders.Add in a well-balanced attack for the Panthers, which saw them with three players in double figures was a dooming factor, too. Blasko was without question the best player on the floor throughout the game. He poured in a team-high 21 points, carved up nine rebounds and was a pain in the Raiders' proverbial butt."The only time we (contained) him was in the third quarter, he really hurt us," sighed Tamaqua's first-year coach Jim Barron about the 6-3 muscular inside player.But Barron also realized his team broke down mentally more times than not, and especially late in the game when Panther Valley's press forked over six turnovers.And the end result was huge; thanks mostly to swift and quick freshman guard Rene Figueroa, who dipped into the well for 16 points, as well as 10 from senior Matt Hudicka.When the Raiders blurted off an 8-0 run to open the second half thanks to four points from Blaker the only answers the Panthers had, were a Blasko put-back and a foul toss from Hudicka to curb the momentum. Still, the Raiders were grinding and finished with a five-point run, two from Zuber on a pull up jumper in the paint and a three-point play from Blaker the old fashioned way."When they got the swing, we held our composure," mentioned Crampsie as he watched his team improve to 2-6 in Division I play of the Schuylkill Boys' Basketball League, and 5-10 on the season.The lead for the home club swelled to 43-37 at the start of the final chapter, which came on two foul tries by Dylan Scott. Then the tent started to fold, as Tony Micholik buried a triple to uplift the fading Panthers, before Figueora finished off a three-point play with a foul conversion. When Hudicka recycled a missed shot for two more points, the Panthers were up 45-43 and one got the feeling they were not going away until the final buzzer sounded.Then down the stretch, Blasko and Figueroa took over for keeps, going on a 7-4 run to nail down the decision.UP AND AWAY … Tamaqua picked off 35 rebounds, eight more than PV, with eight of those coming from Zuber. Hudicka did not have a retrieve until the final quarter when he picked up fdo four boards.SHOOTING AND MISSING … Panther Valley shot 22-for-48 from the floor, while Tamaqua managed just 17-of-49, including a chilly 2-for-10 in the second quarter. Blaker was most impressive from the foul line going 9-for-9.RAIDERS SPLIT … Tamaqua served up a 47-30 win in the opener with Mike Bonetsky knocking down 12 points and teammate Mitch Kurek pumping in 10.PANTHER VALLEYBlasko 8-5-8-21, Figueroa 7-2-7-16, Hudicka 4-0-0-10, Micholik 2-0-0-6, Miller 1-2-2-4, Emmert 0-0-0-0, Stanko 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 22 9-15-57.TAMAQUABlaker 7-9-9-25, Scott 3-2-2-9, Zuber 2-4-4-8, Wassell 2-0-3-4, Gregorius 2-0-0-4, Wargula 1-0-0-3, Kurek 0-0-0-0, Bates 0-0-0. TOTALS: 17-15-18-53.Panther Vy. 14 16 5 22 - 57Tamaqua 11 17 13 12 - 53Three-pointers: Panther Valley - Micholik 2, Hudicka 2. Tamaqua - Blaker 2, Scott 1, Wassell 1.