Rene Figueroa couldn’t help but smile.

“I was just playing my game, that’s all,” said the Panther Valley junior.

Figueroa’s performance gave the Panthers plenty to be happy about on Friday night.

In front of an electric home crowd, Figueroa provided the spark to help Panther Valley secure a 90-65 win over Marian – and the Schuylkill League Division 3 crown.

Figueroa lit the fuse for the Panthers (15-7, 10-3) with 23 points in the first quarter and finished with 44 for the second time this year.

“The energy, that’s what helps everyone,” said Panther Valley head coach Pat Crampsie. “The energy, the emotion, the passion. The kid’s a gamer, the kid’s a competitor. He brings it every single night. And it’s really coming together for him this year. That really affects everyone else with their mindset, and the aggressiveness that they have to have when they go out there (when) they see him getting after it like that, and it just ups everybody’s game.”

The dynamic guard scored 13 straight points during a period that spanned the end of the first quarter and into the second to help Panther Valley stretch a one-point lead to a 28-16 advantage.

“I think anytime as a coach, this is something you never expect,” said Crampsie, whose team led 45-29 at halftime. “But as the game went on, and Rene was finding the groove, when he finds his groove like that, he’s very difficult to stop, and in addition to that, it gets other guys good looks, chances at put-backs when they have to double-him, and they have to step in to try to stop him.”

Brandon Stilitino added 12 points for Panthers, while Allen Perez recorded 11.

A 9-0 run midway through the first quarter helped the Colts (12-9, 8-5) take a 12-7 lead. But Figueroa found his groove, scoring six points during a 7-0 run to put the Panthers up 17-13 with 2:40 to play in the first quarter.

It was a lead they would never relinquish.

“We’re just thrilled we got that lead and were continuing to build it throughout the game,” said Crampsie. “They scored 12 quick points right off the bat. We knew that they were gonna hit some threes. So we just had to refocus, make sure we guard the perimeter. If they take a lot of threes, a few of them are gonna go down. We know that. So we just wanna stick with the game plan. The kids kept their cool, kept their focus, and they did an unbelievable job.”

Chris Ritsick hit eight of Marian’s 11 treys and finished with 31 points. Tyler Fritz, who averaged an area-best 24.84 points per game entering the contest, finished with 15 points.

“Big focus was, we wanted to limit Fritz and make him take contested jumpers, and we wanted to keep him off the foul line,” Crampsie said of the Colts’ sophomore, who attempted four free throws in the game. “We wanted to keep him off the foul line, and our guys did a great job of that.

“We knew they were gonna hit a few threes throughout the course of the game. There was one or two times where we lost Ritsick on an out-of-bounds play or in transition. But throughout the course of a game that’s gonna happen. The way we push the ball, there’s a lot of possessions. Although 65 seems like a lot of points, I was happy with our defense, because there’s a lot of possessions.”

Fritz hit two free throws with 21 seconds left in the first half to cut Panther Valley’s lead to 32-29. The Colts never got any closer.

STRONG FINISH

... After being held scoreless in the third quarter, Figueroa put an exclamation point on the night with 16 points in the fourth quarter.

JV GAME

… Marian won the JV game, 51-37. Brandon Sabulsky had 16 points for the Colts, while Chris Latoff added 14. Adam Depew had nine points for Panther Valley.

UP NEXT

… Panther Valley will face Division 1 champion Pottsville in the league semifinals Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Martz Hall.

SWEEP

... Panther Valley also defeated Marian 68-63 on Jan. 9.

MARIAN

Stauffer 3-2-2-9, Fritz 5-3-4-15, Agosti 0-0-2-0, Maylath 3-2-4-8, Ritsick 10-3-5-31, Tate 0-0-0-0, McLaughlin 0-0-0-0, Sabulsky 1-0-0-2, McCall 0-0-0-0, Goff 0-0-0-0, Whildin 0-0-0-0, McNelis 0-0-0-0, Shiner 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 22-10-15-65.

PANTHER VALLEY

Marcharro 3-1-2-7, Stilitino 4-0-0-12, Turner 0-0-0-0, Figueroa 18-3-6-44, Distler 3-1-1-7, White 1-0-0-2, Blasko 3-1-4-7, Perez 5-0-0-11, Sanchez 0-0-0-0, Prudente 0-0-0-0, Wallace 0-0-0-0, Brettle 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 37-6-13-90.

Marian 16 13 18 18 - 65

Panther Vy. 26 19 21 24 - 90

Three-pointers: Marian – Ritsick 8, Fritz 2, Stauffer 1. Panther Valley – Figueroa 5, Stilitino 4, Perez 1.