A game played with poor shooting from both teams still excited the fans right until the very end in Lehighton’s 43-39 Schuylkill League win over Jim Thorpe on Thursday.

The score was close throughout with Thorpe in the lead most of the way until the Indians, down by a basket after three periods, took a 34-32 lead with 3:55 to go on a put back by Richard Yturrino.

Twenty seconds later, Jack Lorenz hit a short jumper to give his team a four -point cushion, Another put back by Yturrino, who led all scorers with 19 points, put the margin at six, but the Olympians stormed back on a layup by James Adames and a long baseline three by Jordan Burak.

“With 2:40 left, we had the lead,” said Lehighton coach Trevor Miller. “I told our team during a time out not to take a shot unless it was an uncontested layup. We spread the floor and made them chase our passes. I think we did a tremendous job of both killing time, and forcing them to foul.”

Ahead by a single point with 1:49 left, Lehighton’s Ben Schatz sank the front end of a one-and-one and Carter Strauss made one of two free throws to pad the visitors’ lead at 40-37 with 37 ticks left on the clock. Two more free throws increased the winners’ margin to five, and although David Richards’ put back cut the lead to 43-39 with 13 seconds left, there wasn’t enough time for JT to overcome the deficit.

The game began with a lid on the basket for both teams. Thorpe was 3-for-10 from the floor in the opening quarter, while Lehighton went just 2-for-10. The second period for the Tribe was no better. Zach Hunsicker scored two baskets and two free throws, and Yturrino banked in a layup for the team’s eight points. The Tribe also committed six turnovers in the period.

Meanwhile, Jim Thorpe fared no better in the second, scoring just three baskets. Richards hit a three-pointer with 1:15 left and the Olympians held a 15-14 edge at the intermission.

“We played hard like we do every game,” said Jim Thorpe coach Jason McElmoyle. “But we started to miss some layups (in the second quarter) and that continued the rest of the game for us.”

Despite Lehighton’s aggressive trapping defense in the third, the Olympians would maintain a slight 29-27 lead.

Burak, who was high scorer for Jim Thorpe with 13, scored five points and James Adames added four, including a layup with :18 remaining in the quarter to give the Olympians a two- point lead heading into the final period. Yturrino kept Lehighton close with baskets from in and around the low post which helped offset nine more turnovers by his team, many caused by Thorpe’s tight man-to-man pressure on the ball.

“Richard (Yturrino) carried us in the third,” said Miller. “He had some unstoppable moments. We needed offense, and we were able to get him the ball.”

The Indians took the lead for good with 6:50 to play in the game and had a chance to open up some breathing room, but the continuation of a bad foul-shooting night (10-for-22) kept the Olympians in it until the final seconds.

Liking his team’s efforts as he has night-after-night, McElmoyle said the Olympians (1-8) need to find a way to win the close games..

“So many layups didn’t drop for us,” he said, “and we didn’t take care of the ball in the final minutes. We have to do the little things better, like boxing out when the game is on the line.

“The bottom line is we got to find a way to finish and close a game out.”

On the victors’ side, Miller expressed his pride in getting the Tribe’s fifth win in nine games. “We’ve had a few heartbreaking losse,” he said. “I challenged our players at halftime, and we went out and figured out a way to win. We had a total team effort tonight.”

ONE-MAN SCORING MACHINE ... Yturrino scored all 13 Lehighton points in the third period. The score for the eight-minute session was Jim Thorpe 14, Richard Yturrino 13.

20/20 in 2020 ... The first game of the new year saw both teams commit 20 turnovers — a statistic that both coaches would like to think will not be a trend going into the second half of their seasons.

LEHIGHTON

Strauss 1-1-3-4, Hunsicker 3-5-7-11, Lorenz 1-2-3-4, Smith 0-0-0-0, Haydt 0-0-0-0, Costenbader 1-0-0-2, Yturrino 9-1-5-19, Lutz 0-0-0-0, Schatz 1-1-4-3. TOTALS: 16-10-22-43.

JIM THORPE

Condly 1-2-2-4, Richards 2-0-0-5, Burak 5-0-1-13, Hurley 1-2-3-4, Ivey 0-0-0-0, Adames 3-0-1-6, McHugh 0-0-0-0, Herron 0-0-0-0, Marykwas 1-1-4-3, Lauer 2-0-0-4. TOTALS: 15-5-11-39.

Lehighton 6 8 13 16 - 43

Jim Thorpe 7 8 14 10 - 39

Three-pointers: Leh – Strauss 1, JT – Burak 3, Richards 1.