POTTSVILLE – They’ve been there and done that.

No surprises here.

Tamaqua knew its opponent well. Twice previously the Blue Raiders ruled the roost against Pine Grove in Schuylkill League play — and the third time was no charm for the Cardinals either.

Riding the play of unsung point guard Nicko Bolletino, and the usual suspects — Brayden Knoblauch and Lucas Gregoire — the Raiders were never in serious jeopardy, routing the Cardinals 79-45 Friday in the quarterfinals of the District 11 Class 4A tournament.

The win vaults Tamaqua (18-7) into the second round Tuesday against Bethlehem Catholic, a 56-39 winner over Northwestern. And added bonus for the Raiders was a seat in the state playoffs since the top four teams qualify.

There were no surprises that would raise any eyebrows in this opening round game, save for the way Tamaqua bullied its way to an impressive a 29-point first quarter, opening a commanding 20-point lead in the process.

It was triggered by Bolletino as he poured in 12 of his 17 points in the period.

“I just shot with confidence and I was making everything,” said Belletino. “I just getting good shots and making them ... everybody was biting on the pump fakes.”

Tamaqua head coach Jim Barron said he challenged his seniors — since a loss meant the end of their careers — and they responded from the outset.

The early cascade began when Bolletino uncorked the first of his three treys, followed by Barron Stauffenberg three-point play the old fashion way. Knoblauch then stole a pass and went solo for an 8-3 lead.

“I really think Nicko took it to heart,” Barron said about challenging the seniors, “He couldn’t miss.

“We also did a great job on defense. We got some steals and created some fast breaks.”

Tamaqua’s wildfire-like start ended with Lucas Gregoire juicing a triple from the key, Knoblauch hitting a pair of technical fouls, and Stauffenberg sinking a ring-tailed howitzer of his own for three more points, making it 29-11.

“We’ve had some pretty good quarters this season, but this one might have been our best,” Barron said when asked about the first quarter frenzy.

Much to Pine Grove’s (12-11) credit, it did dig in and cut the margin to 38-25 at the break by riding the inside play of Zak Hlavaty and the outside shooting of Kolby Geesey.

When Pine Grove cut further into the deficit to open the third quarter, the once 20-point deficit was down to 10 (41-31).

“We let ‘em come back a little bit,” Bolletino said, “but then we finished them off.”

Indeed Tamaqua drove the dagger that eventually fell the Cardinals, closing the quarter on a 22-4 run to to take a 63-35 lead into the final period. The Tamaqua run featured Nate Boyle draining two treys, and Knoblauch adding six points, before Bolletino’s bell ringer of a triple at the buzzer capped things off.

QUOTABLE … “I just let it go … I really didn’t have any faith in it,” Bolletino said about his beat-the-buzzer shot ending the third quarter.

BANGING THE DRUM … Tamaqua was uncanny in the opening quarter, shooting 11-for-14 from the field. For the night, the Raiders shot a sizzling 63 percent (30-for-48).

NUMBERS … Lucas Gregoire and Knoblauch both finished with 19 points, while Belletino added 17. Tamaqua outrebounded Pine Grove, 32-17 with Gregoire getting a team-high nine. The Raider defense forced nine first half turnovers.

PINE GROVE

Engle 2-0-0-4, Leininger 1-0-0-2, Boyer 0-1-2-1, Brandt 0-0-2-0, Morgan 2-2-2-7, Hlavaty 3-3-4-9, K. Geesey 6-1-1-17, Unger 0-0-0-0, D. Geesey 0-1-2-1, Ibarra 1-2-2-4, Hindman 0-0-2-0. TOTALS: 15-10-17-45.

TAMAQUA

Coleman 1-0-0-2, Verta 0-0-0-0, Knoblauch 6-6-8-19, Bolletino 7-0-0-17, Milot 1-0-0-2, Boyle 2-0-0-6, Sherry 0-0-0-0, Smith 0-0-0-0, N. Gregoire 1-0-0-3. L. Gregoire 7-3-4-19, Stauffenberg 3-1-1-8, Lavine 0-0-0-0, van Buskirk 1-0-0-3. TOTALS: 29-10-13-79.

Pine Grove 11 14 10 10 - 45

Tamaqua 29 9 25 16 - 79

Three-pointers: Pine Grove - K. Geesey 4, Morgan 1; Tamaqua - Bolletino 3, Boyle 2, L. Gregoire 2, Knoblauch 1, N. Gregoire 1, Stauffenberg 1, van Buskirk 1.