POTTSVILLE — It may have only been a consolation game, but the intensity level didn’t show it.

At times during Tamaqua and Wilson’s third-place contest Friday night, someone could have been on a cellphone hailing a MASH unit.

The Class 4A battle had an air of physicality before the Blue Raiders eventually found a way to glue together some late-minute plays and hang on for a 57-52 victory.

The win gives Tamaqua the third seed out of District 11 when it enters the state playoffs next weekend. The Raiders will meet the District 4 runner-up in the opening round.

“It’s a third-place game and it might be a little hard to get up for, especially blowing the lead like we did in the second half (of Tuesday’s semifinal game),” said Tamaqua head coach Jim Barron. “(But) in the second half, we limited our turnovers and we bared down.”

Braydon Knoblauch poured in 17 points for the winners, while Lucas Gregoire led all point producers with 20. Barron Stauffenberg canned 12, but it was another facet of the game that helped the Blue Raiders (18-8) secure their win.

Tamaqua finished with a 37-26 advantage in rebounds, as it desperately needed to fend off the inside jumping ability — especially that of 6-6 Jahid Range — that Wilson (17-9) brought to the table.

“Wow,” said Barron when told of his team’s edge on the glass.

It was the Gregoire combination that fueled the board work. Lucas polished off his double-double with 13 rebounds, while his brother Nate pulled down 10 boards.

The Raiders settled for a 13-9 lead to open the game, and galloped to a 20-15 margin thanks to Stauffenberg and Lucas Gregoire’s offense.

However, Tamaqua lost the ball three trips down the floor and let the Warriors come back to forge a 24-24 tie.

“They’re such a well-coached team, and they just kept coming after us,” Wilson mentor Mike Glovas said.

“They have a lot of athletes and we have a lot of athletes … you hate to lose these games.”

When the Warriors popped out to a 33-29 lead after Charbel Ghaleb used his left hand for a scoop shot inside, Tamaqua needed to quell the tide.

Up stepped Stauffenberg, Knoblauch, Lucas and Nate Gregoire.

That foursome took the momentum away from the Warriors and used a run to go back ahead, 40-37.

The spread, though, wasn’t comfortable by any stretch. Tamaqua kept the three-point advantage at 47-44 thanks to Lucas Gregoire, who nailed a pair of charity shots, but Wilson slipped back in front by a point (48-47) thanks to Cayden Stem’s three-pointer.

Tamaqua dug deep for a basket, and what turned out to be the lead for keeps. Lucas Gregoire posted five straight points that lifted his team to a 52-48 advantage with 31 seconds to play.

Wilson’s Brown sank a bucket, making it 52-50 with 22 seconds remaining, but the Raiders hit their free throws down the stretch to ice the win.

“This (win) sets us up for the state tournament,” Barron said.

GETTING IT DONE … Nate Gregoire did more than just rebound. He took a big charge late in the game to create a turnover. It was his 30th charge taken this season, according to Barron.

GOOD HANDS … Tamaqua’s defenders came up with several big steals. The defense forced eight turnovers in the second half alone. Wilson had only three turnovers in the first half. The Raiders had seven miscues in the first period, and 10 at the half.

TOP DOG … Wilson’s Range, who has only been playing basketball two years, finished with 14 points and nine rebounds. Brown also scored 14.

SHOOTING STARS … Tamaqua shot 18-for-45 from the floor, while Wilson was 18-50.

WILSON

Gibson 0-0-0-0, Lorenzo 0-2-2-2, Glovas 3-0-0-7, Charbel 2-1-2-6, McKinney 2-0-0-4, Stem 1-0-0-3, Range 6-4-5-14, Brown 4-6-6-14. TOTALS: 18-13-15-52.

TAMAQUA

Knoblauch 5-5-6-17, Bollentino 0-0-0-0, Boyle 0-2-2-2, N. Gregoire 2-2-4-6, L. Gregoire 6-8-11-20, Stauffenberg 5-0-2-12, Lavine 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 18-17-25-57.

Wilson 9 15 13 15 - 52

Tamaqua 13 11 16 18 - 57

Three-pointers: Wilson - Glovas 1, Charbel 1, Stem 1; Tamaqua - Knoblauch 2, Stauffenberg 2.