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Buzzer-beating shot sinks Bombers in semifinals

GREEN POND - Palmerton played so much better.

But was left feeling so much worse.

Just a little over a week removed from suffering a 19-point loss to Notre Dame in the Colonial League semifinals, the Bombers showed they were much better than the earlier result indicated.

In Saturday afternoon’s District 11 Class 3A semifinal, Palmerton pushed that same Crusader team to the limit - literally taking them to the final second.

But when Notre Dame’s Logan Rickert hit an amazing bank shot at the buzzer from beyond midcourt, the result was the same - a Crusader victory in the semifinal round of a postseason tournament.

Notre Dame’s dramatic 60-57 victory sends it into the District 11 championship game against Executive Education Academy on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. at the PPL Center in Allentown.

“An incredible shot and an incredible finish,” said Notre Dame coach Pat Boyle. “I’m so happy for our kids, and so proud of them.

“But I feel terrible for (coach) Ken (Termini) and his kids. Palmerton is a very good team, and they played tremendous today. (Kody) Kratzer and (Owen) Buck were outstanding. I love watching those two kids play. My heart goes out to them. That’s such a heartbreaking way to lose a game.”

Rickert’s heave capped a wild fourth quarter. Palmerton was ahead 50-42 with five minutes remaining and appeared to be solidly in command, holding a 56-50 advantage with less than 90 seconds to play.

But Notre Dame scored seven straight points, the final two on a slick pass from Brendan Boyle to Na’kai Carew for a layup and a 57-56 lead with: 16 left.

Following a timeout, Kratzer drove hard to the basket and drew a blocking call that sent him to the line for two shots. After missing the first, he nailed the pressure-packed second one to tie the score with: 03 to play.

Rickert then caught the inbounds pass around the foul line, took two dribbles, and launched the shot that will cement his name in Notre Dame lure.

“Logan is such a great kid. He’s improved so much this year ... what an ending he gave us,” said Boyle. “But as exciting as the finish was, I think the thing that really sticks out to me about the win is the heart our kids showed in the final minutes.

“It wasn’t looking good. I think we were down eight at one point in that fourth quarter, but we never lost the belief that we could win it.”

Despite suffering an 80-61 loss to the Crusaders just nine days earlier, Palmerton (13-6) also displayed the belief that it could win throughout the game.

“Things happen,” said Termini when asked about the gut-wrenching ending. “I think we showed we were every bit as good as Notre Dame. Both teams played with a lot of heart and guts. Either of us could have won.”

Behind outstanding performances from Kratzer (15 points, 10 rebounds); Buck (14 points, 14 rebounds); and Matt Machalik (13 points, six rebounds), the Bombers led 34-26 at halftime and pushed the advantage to double digits in the third quarter.

The Crusaders rallied to tie the score early in the fourth, only to see Palmerton go on an eight-point run to lead 50-42 with five minutes left. Freshmen Machalik and Brayden Hosier combined for seven of the points during the Bomber spurt.

It wouldn’t be enough, however, as Notre Dame had another comeback - and one amazing shot left.

“I thought we played tremendous,” said Termini. “We missed some foul shots (down the stretch) that hurt us, but I don’t feel like we gave the game away. We were playing a good team that played well.”

IN CONTROL ... Palmerton led for 29:25 of the 32-minute game. Before the game-wining shot, Notre Dame led on just two occasions (11-10 and 17-16) for a total of 1:05. The game was tied four times for a total of 1:30.

NUMBERS ... Brendan Boyle, the coach’s son, couldn’t quite match his 42-point output in the CL semis against Palmerton, but still scored a game-high 24 points for Notre Dame (15-3). Rickert added 20.

GOODBYES ... Palmerton will graduate eight seniors - Kratzer, Buck, Hunter Connell, Austyn White, Alex Whitney, Braden Bates, Tyler Stuck and Dylan Frank. Kratzer leaves with 1,307 career points. “This group is responsible for helping turn around a program that had struggled for decades,” said Termini. “We have now had winning records for four straight years. It’s been three decades since that has happened.”

PALMERTON

Connell 1-0-0-2, Kratzer 5-5-6-15, White 0-0-0-0, Reph 1-0-0-2, Sebelin 0-0-0-0, Hosier 2-0-0-4, Stuck 3-0-2-7, Buck 6-2-7-14, Machalik 5-1-2-13. TOTALS: 23-8-15-57.

NOTRE DAME

Boyle 8-5-6-24, Rickert 8-1-1-20, Becker 1-0-0-2, Carew 3-0-0-6, Howlett 0-2-4-2, Rodgers 2-0-0-6, Galle 0-0-0-0, Marack 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 22-8-11-60.

Palmerton 12 22 8 15 - 57

No. Dame 11 15 14 20 - 60

Three-pointers: P - Machalik 2, Stuck 1. ND - Boyle 3, Rickert 3, Rodgers 2.