SHENANDOAH – Even Alka-Seltzer with its ‘Plop Plop, Fizz Fizz’ wouldn’t have provided relief for Tamaqua in its matchup with Shenandoah Valley on Tuesday.

The Blue Raiders, in their third game of the season, never seemed to be in sync. Shenandoah, meanwhile, kept forcing the issue with a clamping defense, offensive sparks at the timeliest moments, and its ability to control the rebounding game.

The result was a 57-36 victory for the Blue Devils (2-1).

Shenandoah - who has an offensive stalwart in Owen Kosar - found a secondary scorer in Matthew Alvarez. The senior produced 14 points in the contest, including six in the opening quarter.

Fellow senior Luke Matta keyed the Devils’ defense, which kept forcing turnovers and road blocking the Raiders (1-2) away from the paint. Matta was a huge force and ended with a double-double – 15 points and 12 rebounds.

“He is the difference in our team from last year to this year,” said Shenandoah head coach Robbie Miller. “Overall, I thought that we needed to get after them early. I saw the film on them with (Nativity), and they played very well after the first quarter, so yes, I did have concerns.”

Those concerns were gone after Miller’s team started to heat up in the second quarter.

It was near a dead-heat after the first eight minutes, but then the Blue Devils kicked it into overdrive. Alvarez put the pedal to the metal with two quick baskets to open an 11-0 run. Nick Mikita swished home a three, Matta went inside with a tough post-up move, and Alvarez slipped inside with a layup to give Shenandoah a 19-6 lead.

“Physically, we weren’t ready to play tonight,” Tamaqua mentor Jimmy Barron admitted. “We got pushed around, we didn’t execute on offense, and we turned the ball over … (in the) first quarter we had one shot over four minutes, and that’s never going to get it done.”

While all eyes were honing in on Kosar - who entered the game needing 23 points to reach 1,000 for his career - Tamaqua did a steady and effective job of keeping the 6-1 senior under wraps. The Raiders used a litany of pressure from both Brady Sherry and Nate Gregoire to get the job done on Kosar, who finished with 16 points.

“He’s their best player, and we didn’t want him hurting us,” said Barron. “I thought we did a pretty good job on him. (Our guys) contested shots. He didn’t get many easy ones.”

That put the onus on Alvarez, which delighted Miller.

“Owen got banged up and had a Charley Horse in his thigh, so he was a little hobbled,” said Miller. “Matthew finally broke out of his shell and became the offense … He’s excellent getting to the basket.”

Gregoire raced down the floor for a layup to open the second half for Tamaqua, but the Devils responded and built a 35-15 lead. Kosar buried a three-pointer during that stretch.

The Raiders’ Connor Dillon sank a basket, but Matta hit a dink inside, Mikita got free along the baseline for an easy bucket, and Bobby Boris flung in a trey that left Shenandoah with a commanding 42-20 lead after three quarters. “What we focused on was getting more fast break points, something that we were not too successful at last season,” Miller said.

If there was a bright side for the Raiders, it came at the end of the game when Tamaqua threw up a full-court press and forced seven turnovers.

“We ran out of gas; we tried to make something work being down by 20,” said Barron. “Our problem was we couldn’t throw it in the ocean.”

In order for Tamaqua to avoid the postgame Alka-Seltzer and find relief, it needs to shoot much better.

ADD IT UP … Tamaqua managed just 15-of-47 (32%) from the floor. Gregoire finished with 16 points and six rebounds. Meanwhile, the Blue Devils shot 24-of-51 (47%).

DIFFERENCE MAKERS … Shenandoah had three players in double-figure scoring, and out-rebounded Tamaqua 34-29.

TAMAQUA

Ansbach 0-0-2-0, Lewis 0-0-0-0, Hoffman 6-0-0-13, McLaughlin 0-0-0-0, Kane 0-0-2-0, Dillon 2-0-0-5, Fannock 0-0-0-0, Valentine 0-0-0-0, Ligenza 0-0-0-0, Sherry 0-0-0-0, Z. Coleman 1-0-0-2, Gregoire 6-2-4-16, Mateyak 0-0-0-0, P. Coleman 0-0–0-0. TOTALS: 15-2-10-36.

SHENANDOAH VALLEY

K. Maksimik 2-0-0-5, Hernandez 0-0–0-0, Alvarez 7-0-3-14, B. Maksimik 0-0-0-0, Taylor 0-0-0-0, Matta 6-2-4-15, Nadja 0-0–0-0, Kosar 7-1-1-16, Mikita 1-1-2-4, Boris 1-0-0-3. TOTALS: 24-4-10-57.

Tamaqua 6 3 11 16 - 36

Shenandoah 8 14 20 15 - 57

Three-pointers: Tamaqua - Gregoire 2, Hoffman 1, Dillon 1; Shenandoah Valley - Maksimik 1, Matta 1, Kosar 1, Mikita 1, Boris 1.