It was a basketball game, but like a James Patterson novel, it had a lot of little, individual chapters.

First, there was an amazing display of outside shooting at the start of the game. Eight of the first nine field goals were three pointers.

A total of six treys - three by each team - were tallied in the first three minutes.

Then, the Panthers took control and built a 12-point lead. They led by 10 at the half.

The third chapter saw things turn around with the Raiders taking command, outscoring Panther Valley 18-4 in the third period and sprinting to a nine-point lead at one point.

In the final chapter, though, the Panthers clawed their way back, controlling the tempo and capitalizing on foul line shots to escape with the Schuylkill League win, 51-48.

The hair-raising drama stayed intact until the ultimate finale. In the closing seconds, an attempt at a three-point shot by Tamaqua fell just short.

Panthers (8-3 overall, 3-3 SL) coach Pat Crampsie was relieved with the outcome.

“It’s a huge step for us,” Crampsie said. “It’s a big win for us. It’s a big rivalry win. It’s a big road win. I’m super proud of these guys.”

There was a shoot-out that began in the opening minutes when Lewis Cameron dropped one in the net from the outfield for the Blue Raiders. Stephen Hood came right back for Panther Valley, and hit a shot from the left base line.

Connor Dillon responded with a triple for Tamaqua, but Hood came right back with a long shot to tie the score at 6-6. The Panthers then scored 12 unanswered points to take an 18-6 lead into the second quarter.

The scoring slowed considerably in the second stanza with PV outscoring Tamaqua 9-7.

Panther Valley was limited to two field goals in the third quarter as the Raiders outscored them 18-4.

“They got up on us,” said Tamaqua head coach Jim Barron. “They had a great first half. They buried five threes in the first half. We owned that third quarter. We built that lead, and then we struggled from the foul line.”

The foul line was an obvious problem for the Raiders. For they night, they sank just five of 20 free throws.

“We did a lot of things, but not enough to beat a good team tonight,” said Barron. “I’m real happy with the way our team played. We just got to do some little things better. I think the whole team played hard. I’m proud of my kids.”

Just as proud was Crampsie. He said that after that dismal third quarter, his team settled down.

“Obviously the pressure defense helped a little bit,” he said. “And the kids did a great job. It’s not something we use a lot, but the kids really adapted well and they did a fantastic job.”

Besides being happy with the performance of top scorers Stephen Hood and Chase Weaver, he also mentioned the great job from seniors Brad Hood, who came off the bench and had three three-pointers, and Michael Pascoe, who had six assists.

“I feel we could have won this game, but PV did the things they needed to do to win it,” Barron commented. “They’re a good team.”

The loss ends a two-game win streak for Tamaqua, which is now 6-7 overall and 2-4 in league play.

Just like a Patterson novel, fans are surely anticipating the next time (MATCH.

LEADING SCORERS

... The top scorer for the Panthers was Stephen Hood with 17 points, followed by Chase Weaver with 12. Ten of Hood’s points came in the first quarter. Weaver scored eight points from the foul line in the fourth period. For Tamaqua, Connor Dillon and Cameron Lewis each had 11 points. There were a total of 16 three-point baskets, nine by Tamaqua and seven by PV.

NEXT UP

... Tamaqua’s next game is at home Thursday against Blue Mountain. Panther Valley travels to Lehighton on Thursday night.

JV GAME

... The JV game also came down to the final seconds, with Tamaqua winning 44-43. Manny Gomez had 11 points for Tamaqua. Hayden Goida of PV led the scoring with 13 points.

PANTHER VALLEY

Kokinda 3-0-0-7, Weaver 2-8-9-12, Pascoe 1-2-2-4, S. Hood 7-0-0-17, Fisher 0-0-0-0, Hadley 1-0-0-2, B. Hood 3-0-1-9, Goida 0-0-2-0. TOTALS: 17-10-14-51.

TAMAQUA

Ansbach 3-0-0-6, Lewis 4-0-0-11, Mateyak 3-0-0-9, Milot 1-0-0-2, Kane 0-2-8-2, Gomez 0-0-0-0, Dillon 4-0-4-11, Ligenza 2-3-8-7. TOTALS: 17-5-20-48.

Panther Vy. 18 7 4 22 - 51

Tamaqua 6 9 18 15 - 48

Three-pointers: Panther Valley - S . Hood 3, B. Hood 3, Kokinda 1. Tamaqua - Lewis 3, Mateyak 3, Dillon 3.