What a difference a few days have made for the Panther Valley boys’ basketball team.

Last Thursday, coach Pat Crampsie said that his team had lacked energy, urgency, and passion in a loss to Pottsville.

But Monday night, the Panthers played with all three in a 49-47 Schuylkill League victory over Tamaqua.

That was especially true in the fourth period when they rallied from a seven-point deficit to win the game.

Start with energy.

In the final eight minutes, PV stormed back from a 43-36 deficit thanks in large part to Logan Fisher, who scored eight of his 10 points in the quarter,

Then came urgency.

Knowing they couldn’t fall further behind and still expect to win, the Panthers dug in.

Stephen Hood’s jump shot cut the lead to five, but Luke Kane’s driving layup put the Raiders back up by seven at 45-38. A pair of layups by Fisher pulled PV to within 45-42.

With 2:30 left to play, Luke Kane’s layup was the final points the Raiders would score. The Panthers answered with buckets from Fisher and Hood to tie the game at 47-47 with a minute left.

“We kept saying to feed the Fish, (Fisher),” said Crampsie. “He came up big in our comeback, but we got a total team effort tonight.”

With four seconds left on the clock, PV’s Chase Weaver was fouled on an attempted shot and promptly sank two free throws for a 49-47 lead, the first time the visitors led since early in the second period.

Raiders’ coach Jim Barron called three timeouts in the final four seconds to try to tie or win the game, but the Panthers’ defense held up.

“We were trying to move the ball to get a good look, but it just didn’t happen,” Barron said about the final seconds.

He added, “I think we got too much away from our game plan (in the fourth quarter) and that let them come back. They pressured the ball in the final minutes, and that forced us into some turnovers that they turned into points.

“All we can do is learn from our mistakes and move on from here.”

The game was played at a frenetic pace in the first half as both teams moved the ball quickly into their offensive sides of the court with several one-and-done missed shots. Weaver’s driving layup near the end of the first period gave Panther Valley its largest lead at 14-11.

In the second quarter, the Raiders had a balanced scoring attack with Cooper Ansbach, Brady McCabe, Mateyak, Michael Styka, and Kane all tallying points that sent Tamaqua into the locker room with a 24-21 lead.

But come crunch time, the Panthers prevailed as they rose to the occasion, something Crampsie has been looking for in big games.

“We won on the road in a rivalry game,” said Crampsie. “We played tough and communicated very well. We didn’t get down when we were losing, and we kept battling back. Overall, we played an amazing game.”

PREVENT DEFENSE … Panther Valley held Tamaqua to just four field goals in the third period, which set the stage for its fourth-period comeback.

HANDS OFF … The Raiders played clean defense, sending PV to the charity stripe just five times.

PANTHER VALLEY

Kokinda 4-0-0-12, Weaver 4-2-2-11, Fisher 5-0-0-10, Hood 4-0-1-8, Buyce 2-0-0-6, Penberth 1-0-0-2, Goida 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 20-2-5 -49.

TAMAQUA

Mateyak 5-4-4-17, Ansbach 5-3-5-14, Styka 3-2-3-8, Kane 2-2-4-6, McCabe 1-0-0-2, Dillon 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 16-11-15-47.

Panther Valley 14 7 11 17 49

Tamaqua 10 13 14 9 47

Three-pointers: PV- Kokinda 4, Buyce 2, Weaver 1. Tam – Mateyak 3, Ansbach 1.