It was a back-and-forth battle that featured multiple runs, physical play and a combined four technical fouls.

When the dust settled, Panther Valley made more plays in overtime to defeat Jim Thorpe, 64-59, in the opening game of the Marian Catholic Coach Murphy Christmas Tournament Friday.

The Olympians controlled the first half, leading by as many as 13 points (24-11) midway through the second quarter. Jim Thorpe consistently attacked the basket early, with senior slasher Pierce Gothard scoring 16 first-half points — most coming in the paint.

A strong finish to the second quarter, however, brought the Panthers back into the game. Danny Wehr led the surge with nine points in the frame, including a basket at the buzzer to trim the deficit to 26-20 at halftime.

“Defensively, I thought our guys did a good job of adjusting,” Panther Valley coach Pat Crampsie said. “I thought we were closing out too late there in the first half, and in the second half our help defense was much better. We were in help for a reason with Gothard’s ability to drive and score, and he had his moments.

“We wanted to make him make difficult shots, and credit to him because he did. But our guys stuck with it. They were dialed in and kept plugging away.”

The Panthers stayed close throughout the third quarter and eventually tied the game at 32-32 after three-pointers from Jake Moyer and Wehr around the four-minute mark. Jim Thorpe responded by going back to its dribble-drive game, as Brody Schrantz scored twice and Gothard added another finish to give the Olympians a 40-37 edge heading into the fourth.

The final quarter featured several lead changes. Two more triples from Wehr sparked the Panther Valley offense, helping PV take a 47-45 lead with 4:14 remaining.

Jim Thorpe answered with a big basket from Ethan Moore with three minutes left to reclaim a 48-47 advantage, then extended the lead to four with under two minutes remaining. But foul-line struggles down the stretch opened the door for Panther Valley.

Moyer scored four straight points — a layup followed by two free throws — to knot the game at 51-51 with 1:20 to play. Neither team scored the rest of the way, forcing overtime.

“I thought we started to settle a lot in the second half,” Jim Thorpe coach Brian O’Donnell said. “We took some tough shots and some bad shots, I thought. In the first half, we did a really good job of getting downhill and finishing. I know that’s tough to do against them for the entirety of the game because they have a 6-8 guy guarding the rim, but I thought we shied away from what was working.

“And defensively, we got beat a few times late in transition, which was big. Credit to them — they made some tough shots. Wehr made shots with a hand right in his face. Our effort was there; we just have to avoid settling for contested shots.”

In overtime, Panther Valley turned to its junior big man, 6-foot-8 Jarell Thomas. Thomas scored six points in the extra session, helping the Panthers take a 59-57 lead with under a minute remaining. Brody Breiner added a key basket to extend the advantage.

Jim Thorpe had a chance to tie or take the lead when Cole Lazorick drove hard from the left wing with about 10 seconds remaining, but traffic in the lane prevented a clean look. The loose ball ended up with Panther Valley.

O’Donnell was then assessed back-to-back technical fouls after voicing his displeasure with the no-call, and Wehr converted three of four free throws with about four seconds remaining to seal the victory.

“I think the gaps in transition were huge for us late in the game,” Crampsie said. “We wanted to push the ball, and our kids made great decisions in transition. We had contributions from all over, but our two big guys in Wehr and Thomas were great for us. Wehr carried us early, and Thomas was the hammer in overtime.

“This was a really nice win. Jim Thorpe was playing some really good basketball, and we knew we had a big challenge in front of us. I’m happy with our guys’ enthusiasm and effort — it’s where it needs to be.”

BOX SCORE NOTES ... Wehr led all scorers with a game-high 30 points. Thomas added 12, and Moyer finished with 11. For Jim Thorpe, Gothard scored 29 points, Schrantz had 14, and Lazorick added 10.

TURNAROUND ... Panther Valley outscored Jim Thorpe 53-35 after trailing 24-11 midway through the second quarter.

SHOOTING STRUGGLES ... The Olympians went just 1-for-11 from three-point range and 14-for-22 from the foul line, including 4-for-8 in the fourth quarter.

JIM THORPE

Antignani 0-0-0-0, P. Gothard 10-9-13-29, Lazorick 4-2-4-10, Levins 0-0-0-0, Schrantz 6-2-3-14, Moore 2-1-2-6, Hodor 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 22-14-22-59.

PANTHER VALLEY

Moyer 4-2-4-11, Crampsie 0-0-0-0, McArdle 0-0-0-0, Breiner 4-1-2-9, Mitchell 1-0-0-2, Gjoca 0-0-0-0, Wehr 10-6-8-30, Baneravage 0-0-0-0, Thomas 5-2-4-12, Maynard 0-0-0-0, Williams 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 24-11-18-64.

Jim Thorpe 14 12 14 11 8 - 59

Panther Valley 6 14 17 14 13 - 64

Three-pointers: Jim Thorpe - Moore 1; Panther Valley - Wehr 4, Moyer 1.

Records: Jim Thorpe (5-4); Panther Valley (3-7).