Often an overlooked facet in the game of basketball is rebounding.

Three-pointers, dunks, and high scorers usually get all the praise, but as most basketball aficionados know, rebounding is just as important as all of those parts of the game.On Friday, Jim Thorpe showed it has the ability to hit the boards hard. The Olympians took advantage of 19 offensive boards on the night, cruising to a 57-39 Schuylkill League Division 1 victory over Tamaqua.Jim Thorpe has bounced back well this season after starting 0-2 with losses to Mahanoy Area and Panther Valley. A new found toughness is helping the Olympians use their athletic ability to play teams more physical, which is something that wasn't happening at the start of the season."In our last two games we've definitely played more aggressive and that's pretty evident by the result," Jim Thorpe head coach Jason McElmoyle said. "All of our guys are hitting the boards hard. We also finished the last two games, which against PV we didn't do. We're learning how to play complete games."Jim Thorpe didn't waste any time getting out to a lead, as it led 7-0 to start the game and finished the first quarter with a 14-8 advantage.Six points were as close as the Blue Raiders would get the entire contest as the Olympians extended their lead to 16 points at the half. Thorpe outscored Tamaqua 12-2 in the second quarter with forwards Rayan Green and Matt Elmore scoring six points apiece in the frame."We didn't do a good job on the offensive glass in our first two games and tonight we obviously didn't either," said Tamaqua head coach Jim Barron. "We made that a focus in practice this week, but we didn't execute it in game time. That's something we have to get better at if we want to compete for wins this season."In the third period it was much of the same. The Olympians dominated on the boards and were able to get highly efficient shots inside the paint. Chris Micciche helped ignite the offense in the second scoring all of his 11 points.Another key to Jim Thorpe's success on the night was its ability to run patient half court sets, which is something it struggled with in its first two games as well."Brendan Carroll is doing a great job of running our offense. He's a leader for us and he calms the offense down for us," said McElmoyle. "We were also able to get the ball inside to Rayan Green tonight with crisp passes. If he gets the ball near the rim he's very effective and it showed tonight."For the Raiders, Thad Zuber had 15 points to lead them in scoring.JOLLY GREEN GIANT ... Jim Thorpe's 6-6 big man Rayan Green was a force inside throughout the night. Green scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed 15 rebounds as well as collecting three blocks and two powerful two hand dunks.REBOUND HOUNDS ... Besides Green's 15 rebounds, Matt Elmore came through with nine boards, Alec Lauer chipped in with seven and Micciche added six. Green and Elmore collected seven offensive rebounds.DEFENSIVE STAND ... The Olympians picked up the defensive intensity in the second quarter, allowing just two points. The Raiders actually didn't have a field goal in the second. Their points came from two Zuber free throws.TAMAQUABlaker 2-1-2-6, Wassell 1-0-0-3, Berezwick 2-0-2-4, Zuber 6-2-2-15, Gregoire 0-0-2-0, Kurek 2-0-0-4, Scott 0-0-0-0, Wargula 0-0-0-0, Murphy 1-0-0-2, Rother 1-0-0-2, Rivera 0-0-0-0, Bates 1-1-1-3. Totals: 16-3-9-39.JIM THORPEGreen 9-0-0-18, Micciche 5-0-0-11, Carroll 4-1-2-12, Lauer 3-0-1-6, Elmore 4-1-4-9, Joyce 1-0-0-2, Burak 0-0-0-0, Marykwas 0-0-0-0, Rosahac 0-0-0-0, Twardzick 0-0-0-0, Samuels 0-0-0-0, Jefferson 0-0-0-0, Foreman 0-0-0-0. Totals: 26-1-4-57Tamaqua 8 2 11 18 - 39Jim Thorpe 14 12 14 18 - 57Three-pointers: Tamaqua - Zuber 1, Wassell 1, Blaker 1; Jim Thorpe - McCarroll 3, Micciche 1.