The Tamaqua boys' basketball team needed a spark.

With Panther Valley trailing by two and on the verge of seizing momentum and its first lead of the game late in the third, the Raiders needed someone to make a play.Enter Ben Miller.Miller's only basket of the contest in the closing moments of the third period proved to be one of the most important shots in the game, as the Raiders made the most of Miller's contribution to pull away for a 61-38 Schuylkill League Division 1 win over the Panthers."That was the play of the game for us, offensively," Tamaqua coach Caszy Kosciolek said of Miller's shot. "You want to be ahead at the end of every quarter. It would have been a huge momentum shift if they (Panther Valley) would have tied it or taken the lead."For a kid that has played minimal varsity minutes up until today, you would have never known it. He was one of the very important pieces we had in the lineup tonight."The Raiders' (9-4) defense stifled Panther Valley in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Panthers 25-6 in the final period.While Miller's two points at the end of the third may have keyed Tamaqua's fourth quarter run, Bo Rottet and Adam Frantz made sure the lead stuck, each scoring 10 points in the final eight minutes.Rottet finished with a game-high 20 points, while Frantz tallied 16.The performances of Rottet, Frantz and Zach Wargula, who finished with 12 points, have become even more vital with leading scorer Brett Kosciolek still sidelined because of a concussion."If we can continue to play at a high level, and he (Brett) can come back and mix in his contributions, we could be a solid basketball team," coach Kosciolek said. "We have a very unselfish basketball team, and we get contributions from a number of different guys. I can't ask for anything more than that."While Tamaqua utilized a big fourth quarter, the Panthers (7-6, 2-4 SL) clawed back into the game with a strong third period to erase a 23-16 halftime deficit, outscoring the Raiders 16-13.Panther Valley's Kyle Ferryman scored nine of his 12 points in the third, while Jake Szczecina tallied five of his 12 in the quarter. Luke Stano was also in double figures for the Panthers, scoring 10 points.The disappointment of coming up short after coming so close was undeniable for Panther Valley coach Pat Crampsie."Offensively, we had a lot of breakdowns, which led to a lot of points on the back end for them," Crampsie said. "I thought that we did a good job defensively for three quarters, but we had a lot of breakdowns, and that's on me."I need to do a better job of making sure everybody knows the plan going into that fourth quarter, in terms of what we need to do on the offensive end. Credit Tamaqua, they made a lot of plays, but this one's on me. I can't allow a four point game to turn into that in the fourth quarter."Coming into the game, Tamaqua and Panther Valley were 9th and 10th, respectively, in the PIAA Class AAA rankings. With the end of the season rapidly approaching, Crampsie knows the Panthers will have to work out the kinks quickly to remain in the postseason conversation."We have Jim Thorpe Friday and Schuylkill Haven Saturday, so playoff games start now," Crampsie said. "We can't afford to get under that .500 mark, so playoff games for us start right now."PANTHER VALLEYDubosky 0-2-2-2, Szczecina 3-5-5-12, Keo 0-0-0-0, Kusko 0-2-2-2, Micholik 0-0-0-0, Stano 4-0-0-10, Owens 0-0-0-0, Hudicka 0-0-0-0, Nase 0-0-0-0, Ferrryman 3-5-5-12, Vermillion 0-0-0-0, Horan 0-0-0-0, Weng 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 10-14-14-38.TAMAQUABlaker 0-0-0-0, Miller 1-0-0-2, Rottet 4-10-13-20, Frantz 6-4-7-16, Tr. Skripko 1-0-0-2, MacDonald 0-0-0-0, Co. Hartung 0-0-0-0, Marcin 1-0-0-2, Ty. Skripko 2-0-0-4, Van Buskirk 0-3-6-3, Ch. Hartung 0-0-0-0, Wargula 4-1-2-12. TOTALS: 19-18-28-61.Panther Vy. 8 8 16 6 - 38Tamaqua 10 13 13 25 - 61Three-pointers: PV - Stano 2, Szczecina 1, Ferryman 1; T - Wargula 3, Rottet 2.