Cards club Haven

The only way the Pine Grove boys’ basketball squad was able to get into the postseason the past few years was if they bought a ticket.
Saturday night, the Cardinals didn’t waste much time releasing four years of pent-up frustration.
Pine Grove caught fire during a first-quarter run that keyed its 48-35 victory over Schuylkill Haven in a District 11 Class AA quarterfinal at Martz Hall.
“We started out on fire because they have been going at each other everyday in practice and they were just ready to play against anybody,” Pine Grove coach David Archer said.
“To play in this venue on a Saturday night, I told them everyone is coming out to see you play and last year you were coming out to watch other people play.”
Pine Grove (12-11) takes on top-seeded Notre Dame-Green Pond (20-4) in Wednesday night’s semifinals at a site and time to be determined. This is the Cardinals’ first trip to the postseason since 2004.
For the better part of the first quarter, Pine Grove proved how badly it wanted to still be playing after prior seasons were cut off following the first week of February.
Trailing 6-5 at the 4:59 mark of the first quarter, Kyler Burke drained his second 3-pointer of the night to give Pine Grove the lead. Burke scored 11 of his game-high 16 points in the first half.
“He’s amazing and he’s the most underrated player in our league,” Archer said. “He shoots the ball at a high percentage. Late in the game I put the ball in his hand.”
The Cardinals went on to score 11 of the next 13 points in the quarter, and while the Hurricanes’ defense zeroed in on stopping Brady and Kyler Burke, other players stepped up.
Sophomore Larry Zimmerman was the first.
The speedy point guard had a steal and drive, then drained a 3-pointer to fuel the Cardinals’ big first quarter.
“He’s the glue,” Archer said. “I teach five. I want all five guys to play and if Larry Zimmerman continues to play like he is capable of, I’m excited.”
Added Schuylkill Haven coach Keith Mentzer, “The Burke boys take up so much attention of your defense, you tend to forget about the other players and those players step in and hurt you.”
Overall, the Cardinals shot 4-of-6 from beyond the arc in the first half and were aggressive defensively as well with seven steals.
Also, Pine Grove did a good job defending the Hurricanes’ leading scorer Evan Marceau, who aside of netting eight of his 12 in the second quarter, was held in check. Matt Bann scored six of his eight points in first quarter.
“Their big kid was good. The biggest challenge was that he brings a fire and a toughness that is a little concerning because he can go for 20 or 30 on any given night. Slowing him down was a major step,” Archer said.
Pine Grove never matched its big first quarter, but only allowed the Hurricanes to get as close as three points throughout the rest of the game.
“I still don’t think we have put it together for 32 minutes,” Archer said. “We are growing. I’m excited to see what happens when we put it all together.”   
 

Sign up for Text Alerts

Sign up for e-mail newsletters