The new Elementary Center gymnasium in Lehighton is getting a five-star review from coaches, fans, officials, and players alike.

“We’re playing our varsity home games this year in our new gym, and we’ve had nothing but positive comments,” Lehighton athletic director Kyle Spotts said recently.

A unique feature of the gym is the seating for spectators. From his perspective, Spotts believes that security and crowd control is easier because both visiting and home fans watch the game from one side of the gym.

“We can focus our attention in one direction,” said Spotts. “There is additional seating under each basket and the players and coaches sit on the side of the court where there are no fans behind them. What that does is provide more open floor space, and that makes the entire gym appear very spacious.”

Spotts remarked how bright the lighting was above the court, which is another asset compared to some older gyms, where areas of the court are dimly lit due to antiquated lighting systems.

“The lighting really makes the entire gym impressive.”

He’s also received positive remarks from those who enforce the rules of the game.

“We’ve had officials comment how much they like the court, too, especially when they run the floor and their backs are to one side where fans sit and the other side is totally free of spectators.

Spotts has placed a request to the PIAA for the gym to be a venue for this year’s District 11 playoff games.

“Besides being new, with the turnpike so close, we are centrally located to many of the schools that will be qualifying for the tournament,” said Spotts.

Lehighton boys basketball coach Trevor Miller loves the “feel” of the new gym.

“As soon as you walk in, you notice how bright the place is and how it gives off that new feel,” Miller said.

Miller also likes the open side where both teams sit away from the fans.

“When the fans and cheerleaders are behind you, sometimes as a coach you have to shout over the noise and you’re not sure if your players can hear you. Now, we can talk strategy in a normal voice level with our players. We know they can hear us better and it makes it easier to coach the game.”

The best feature of the new gym, according to Miller, is the court floor.

“Although the floor is hardwood like in every other gym, this one has a give to it.”

The subsurface padding allows for the “give” which Miller says is great for the players.

“There’s a lot of wear and tear on the players’ knees during a season because most gyms have floors with no give. Ours is like a floating floor. There’s no jolt on the players’ knees when they run or when they jump and come down.”

When asked if his team likes playing in the new gym, Miller said there is a period of adjustment that has to be made.

“As you might expect with everything being new, the basket rims are very tight and they don’t give much to allow an off-center shot to bounce and go in.”

He believes the scoring numbers are slightly down from games played in the old gym, but Lehighton did put up 70 points in two recent games. The tight rims might become a home court advantage because the players can make adjustments on the arc and the force of their shots.

“We practice here so our players will become accustomed to the shot angles and the tight rims. Visiting teams are in-and-out for one game and will not have the sense of the rims that we have.”

With seating under the baskets for cheerleaders and students, Miller thinks that might create a depth-perception issue for visiting teams as well.

“Teams are used to seeing a padded wall behind the basket, sort of a safety net for driving layups. We have a different look, and with fans and cheerleaders there it could cause a distraction and teams might alter their shots.”

Miller added that unlike at college games, the PIAA does not allow spectators seated behind the baskets to wave their arms or shout out to try to cause an opposing player to miss a free-throw attempt.

“No matter what adjustments have to be made, our gym is a great place to watch a game,” said Miller. “It’s also great for coaches to coach and for players to play.”

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CENTURY MARK ... Panther Valley and Blue Mountain hooked up in a high-scoring Schuylkill League Division 1 game last Tuesday.

The Panthers pulled out an overtime win, defeating the Eagles by a 101-91 score.

PV became the first area team to reach 100 points in over 15 years.

The last time a TN boys team had reached three digits was Dec. 8, 2003 when Jim Thorpe posted a 100-78 victory over Shenandoah Valley. The last time an area team scored more than 101 was Jan. 9, 1998 when Marian rolled to a 104-54 decision, also against Shenandoah.

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PUTTING UP THE POINTS ... Panther Valley’s Rene Figueroa and Marian’s Tyler Fritz both set school scoring records last Tuesday.

In the Panthers’ win over Blue Mountain, Figueroa tallied 47 points to break the old mark of 45, which was set by Jimmy Mikovich in 1986.

Fritz hit for 45 points the same night to set a new Colts standard. Marian’s previous single-game high was 42, which was held by both Chris Decker (2007) and Mark Makovec (1994).

Over the last 30 years, there have been only two other boys players to score more points in a game. Jim Thorpe’s Brian Balliet had 55 points against Williams Valley on Feb. 2, 1995, while Lehighton’s Joe Gower hit for 52 versus Palmerton on Feb. 1, 1991.

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THIRTY AND UP ... In last week’s High School Hoops feature, the topic of increased scoring was covered.

More proof of offense on the rise is the number of 30-point games that have occurred the past few seasons.

During the three combined seasons from 2014-15 to 2016-17, there were only six instances when an area boys player reached 30 points in a game.

Last season alone, that figure increased to 11 games (achieved by five different players, with Marian’s Tyler Fritz accomplishing it five times).

So far this season, there have been 22 times an area boys player reached 30 points in a game. It has been done by 11 different players, including three from Panther Valley, with six of those players doing it multiple times. Panther Valley’s Rene Figueroa has done it the most, netting 30-or-more six times.

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BOMBER BLITZ ... The Palmerton boys and girls had a strong week, as both Ken Termini and Dan Beck’s squads completed a 3-0 week.

Both teams earned wins over Catasaqua, Pen Argyl and Salisbury. The girls defeated Catty (64-20), Pen Argyl (44-29), and Salisbury (70-37). The Bomber boys, who had to travel to all three opponents, also downed Catty (81-54), Pen Argyl (57-44) and Salisbury (72-63) .

According to Beck, his girls are all finally healthy and contributing, as Kayla Cincilla and Brianna Moore both returned to a once-decimated lineup. Moore, sixth in the area in scoring average, missed a pair of games. Meanwhile, Cincilla missed 10 games earlier in the year, and is averaging 9.38 points per game.

For the Bomber boys, their “on the road” spree included big games from their top three scorers — senior Nate Dougherty, junior Justin Hosier and sophomore Kody Kratzer.

Against Catty, Hosier tallied 31, Dougherty 22 and Kratzer 11; at Pen Argyl, Hosier’s 20, Kratzer’s 13 and Dougherty’s 11 were tops; and against the Falcons, Dougherty netted 22, Hosier 18 and Kratzer 10.

The boys qualified for districts with the win over Salisbury.

The girls are 9-10 and sit in third in 3A with three games remaining on their regular season schedule.

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SEASON OF SEVENS ... The Tamaqua girls team has had a couple of seven-game winning streaks this year — one that started the season and another that came in the midst of it.

To begin the campaign, the Blue Raiders rattled off seven wins, only to lose to Jim Thorpe, 55-49 on Jan. 4. Then, after a second loss to Mahanoy Area, they bounced back with an identical run of seven victories, before losing to Jim Thorpe again, 66-58.

Traveling to Blue Mountain recently, Tamaqua responded with another win, 51-46.

The team’s success can be attributed to their strong team play and balanced scoring attack. Emma Kuczynski is second in the Times News area with 21.71 points per game. Emily Titus (9.88), Jen Frederickson (6.24) and Jamie Zuber (5.76) all contributed to the win streaks.

The Raiders (15-3) have clinched a district playoff berth and are currently fifth in the 4A class behind Bethlehem Catholic, Thorpe, Northwestern and Allentown Central Catholic.

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TOUGH LUCK TIGERS ... The Northwestern boys have had to face some adversity recently, as the injury bug plagued head coach Bill Hallman’s crew. The Tigers, who are 9-10 and sit in sixth in the 4A class, have three games left and hope to return some of their missing talent.

The past week saw their squad go 1-2, as they defeated Wilson (62-59), while dropping decisions to Southern Lehigh (52-47) and Northern Lehigh (71-46).

Sam Seyfried (4.79 ppg) and Luke Hallman (3.81 ppg), who have been starters at one point or another, have been out for all three games, while Deven Bollinger (10.61), missed the game against Northern Lehigh.

Hallman injured his ACL, a recurring injury, while Seyfried broke his hand.

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NEW YEAR, NEW OLYMPIANS ... The Jim Thorpe boys are enjoying a better outlook in the 2019 portion of their season, as they have been victorious in five of their nine games in the month of January.

Their wins over Lehighton, Fleetwood, Marian, North Schuylkill and Pine Grove have improved their current record to 8-10 overall, maintaining their chances of a district playoff berth.

Attributing to their recent success is the emergence of some other scoring threats. Seniors Nate Rosahac and Zach Searfoss have been mainstays for the Olympians. However, in that stretch of nine contests, junior James Adames, senior Tyler Burak, and sophomores Adam Lauer and Caiden Hurley are also contributing.

Adames has averaged 9.78 ppg and 7.2 rebounds an outing. Hurley (8.67 ppg) and Lauer (5.22) are improvements for head coach Jason McElmoyle, while senior Tyler Burak nailed three triples in the third frame of their loss in their most recent game against Tamaqua.

— Notes compiled by Rod Heckman and Andrew Steinmetz