Lehighton kept pace with Panther Valley early thanks to an impressive one-man performance from Richie Yturrino.

But a game that looked like it could go either way changed once Yturrino got a little help.

From that point on, it was obvious that Yturrino and the Indians were going to get by with a little help from their friends.

Lehighton did just that as it used a late third-quarter spurt to blow open a close game and cruise to a 70-52 Schuylkill League Division 1 victory on Monday night.

“I thought the last few minutes of the third quarter was the difference,” said Lehighton coach Trevor Miller. “We amped up the pressure a little bit on defense, which led to some steals, we were able to get some rebounds that allowed us to get out and run, and we knocked down some big threes in transition.

“We had a lot of different people contribute during that stretch, which was nice to see. It allowed us to turn a tight game into a pretty comfortable lead.”

Lehighton put 28 points on the board in the third quarter, highlighted by a 16-4 run over the final three minutes of the period. During the late spurt, the Indians got a pair of three-pointers from Tyler Rehrig, and one each from Dylan Guyn and Carter Strauss. The barrage turned a 43-37 Lehighton lead into a 59-41 advantage.

“Things snowballed on us late in the third quarter,” Panther Valley coach Pat Crampsie said. “We made some weak plays with the ball that let them get out in transition, they got a couple layups and hit some threes, and all of a sudden it was a 20-point game.”

Panther Valley never got within 13 points in the final quarter.

That didn’t appear like it would be the case early on as the teams traded runs and were tied at 20-20 with four minutes left in the first half.

Up to that point, Yturrino had scored 18 of the 20 Lehighton points and had pulled down seven rebounds - five on the offensive end.

“Richie was really feeling it in the first half,” said Miller. “That’s what he can do. He’s super active, and a tough player to guard.

“We really needed him playing at that level too, because everyone else was struggling to score against their half-court defense, and we were doing a terrible job on our defense boards, so we weren’t getting anything in transition. Richie kept us in the game for most of the first half.”

ALL RICHIE ... During the game’s first 12 minutes, Yturrino shot 7-for-9 from the field while the rest of the Indians were a combined 1-for-12.

WELCOME BACK ... Lehighton’s Mason Costenbader was able to play his first real minutes of the season against the Panthers after missing nearly six weeks of practice and games. He scored eight points - all in the big third quarter - and received praise from Miller for the way he impacted the game.

THE LESSONS OF YOUTH ... Panther Valley starts three freshmen and a sophomore, so Crampsie has to find the right balance of patience and tough love when the Panthers go through stretches like they did in the third quarter. “It’s tough, because I know varsity basketball is a huge learning experience for all our kids. But at the same time, I don’t want to excuse the mistakes and losses. I want them to realize that certain things are not acceptable just because we are young.”

NUMBERS GAME ... Yturrino led the Indians (3-1, 3-1) with a double-double as he scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Zach Hunsicker (10 points, nine rebounds) and Guyn (10 points, six rebounds) also had strong games. For Panther Valley, freshmen Steven Hood and Drew Kokinda led the way offensively with 12 points apiece. Classmate Chase Weaver was the top rebounder with nine.

JV GAME

... Brad Hood’s 24 points led Panther Valley to a 53-34 win in the opener.

LEHIGHTON

Strauss 2-0-0-5, Hoffman 0-0-0-0, Lutz 0-0-0-0, Schaeffer 0-0-0-0, Lorenz 4-1-2-9, Yturrino 9-3-6-22, Hunsicker 4-2-2-10, Guyn 4-0-0-10, Rehrig 2-0-0-6, Costenbader 4-0-0-8. TOTALS: 29-6-10-70.

PANTHER VALLEY

S. Hood 4-4-4-12, Weaver 1-1-2-3, Kokinda 4-0-0-12, Kindt 3-2-4-9, Hadley 3-0-1-6, Pascoe 2-0-0-4, Orsulak 0-0-0-0, B. Hood 2-0-1-6, Fatzie 0-0-0-0, Berk 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 19 -7-12-52.

Lehighton 15 16 28 11 - 70

Panther Valley 10 16 15 11 - 52

Three-pointers: L - Guyn 2, Rehrig 2, Strauss 1, Yturrino 1. PV - Kokinda 4, B. Hood 2, Kindt 1.