FOUNTAIN SPRINGS — The Tamaqua boys basketball team has enjoyed a stellar late reason run.

On the final regular season playing date, the Blue Raiders used a second-half explosion to blow by North Schuylkill 67-54 in Schuylkill League action on Tuesday.

Tamaqua turned to the ever-present Cooper Ansbach, who led his team with an 18-point outing, and collared 11 rebounds and added a half-dozen assists.

Ansbach was one of three Tamaqua players in double digits, as seniors Luke Kane and Noah Mateyak had 16 and 14 points, respectively. Kane yanked down 12 rebounds, while Brady McCabe chipped in with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

In all, the Raiders had a terrific night with 45 rebounds, 14 more than North Schuylkill.

“Yeah, it was nice the way we finished, we won three of our last four games,” said Tamaqua head coach Jim Barron. “The way we played against North Schuylkill was something I thought we could do during the season. We just hurt ourselves, but it was a great finish for our seniors.”

North Schuylkill, youthful and talented, charged in front 15-13 after a quarter of play, and sprung in front midway through the second quarter, 23-21. The Spartans were led by Jude Maziekas (12), Zack Marcinowski (10) and Julian Nelson (8).

“They have some pretty impressive players,” Barron offered. “We were able to beat the box defense on (Mateyak) mainly because of putting Ansbach in the post. He is such a versatile player; he is unselfish and looks to pass to the open man.”

That surfaced in the second half, when Tamaqua began to pull away. The Blue Raiders hurried to a 41-35 lead thanks to Kane and McCabe, as both found ways to work free inside. Ansbach, in the meantime, was manning the post and dishing off for the easy buckets.

Even though North Schuylkill cut into the lead 43-39 thanks in part to Maz Gallagher and Cam Kacielowicz, Tamaqua never crumbled. It finished the third quarter with Ansbach, Mateyak and Kane all adding buckets for a 50-41 lead.

Then halfway through the fourth period, the Blue Raiders rolled in front 60-48, with the trio of Ansbach, McCabe and Kane setting the tone in the rally and never let North Schuylkill back into the fray.

“It was a great way for our seniors to go out, and it was a positive for our underclassmen, as well,” Barron said.

OFF THE GLASS … The Raiders were unconscious with 45 rebounds, with three players getting double-doubles on the contest.

BOWING OUT … Ansbach was terrific throughout, as he found ways to dribble and penetrate. But most impressive, he was very cognizant of where he was on the floor at all times.

TAMAQUA

Reyes 0-0-0-0, Ansbach 7-4-4-18, McCabe 4-2-2-10, Mateyak 5-1-2-14, Vecolitis 0-0-0-0, Davis 2-0-0-4, Kane 6-4-8-16, Tamagini 2-0-0-5. TOTALS: 26-11-16-67.

NORTH SCHUYLKILL

Maziekas 5-0-0-12, Marcinowski 5-0-0-10, Gallagher 3-2-6-9, Nelson 4-0-3-8, McNally 2-2-6-6, Kacielowicz 2-0-0-5, Wall 2-0-0-4, Grow 0-0-0-0, Cairo 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 23-4-15-54.

Tamaqua 13 18 19 17 - 67

North Schuylkill 15 14 12 13 - 54

Three-pointers: Tamaqua - Mateyak 3, Tamagini 1; North Schuylkill - Maziekas 2, Gallagher 1, Kacielowicz 1.

Records: Tamaqua (8-14; 5-9 SL); North Schuylkill (4-18; 0-14).