It didn't take long for the Lehighton boys' basketball team to get back on track.

The Indians secured a 50-45 Schuylkill League Division I win Saturday against Jim Thorpe. The victory came less than 24 hours after Lehighton's three-game win streak was snapped in a 56-35 loss to Pottsville."Last night was a tough game. Pottsville's really good," Indians' head coach Rich Oertner said of Friday's loss to the Tide. "Our matchup is not good against Pottsville. It's matchups … and sometimes you get the right matchup, and sometimes you don't."This (against Jim Thorpe) is a pretty equal matchup both ways. I think we have advantages in some spots, but they have advantages in other spots. It's a game of runs, and you have to outlast the other team."Caine Carpenter hit big shots and nailed clutch free throws down the stretch, scoring seven of his team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter to help Lehighton (14-4, 7-3) pull out the win."Offensively, he's come around," Oertner said of Carpenter. "He gets a couple layups here and there, and he can shoot the three. He's been playing great."Carpenter was quick to credit his teammates for creating those scoring opportunities."We're playing really well as a team," he said. "There's not really one individual player that stands out all the time; everyone is capable of having a good game."It makes it hard for the other team to really focus on someone to take away."Andre McDowell added 12 points for the Indians. Damian Mele and Addison Howland scored eight points apiece."I don't think we played as aggressive defensively as we have in the past," said Jim Thorpe head coach Jason McElmoyle. "We're a team that, we thrive off of turnovers, off of deflections. And we didn't do it (today)."I thought we played hard, they just did a good job of handling it."Lehighton fought off a charge from the Olympians at the close of the third quarter.Zach Searfoss scored all seven of his points during a run in the third period that helped Jim Thorpe (10-7, 5-5) erase what was a six-point deficit with 5:39 to play in the quarter.A three by Searfoss with 45 seconds left in the third put the Olympians up 30-29, their first lead since a 6-5 advantage with 4:24 remaining in the first quarter."He came in and gave us great minutes," said McElmoyle. "He was there when we took the lead. He was a sparkplug for us. But it all comes down to, they made shots and we didn't."Matt Elmore led the Olympians with 17 points, 12 of which came in the first half.Elmore's basket with 7:11 remaining in the third quarter cut the Indians' lead to 22-20. But the senior was held scoreless until his shot with 1:04 to play in the fourth made it 46-39 Lehighton."We did a real lousy job on him to start the game," Oertner said. "And then our two seniors, Damian (Mele) and Donnie (Buchinsky), we were playing a triangle-and-two (defense) most of the game, they did a really good job of looking for him, and trying not to let him get the ball."Once he gets the ball, he's pretty hard to stop. They did a really good job of staying on top of him so the outlet couldn't come in. They did a really good job of keeping their head on a swivel and not letting him get open."A three from Justin Marykwas (eight points) with 15.4 seconds remaining in the game brought the Olympians within two points at 47-45.But three Carpenter free throws in the final 13.9 seconds sealed it for the Indians.JV GAME… Lehighton won the junior varsity game, 47-26.SWEEP (PART II)… Saturday's win also gave Lehighton a sweep in the regular season series against Jim Thorpe. The Indians won the first meeting, 53-50, on Dec. 22.CHARITY…The Indians attempted 23 free throws Saturday, making 15. The Olympians, on the other hand, only went to the foul line six times, making six shots. "When a team makes more free throws than you attempt, the numbers aren't good," said McElmoyle.LEHIGHTONTroxell 0-0-0-0, Carpenter 4-5-7-16, McDowell 2-7-9-12, Buchinsky 1-3-4-6, Mele 4-0-1-8, Howland 3-1-2-8, Venuto 0-0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 14-16-23-50.JIM THORPECarroll 1-2-2-5, Samuels 0-0-0-0, Elmore 7-3-4-17, Micciche 1-0-0-2, Searfoss 3-0-0-7, Joyce 2-0-0-6, Marykwas 3-0-0-8, Rosahac 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 17-5-6-45.Lehighton 14 8 9 19 - 50Jim Thorpe 8 10 12 15 - 45Three-pointers: Lehighton - Carpenter 3, McDowell 1, Buchinsky 1, Howland 1; Jim Thorpe - Marykwas 2, Joyce 2, Carroll 1, Searfoss 1.