CENTER VALLEY - Jim Thorpe started off fast, and besides a brief stint in the third quarter, was stride for stride with Salisbury until the final whistle.

The only thing against Jim Thorpe may have been the clock.In a game in which neither team led by more than five points in the fourth quarter and was a one-point contest with under a minute to play, Salisbury hit its free throws down the stretch to secure a 60-55 victory in the District 11 Class AAA quarterfinals at Southern Lehigh High School.Salisbury, the No. 2 seed, advances to play Blue Mountain in the semifinals. One of Jim Thorpe's best seasons in recent years comes to an end as the district's No. 10 seed."I thought we played great," Jim Thorpe head coach Jason McElmoyle said. "We have no complaints. They're a very good team; they're 19-3 for a reason. But this is a game where if one or two shots fall, it's a different outcome."Jim Thorpe faced its largest deficit of the game at 43-32 near the end of the third quarter. But the Olympians would never surrender, scoring the next seven points to make it a two-possession game going into the fourth.The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth affair. Brendan Carroll, who scored 18 points for Jim Thorpe, scored on a driving layup that made it a 47-47 game with 5:21 to play. Carroll negated a Tevon Weber three-pointer with a three of his own, tying the game at 50 moments later, and the Olympians got to within 54-53 with 2:20 to play on another Carroll three-pointer.The Olympians, however, could just never regain the lead. And Salisbury's Weber was a big reason why, as he posted 15 of his team-high 20 points in the second half."I thought they came a long way," McElmoyle said. "They showed it and they cared about it. It's always disappointing when you lose, but we're just happy that we had the opportunity to be here. One or two shots and it's a different ball game."Jim Thorpe raced to a 7-2 lead and their confidence continued to grow as the Olympians held a 13-9 advantage over Salisbury after eight minutes. Rayan Green, who led the Olympians with 19 points, gave Salisbury fits for most of the night with his presence inside and ability to hit the mid-range jump shot."Going up to see them, I was impressed by them," Salisbury head coach Jason Weaver said. "I thought it was good for us to see these guys. Green up against North Schuylkill, he was just a beast in terms of posting up. And you saw him [tonight] stepping out and hitting jump shots. He was hitting 15- and 16-footers."Neither squad led by four points in the second quarter despite Salisbury's Chad Cooperman hitting three consecutive shots from long range in a 2:28 stretch. Salisbury, however, went on an 11-5 run to begin the second half to give them their first double-digit lead at 40-30.DECISIVE SECOND ... The two teams were separated by just four points in three of the four quarters; the second was the lone exception when Salisbury outscored Jim Thorpe 20-12.THREE-POINT BARRAGE ... The two teams combined for 12 three-pointers in Friday's game, seven of which came in the second half.BACK TO THE POSTSEASON ... No member of the current Jim Thorpe team had cracked the postseason prior to this season. That changed this year and they advanced to the quarterfinals with a win over North Schuylkill in the first round.JIM THORPECarroll 7-0-0-18, Elmore 2-0-0-4, Micciche 5-1-2-11, Jefferson 0-0-0-0, Green 9-1-2-19, Lauer 1-0-0-3, McElmoyle 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 24-2-4-55.SALISBURYWeber 8-2-4-20, Cooperman 4-1-2-0, Reichenbach 3-0-0-7, Costello 4-3-4-11, Belletiere 2-3-4-7, Jones 1-0-0-3. TOTALS: 22-9-14-60.Jim Thorpe 13 12 14 16 - 55Salisbury 9 20 14 17 - 60Three-pointers: Jim Thorpe - Carroll 4, Lauer 1; Salisbury - Cooperman 3, Weber 2, Reichenbach 1, Jones 1.