North Schuylkill's Xavier McNally (right) defends Pine Grove's Wyatt Snyder (middle) during a Schuylkill League Division I boys' basketball game Monday at the Cesari-Hope Gymnasium. Also pictured is North Schuylkill's Caden Mengel (left). The Spartans defeated Pine Grove 53-50. (Photo by Eli Doyle).

FOUNTAIN SPRINGS — North Schuylkill needed every ounce of poise it had Monday night to survive Pine Grove’s wild comeback and a frantic finish at home.

The Spartans absorbed the Cardinals’ explosive third-quarter surge and held firm through a chaotic final minute to secure a 53-50 Schuylkill League Division I victory at Cesari-Hope Gymnasium.

“We talk about it all the time,” North Schuylkill coach Anthony Agosti said. “It is an undeniable, unwavering belief that we are going to be successful. It’s a bend, don’t break, mentality. Even in a high-pressure situation, we just revert back to what we do best. That is high-pressure defense, forcing the other team to be uncomfortable, getting in passing lanes and just trying to take you out of what you do.”

North Schuylkill appeared in full control early, using crisp execution and balanced scoring to build a 27-19 halftime lead. That momentum carried into the third quarter when Julian Nelson opened the half with a thunderous alley-oop to Xavier McNally, electrifying the home crowd and stretching the advantage back to double digits.

But Pine Grove responded with its best stretch of basketball all season. Senior forward Hayden Felty erupted for nine straight points, powering a 9-0 run that gave the Cardinals a 30-29 lead with 4:48 remaining in the third.

Pine Grove added 3-pointers from Dane Hannevig and Terrin Witmer, outscoring the Spartans 22-13 in the quarter to completely flip the game’s rhythm.

North Schuylkill (3-1, 2-0) regrouped in the fourth behind its veterans. McNally, a sophomore, finished with a team-high 15 points, using his 6-foot-7 frame to attack the paint consistently, while Cam Kacilowicz and Nelson chipped in 11 apiece with timely perimeter buckets. Neither team led by more than one possession down the stretch as the game tightened into a possession-by-possession battle.

With North Schuylkill clinging to a narrow lead, sophomore Logan Damiter sank two crucial free throws inside the final minute to create needed separation. Pine Grove had a chance to answer, but a backcourt violation with 6.3 seconds left forced the Cardinals to foul.

Kacilowicz missed two bonus free throws with 4.5 seconds remaining, but after officials addressed an inadvertent buzzer stoppage, Pine Grove inbounded with 1.9 seconds left to attempt a desperation heave. The shot was heavily contested as the Spartans’ defense smothered the play and sealed the win in front of a loud home crowd.

“Super proud of my boys,” Cardinals coach John Rizzo said. “I thought we made some good adjustments at halftime and our kids executed really well on the defensive end. We wanted to speed the tempo up, we wanted to do some traps and some hard passes, and our guys executed. I’m just super proud of how hard they fight.

“Right now, we are at a point where our guys are learning a new system. We have some kids out there who didn’t play basketball last year. I’m super thrilled we’re all doing this together and learning together.”

Hannevig finished with a game-high 16 points for Pine Grove (1-3, 0-2), while Felty and Schneck-Haines each had 12 in a strong road effort.

North Schuylkill now turns its attention to a road trip to Mahanoy Area on Thursday in Division I play, while Pine Grove looks to regroup at home when it hosts Panther Valley the same night.

“We aren’t always going to be on offensively,” Agosti said. “Some nights, other teams are going to be on. But we just have to keep coming back and be a defense pest all over the floor. We’re in passing lanes, we’re getting deflections, forcing team out to halfcourt and playing our style of basketball.”

Game Summary

North Schuylkill 53, Pine Grove 50 

PINE GROVE (50) — Rizzo 0 0-0 0, Farell 0 1-2 1, Hannevig 7 1-1 16, Witmer 2 0-0 5, Schneck-Haines 3 5-6 12, Herber 0 2-2 2, Felty 5 1-4 12, Kolb 0 0-0 0, Snyder 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 10-15 50.

NORTH SCHUYLKILL (53) — Cairo 0 0-0 0, Maziekas 1 1-2 4, Wall 0 0-0 0, Mengel 2 0-4 4, Kacilowicz 4 1-4 11, Nelson 4 2-5 11, McNally 7 1-2 15, Gallagher 0 0-0 0, Damiter 1 6-8 8. Totals 19 11-15 53.

3-point FGs: Hannevig, Witmer, Schneck-Haines, Felty, Maziekas, Kacilowicz 2, Nelson

Officials: Senupas, Phillips, Shinkus

JV Score: North Schuylkill 44-33