Minersville's Shazier Bethea (left) guards Pottsville's Christian Alvarez (right) during a Schuylkill League Division I boys' basketball game Tuesday at Martz Hall. The Battlin' Miners defeated the Crimson Tide 62-58 (Photo by Kelly Wiley).

POTTSVILLE — This one truly felt like a heavyweight title fight that refused to end.

Shazier Bethea and Christian Alvarez went toe-to-toe for nearly 36 minutes, but it was Bethea and Minersville who delivered the final blows as the Battlin’ Miners outlasted Pottsville 62-58 in overtime Tuesday night in a Schuylkill League Division I boys’ basketball showdown at Martz Hall.

Bethea poured in a game-high 30 points, including six in overtime, as Minersville handed Pottsville its first league loss and tightened the Division I race. Entering the night, the Crimson Tide sat atop the standings at 9-0 in league play, while Minersville trailed closely at 9-1.

“We grinded, we fought through adversity,” Minersville coach Chris George said. “Honestly, Shazier and Jordan (Bowers) were on another level tonight. It’s nice to have two guys who can do that.

“Other guys stepped up, too. Chase (Zimerofsky) did some big things for us offensively. Brandon Adams was big defensively. Nolan (Plesnarski) wasn’t hitting tonight, but he stepped up on defense. Cam (Rogers) came up big, and Shane Fessler had a huge game for us. That was probably his high in minutes, but he’s one of our main guys. He gave us big minutes, slashed for a huge bucket and grabbed rebounds. It was a complete team effort.”

The Battlin’ Miners (15-1, 10-1) left Martz Hall having flipped the script.

From the opening tip, it was clear neither side was backing down.

Pottsville (13-4, 9-1) controlled the early tempo, leading throughout the first quarter and into the second behind Alvarez’s shot-making and early defensive pressure. The Tide held a slim edge before Nolan Plesnarski buried a 3-pointer around the 4-minute mark of the second quarter, tying the game for the first time since the opening minutes.

After a brief stretch of empty possessions, Chris Hobbs knocked down a triple to push Pottsville back in front, but Bethea answered with a pull-up jumper at the 2:10 mark to give Minersville its first lead, 21-20.

The Miners briefly seized momentum, stretching the lead to as many as seven before Ryder Bowers and Alvarez each connected from deep late in the half. Still, Minersville carried a narrow 27-26 lead into the locker room.

The third quarter became a grind, with rebounding and second-chance points proving pivotal as the teams traded punches without giving ground.

Ryder Bowers opened the half with another triple before Alvarez cleaned up a second-chance bucket on the next possession. Bethea responded with a quick score inside, and Cam Rogers drained a 3 to put Minersville ahead 34-33 with 4:02 left in the third.

Pottsville answered immediately. Josh Kimber finished at the rim, then Alvarez followed with another second-chance basket to swing the lead back to the Tide, 37-34. Jordan Bowers tied it with a 3 for Minersville, and after interior buckets from Chase Zimerofsky and Davey Kunstek, the teams were knotted at 39 heading into the fourth.

The fourth quarter was pure tension.

“Pottsville beat us the first time,” George said, referencing a 62-51 loss on Dec. 11. “We felt like we could have won that game. All credit to them — they’re a great team and they earned it.

“But we needed to know, before league playoffs, that we could beat that team. Or any team on our schedule. We didn’t want to wait. We wanted it here, and we wanted it now.”

After several empty trips on both ends, Alvarez broke the tie with a layup, only for Bethea to counter on the other end. A few possessions later, Bethea hit a pull-up jumper from the elbow to give Minersville a 46-44 edge.

Alvarez responded with a deep 3-pointer, then later completed a three-point play at the free-throw line. Shane Fessler answered right back for Minersville, slashing to the basket for a three-point play of his own off a Zimerofsky feed.

With 2:35 remaining, Pottsville clung to a 50-49 lead.

The final seconds of regulation were chaotic. Alvarez sank two free throws before Bethea answered with an unorthodox runner. Kimber split a pair at the line to make it 53-51 Pottsville with under 10 seconds remaining.

Out of a timeout, Bethea shook loose from tight coverage and powered home the tying basket, sending the game to overtime.

Once there, Bethea would not be denied.

Rogers split a pair of free throws, Bethea scored inside, and Ryder Bowers knocked down a 3 as the teams remained tied at 56. A Pottsville turnover proved costly, as Jordan Bowers capitalized with a layup to give Minersville a 58-56 edge with 1:40 left.

After another defensive stop, Bethea calmly knocked down two free throws. Alvarez answered yet again with a second-chance bucket to make it 60-58, but Bethea sealed the win at the line with two more free throws. Pottsville’s final attempt came up empty.

Jordan Bowers finished with 18 points for Minersville, while Rogers, Adams and Fessler provided key contributions off the bench.

Alvarez matched Bethea blow for blow, finishing with 27 points, including four 3-pointers, while Hobbs and Ryder Bowers added 10 and 12 points, respectively, for Pottsville.

Eight lead changes after the first quarter told the story of a game that lived on the edge from start to finish — one that may loom large when the league playoff picture comes fully into focus in February.

Game Summary

Minersville 62, Pottsville 58, OT

At Martz Hall

MINERSVILLE (62) — Adams 0 0-0 0, Rogers 1 1-2 4, Zimerofsky 1 0-0 2, Fessler 2 1-1 5, Bethea 12 5-6 30, J. Bowers 6 5-5 18, Mealey 0 0-0 0, Plesnarski 1 0-0 3. Totals 20 12-14 62.

POTTSVILLE (58) — Hobbs 3 1-2 10, McGinley 0 0-0 0, Allen 0 0-0 0, Bainbridge 0 0-0 0, Alvarez 9 3-3 27, R. Bowers 4 0-0 12, Kunstek 1 1-2 3, Clews 0 0-0 0, Kimber 2 2-4 6, Viars 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 7-11 58.

3-point FGs: Rogers, Bethea, Bowers, Plesnarski, Hobbs 3, Alvarez 4, Bowers 4

Officials: Rizzo, Groody, Senunas

JV Score: Pottsville 63-23