Tri-Valley's Cooper Carl moves around the floor as Nativity's Trey Keating shadows in a Schuylkill League Division II boys' basketball game Monday at Tri-Valley. The Dawgs defeated the Hilltoppers 68-60 (Photo by Eli Doyle).

HEGINS — It was fast, physical and unforgiving — and Tri-Valley thrived in all of it.

The Dawgs used a decisive fourth-quarter surge and a dominant interior presence to pull away from Nativity for a 68-60 Schuylkill League Division II victory Monday night in an up-and-down battle that felt more like a track meet than a half-court affair.

“We play up-tempo big time as you can see with our scoring and our possessions in our previous games,” Tri-Valley coach Mike Masser said. “To tell you the truth, we backed off a little bit because of our press. Give (Nativity) credit, they figured it out a little bit.

“You have to be a little bit cautious with a player like Trey Keating, who can knock it down from half court,” Masser added. “We made some switches at halftime, we went to straight man. We stopped switching and we did some other things that I felt were pretty effective in the second half.”

From the opening tip, both teams pushed the tempo.

The Hilltoppers (1-5, 1-3 D-II) attacked quickly and did a strong job early handling Tri-Valley’s aggressive full-court pressure, weaving through the press to generate clean looks and keep the Dawgs (5-0, 4-0 in D-II) from stringing together runs.

Nativity traded baskets throughout the first quarter and carried that confidence into the second, matching Tri-Valley possession for possession as the game remained tight heading into halftime.

Keating continued to shoulder the offensive load for the Hilltoppers, while Nick Clarke and Layne Pasker provided complementary scoring to keep Nativity competitive throughout the night.

But away from the basketball, the physicality was wearing. Tri-Valley used a strong third quarter to pull even, outscoring Nativity 23-21 to knot the game at 53-53 heading into the fourth.

And then the tone shifted decisively at the start of the final period.

Tri-Valley opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run that flipped the game in a matter of minutes. Cooper Carl scored four points during the burst, Braeden Doyle added a pair, and Trey Porter capped it off, forcing Nativity to chase the game the rest of the way.

“I challenged my whole team at halftime,” Masser said. “I felt this first half we definitely weren’t rebounding the way we should have. I challenged them at halftime, and Coop set a fire up. He rolled his ankle late in third quarter and I didn’t know what to expect. He comes running back out a minute later and he’s ready to play. That is a kid with heart.”

Keating finally stopped the run with Nativity’s first points of the quarter at the 4:45 mark, but the Dawgs never relinquished control.

Carl’s presence was the difference late. He finished with a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds, six of those offensive boards coming in the fourth quarter alone. Those second-chance opportunities drained precious time off the clock and repeatedly denied Nativity the chance to fully close the gap.

Tri-Valley’s balance carried it home. Kingsley Johnson netted a team-high 20 points, Trey Porter collected 19, and Doyle added 13 as the Bulldogs placed four players in double figures. Their ability to rebound through contact and finish possessions proved decisive in the closing minutes.

“Doyle and Porter are like the backbone, Owen (Miller) was hurt and this was his first game back after being out for few games,” Masser said. “Kingsley’s coming in as a sophomore and starting for us since day one this year. He’s been hitting some big shots. I challenged him too, and he did a great job on the boards.”

Nativity was led by Keating’s 23 points, while Clarke added 14 and Pasker chipped in nine. The Hilltoppers showed resilience and pace throughout the night but couldn’t overcome Tri-Valley’s late rebounding edge and fourth-quarter execution.

Tri-Valley stayed unbeaten in Division II play, while Nativity came away with another hard-earned lesson after a high-energy effort against one of the league’s most physical and up-tempo teams.

“We talk about the next game,” Masser said. “That is our season right now. I told them they have until tomorrow night, until we step in that practice to take this win and then we’re moving on. We’re prepping for Marian. It is a game at a time because you never know. Division II is very competitive this year.”

Game Summary

Tri-Valley 68, Nativity 60

NATIVITY (60) — Clarke 6 1-1 14, Bowman 4 0-0 8, Parker 3 3-4 9, Lutzkanin 0 0-0 0, Holley 1 0-0 2, Keating 9 3-4 23, Shimko 2 0-0 4. Totals 25 7-9 60.

TRI-VALLEY (68) — Carl 5 3-5 13, Miller 0 0-0 0, Porter 7 3-4 19, Johnson 7 2-4 20, Doyle 4 2-2 13, Klemmer 1 1-1 3, C. Troutman 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 10-16 68.

3-Point FGs: Clarke, Keating 2, Johnson 2, Doyle 2

Officials: Erie, Groody, Rodweller

JV Score: Tri-Valley 51-38