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EspañolPOTTSVILLE — Selinsgrove Area ran the floor and hit 12 three-pointers to run Blue Mountain out of the building for a 64-50 District 11 5A semifinal win at Martz Hall on Tuesday.
The Seals (16-7, 9-1) advance to the District 11 5A Championship to take on Southern Lehigh (11-7, 9-5) on Saturday at a site and time TBA.
“It’s not a number we expect to have but we knew we could get a lot of open looks,” Selinsgrove coach Justin Keiser said of his team hitting 12 three-pointers. “We knew we would have shot opportunities going in.”
Xaivier Jackson ignited Selinsgrove’s offense all around the floor and finished the game with 31 points, 16 in the second half while hitting a trio of three-pointers.
Selinsgrove never trailed and went on a 14-8 scoring run in the first quarter before taking a 28-22 halftime lead. Jackson hit a trio of three’s and scored 15 points in the first half.
“He’s (Jackson) averaged right around 20 points and he can score at all three levels, makes plays for others and he’s dominant on the defensive end,” Keiser said. “He’s an all-around great player and he’s matured a lot.”
Jackson led Selinsgrove with 31 points, DeFazio scored 14 points and Griffin Parker scored eight points. Jackson brought in six rebounds to lead the Seals up front.
DeFazio hit two of his four three-pointers in the second half while Jack Piecuch and Parker also hit three’s to send Selinsgrove over the top for the double-digit win.
DeFazio and Jackson each hit three’s for the early 6-4 lead before DeFazio picked up a steal and passed it to Jackson who flushed it for the 11-6 lead near the end of the first.
Julian Torres hit a three and Selinsgrove Area took a 14-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
“For those guys to knock down shots we’re able to find ways to win games without making shots but when we make shots we can hang with anyone,” Keiser said.
Tyeirre Meade started the second quarter strong when he hit a three and scored five points to bring it within a 17-13 difference. Jackson then hit a three to put Selinsgrove ahead, 20-15.
Jackson rolled in a layup and Blue Mountain’s Evan Setlock hit a three to bring it within a 23-18 deficit for the Eagles. Sean Gaddy picked up a steal and closed it out at the other end with a layup for the 28-22 halftime deficit.
“We were really happy to keep them from getting to the paint as long as we did and the defense started to break down in the fourth quarter,” Keiser said. “They’re tough to stop and we responded with a run of our own.”
Jackson got to the basket and hit a three while scoring nine points in the third quarter to lead the Seals on a 15-9 scoring run in the third quarter for the 43-31 lead at the end of the third.
DeFazio and Jackson combined for 12 points in the fourth quarter while the Seals hit a trio of three’s for the 64-50 win.
Cohen Werner and Setlock each led Blue Mountain with 10 points and Cohen Kirby scored eight points and nine rebounds.
SEL (15-8, 9-1);14;14;15;21;—64
BM (17-9, 10-4);8;14;9;19;—50
Selinsgrove 64 — Parker 2 2-4 8, Toskey 0 0-0 0, Torres 2 0-0 6, Jackson 10 8-12 31, Walter 0 2-4 2, Defazio 5 0-0 14, Carter 0 0-0 0, Trotto 0 0-0 0, Foss 0 0-0 0, Piecuch 1 0-0 3, Gesumaria 0 0-0 0, Neidig 0 0-0 0. 20 12-20 64.
Blue Mountain 50 — Meade 7 0-1 15, Setlock 3 2-2 10, Kirby 3 2-2 8, Pritiskutch 0 0-0 0, Disante 0 0-0 0, Singh 0 0-0 0, Werner 4 2-2 10, Martin Jr. 0 0-0 0, Henninger 2 0-0 5, McDonough 0 0-0 0, Wargo 0 0-0 0, Schuster 0 0-0 0, Gaddy 0 2-4 2. Evans 0 0-0 0. 19 8-11 50.
3-FG: Defazio 4, Jackson 3, Setlock 2, Parker 2, Torres 2, Meade, Henninger, Piecuch