HOLLAND - Pottsville coach Dave Mullaney couldn't remember the last time his Crimson Tide committed so many turnovers.

It hasn't been an issue all season.

Pottsville couldn't have picked a worse time to make it one.

The Tide turned it over 17 times and Ryan Arcidiacono poured in a game-high 30 points to lift Neshaminy to a 64-45 victory over Pottsville in the first round of the PIAA Class AAAA boys' basketball state playoffs Saturday afternoon at Council Rock South High School.

Thanks to the mistakes - and 19 first-half points from Arcidiacono - Neshaminy opened the game on a 20-4 run and led 32-16 at the half.

The Redskins (22-6), the fourth-place team from District 1 and currently the fourth-ranked team in the state, put the game away with a 10-2 run to end the third quarter that made it 50-25.

"We turned it over way too many times," Mullaney said. "That's been uncharacteristic of the way we've been playing to get here. There were just so many missed opportunities in the first half throughout all the turnovers.

"We had just so many opportunities at baskets that we just couldn't convert them. When the lead gets to 16 instead of six, it makes a big difference in the game."

In the final game of his stellar career, Nick Schlitzer had 18 points for Pottsville (25-3) after being held to only one in the first half. Jacob Tobin added eight points, while Bobby Schappell and Brandon Bridy had six apiece and Tyler Heffner grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

"We just didn't want to go down without a fight," Schlitzer said.

The Tide didn't, but the first-half deficit was too much to overcome.

The Redskins' man-to-man, full-court pressure gave Pottsville fits in the first half. Neshaminy double-teamed out of it at half court, forcing 13 Tide turnovers.

Of Pottsville's 17 turnovers, the Redskins converted them into 13 points. They also had 10 steals - Arcidiacono had six and Dwight Williams four.

Still, the Tide had their chances.

Williams held Schlitzer, who came in averaging 21.1 points per game, to zero field goals in the first half. That opened up opportunities for others to score but the Tide had trouble converting, shooting 6-for-16 (37.5 percent) from the floor through 16 minutes.

"They are a great team, don't get me wrong, but they aren't any quicker than the teams we've played the last three games," Mullaney said. "One difference, their best player, he was everything he was built up to be and more. He's the best player we've played against by far this season."

Indeed, Arcidiacono was.

The 6-foot-3 junior guard, who's verbally committed to Villanova, was deadly from everywhere, whether he was gliding his way to the basket for layups or firing up 3-pointers seven feet beyond the arc. He finished the game 12-for-19 from the floor, including 4-for-8 from 3-point range.

The closest the Tide got was early in the second quarter when Casey Guers scored on a layup and Schappell knocked down a 3-pointer to make it 20-13 at the 6:45 mark. Pottsville was down 23-16 with 3:51 left in the half before Neshaminy ended on a 9-2 run that Arcidiacono finished with a 3-pointer that bounced in with 2 seconds left.

When Schlitzer, who finished his career with 1,884 career points, and Schappell both came out of the game in the fourth quarter, they got embraces from Mullaney and standing ovations from the Pottsville fans.

The Tide faithful showed up in large numbers despite the nearly two-hour drive, with a student section of approximately 70-80.

"(Schlitzer) and Schappell, they've been everything to this program," Mullaney said. "We've grown as they've grown. Those two guys are the biggest reason for all our wins the past two seasons.

"They are amazing kids and they are perfect, coachable kids. There are 17 other kids in there trying to be just like them. That's what's turned our program around."

 

OREFIELD - One of the keys to Pottsville's success this season has been its defense.

There wasn't much fault with the Crimson Tide's effort Wednesday.

However, Liberty's defense was even better.

Alewdy Rivera had 10 points and the Hurricanes held Pottsville to a season-low scoring output en route to a 41-30 victory over the Crimson Tide in a District 11 Class AAAA boys' basketball semifinal at Parkland High School.

The third-seeded Tide were coming off a thrilling 60-55 victory over Nazareth in Saturday's quarterfinals, their first win in the District 11 Class AAAA playoffs since 2001. But Pottsville was stymied all night by the athletic Hurricanes (22-4).

The Tide shot 9-of-29 (31 percent) from the floor and were held under 10 points in every quarter but the fourth.

The Tide's previous season-low came in their first loss of the season, 46-38 to Wilson West Lawn on Jan. 2.

"I think Liberty defensively was exceptional," Pottsville coach Dave Mullaney said. "They really defend, they defend the right way and they are gifted athletically to go with it."

The second-seeded Hurricanes play for their second straight championship against No. 4 Allen (22-4), a 59-49 winner over Pocono Mountain West, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Parkland.

The Tide face the Panthers (21-5) in the third-place game at 1 p.m. Saturday at Parkland, with the winner moving on to the state playoffs.

Liberty's defensive focus, as is the case for every Pottsville opponent, is keeping Nick Schlitzer in check. That responsibility went to Alex Akabogu.

Schlitzer had 15 points Wednesday on 5-of-14 shooting. He had just two points in the first half and was held to only four shots. By the time Schlitzer started to heat up in the second half, it was too late.

"Alex had done a good job on a lot of good players this season," Liberty coach Chad Landis said. "He gets that tough assignment a lot of times and more times than not he had come through. Schlitzer is too good to hold to a goose egg."

The Tide turned in a solid defensive effort on a star player, too.

Pottsville held 6-foot-5 senior guard Darrun Hilliard - who was guarded by Brandon Bridy, Tyler Heffner and Schlitzer - to nine points. It was just the second time this season the Villanova recruit was held to single digits in points.

"To hold them to 41 points and Hilliard to nine, you would think seeing those stats that you would have a chance," Mullaney said. "That just wasn't the case."

What hurt the Tide was rebounding.

Both teams had 21 boards apiece, but Liberty grabbed seven on the offensive glass, scoring eight second-chance points. Rivera had four rebounds on the offensive end.

"We defended their initial sets well," Mullaney said. "But it's a big downer when you defend something so well and they get a tip-in.

"We missed a box or two, but it was their athleticism. Sometimes we had boxes and they went right over us."

Pottsville also had trouble containing Liberty guard Izel Dickerson, who finished with six points and five assists.

Schlitzer tied the game at 4 after he scored off a Bobby Schappell miss with 1:39 left in the first quarter. But Liberty scored the final five points of the frame on a jumper by Hilliard and 3-pointer by Akabogu at the buzzer that bounced off the front of the rim and off the backboard before it went in.

The Hurricanes finished the second quarter on a 7-2 run to go up 19-11 at the half and opened the second half on a 7-3 run to build a 26-14 lead.

Liberty's largest lead of the night was 41-24 after Hilliard hit two foul shots with 2:05 left in the game.