Mahanoy Area's Ryan Zilker (25) tries to get the ball against Catasauqua's Matthew Fotta during a District 11 Class 3A semifinals boys' basketball game at Martz Hall. The Crusaders beat the Golden Bears 61-36 (photo by Kelly Wiley).

POTTSVILLE — Things did not go Mahanoy Area’s way from the jump.

Jace Yedsena scored a team-high 15 points and Tanner Zawada chipped in 12 as Mahanoy Area fell to Catasauqua 61-36 in a District 11 Class 3A boys’ basketball semifinal Wednesday at Martz Hall.

“(Mahanoy Area) didn’t play team basketball,” Mahanoy Area coach Teddy Styka said. “We weren’t hitting the open guy and then when we did, we weren’t hitting our shots. I mean, we told them we have every play (the Rough Riders) ran. We’ve been practicing for 12 days now and we still let them get their plays.”

The Golden Bears (20-5) trailed 10-2 early in the first quarter. Yedsena added a steal and a thunderous slam dunk on the other end to jump start Mahanoy Area. Yedsena then nailed a 3-pointer on the Bears’ next possession to cut Catasauqua’s lead to 11-7. Hamaad Jenkins scored a put-back off the glass for the Rough Riders before Yedsena responded for Mahanoy Area with a pair of strong layups to cut the deficit to two at the end of the frame.

Yedsena collected all but two of the Golden Bears’ 11 first-quarter points. Peyton Sendatch notched a steal and found Zawada for a layup off the glass. Catasauqua led Mahanoy Area 13-11 to begin the second quarter.

The Rough Riders (17-10) added six consecutive points to begin the second and increase their lead to 19-11. Zawada tallied a pair of free throws to get the Bears back in the points column, but Catasauqua was quick to answer back with two points by Aalani Nix.

Nix’s bucket started an 11-point scoring run by the Rough Riders to close out the half. Catasauqua led the Golden Bears 30-13 at halftime and, to make matters worse for Mahanoy Area, Yedsena and Ryan Zilker each had three fouls.

Mahanoy Area was never able to get out of the gates in the second half, cutting the deficit to eight at its closest.

The Golden Bears showed signs of life coming out of the break and rattled off a 7-0 scoring run to begin the third quarter. Yedsena had two steals during the run, Zawada collected five points and Sendatch added two.

Catasauqua’s Matthew Fotta and Jeremiah Cofie each added 2-point buckets, but Yedsena responded for the Bears with a 3. Fast-forward a few possessions later, where Sendatch added two free throws, Zawada nailed a triple and Catasauqua coach Eric Snyder needed a timeout because Mahanoy Area had cut the Rough Riders’ lead to 37-29 with 2:15 on the clock in the third.

Following the timeout, Catasauqua’s Reece Lopez nailed a pair of 3’s, while Yedsena got a layup and free throw for the Golden Bears. The Rough Riders led 43-32 at the end of the third quarter and it was soon do-or-die time for Yedsena, Zawada and Mahanoy Area.

Sendatch netted a layup to start the fourth quarter, which would be the Golden Bears’ only points in the frame. Catasauqua went on a 16-0 scoring run before a platoon swap by both teams closed out the contest.

“We ran a lot,” Snyder said. “When we can get out and run against teams — whether it’s on a steal or rebound — that is when we’re at our best. We have a lot of team speed, and those guys get out and find the open man.

“(Mahanoy) cut the led to eight and our kids just recomposed themselves, got themselves back together again. So, we were a little concerned. Not a little, a lot of concerned. But the kids regrouped, and we did what we had to do.”

The victory propels Catasauqua to Saturday’s championship round against Minersville at 7:30 p.m. at Martz Hall. The Battlin’ Miners defeated Notre Dame-Green Pond 52-50 in overtime in the other semifinal.

For the Golden Bears, a consolation matchup versus Notre Dame-Green Pond will take place on Saturday at Martz Hall at 4 p.m., with the winner heading to the PIAA Class 3A Tournament.

The Rough Riders also clinch a PIAA Class 3A Tournament berth with Wednesday’s win.

“Oh, they’re big,” Snyder said about his first impression of Minersville. “They’re a big team and they play very well. They pass the ball very well. I don’t know how quick they are, but they’re just big. And they all can, you know, they aren’t bad shooters and good passers. We’re going to have our hands full.

“We’re going to states, and two weeks ago we got second place in our league. I told them we’ve got to go for gold this time. We can’t have two silvers, but we’ll see what happens.”

Game Summary

District 11 Class 3A
Semifinals
At Martz Hall

CATASAUQUA (61) — Pujols 4 0-0 9, Lopez 5 0-0 12, Jenkins 4 8-11 17, Cofie 1 3-4 5, Fotta 2 2-2 6, Bolmer 2 0-0 5, Nix 2 1-1 5, Weaver 0 0-2 0, Rosado 0 0-0 0, Vaz 1 0-2 2, Gonzalez 0 0-0 0, Lorah 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 16-20 61.

MAHANOY AREA (36) — Sendatch 2 2-2 6, Mayberry 0 1-2 1, Yedsena 6 1-3 15, Zawada 4 2-2 12, Rhoades 0 0-0 0, A. Bowman 0 0-0 0, Oblas 0 0-2 0, Green 0 0-0 0, C. Bowman 1 0-0 2, Zilker 0 0-0 0, Gallagher 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 6-11 36.

Catty (17-10)   13 … 17 … 13 … 16 — 61

Mah (20-5)   11 … 2 … 19 … 4 — 36

3-point FGs: Pujols, Lopez 2, Jenkins, Bolmer, Yedsena 2, Zawada 2