POTTSVILLE - Northwestern had it all going in its favor during the first half of Friday’s opening round game in the District 11 Class 4A tournament.

It was surging up and down the court.

It was shooting the lights out.

And its defense was causing colossal problems for North Schuylkill.

But then came the respite - and the halftime rest did a world of good to rejuvenate for the Spartans.

The Spartans eventually figured things out and proceeded to rally for a 59-56 victory, ending the Tigers’ season on a down note, but leaving them with plenty of optimism for the future.

“Down the stretch they were able to execute a little bit better than us,” said first-year Northwestern head coach Patrick Wannamaker.

The game came down to the closing moments, and it nearly went the Tigers’ way.

North Schuylkill (17-8) was clinging to a 50-46 lead before the Tigers made a surge. A trey from Shane Marth and Eli Zimmerman’s flash inside for a bucket put them in front 51-50 with 4:42 to play,

But North Schuylkill answered as Jack Keiter bagged two foul shots and Jude Maziekas came up with a deuce for a 54-51 advantage.

Ethan Kozlowski scored for Northwestern (16-9) with 2:01 to play. But back came North Schuylkill as Keiter scored the next three points for a 57-53 Spartan lead.

A trey from Eli Zimmerman with 19 seconds remaining gave the Tigers hope, but Zane Zulkowski drained two foul shots late for the Spartans and they held on for the victory.

The difference in the end was the Spartans’ superb one-two guard combo of Keiter and Zulkowski, who combined for 42 points.

“When you got two really, really good guards like that, giving them a cushion is a tough thing to come back from,” said Wannamaker.

Early on it appeared like it was going to be Northwestern’s night as it spurted to an 18-12 lead in the first quarter. Gavin Nelson (16 points), Eli Zimmerman (15 points) and Mason Bollinger (14) all had big games for the Tigers and all three played major roles in the fast start.

The Tigers made a huge spurt late in the second quarter reeling off eight straight points, including six by Nelson as he displayed his uncanny ability to elevate above his peers.

That spurt was interrupted by a dunk from Tyrone Chambers, and that helped to spur North Schuylkill to a strong finish of the opening half that pulled it to within 32-28 at the break.

Things began to unravel for the Tigers in the third quarter as they didn’t convert their first field goal until the 3:08 mark. Meanwhile, the eventual winners caught fire riding the coattails of Zulkowski who - despite playing with three fouls - scored eight points to give his team a 46-42 lead.

“They ramped up the pressure there,” Wannamaker said of the third quarter rally. “They forced us to do things we didn’t want to do.”

The third quarter lull set Northwestern back some, but it didn’t go down without a fight as it made a strong run down the stretch. Much to North Schuylkill’s credit, however, it turned to its two splendid guards – Keiter and Zulkowski – to fight Northwestern and hold on for the win.