After a hot eight-game streak, St. John Neumann welcomed South Williamsport and on Tuesday at the Catholic Community Center, South Williamsport fought hard and ended the game with a 72-68 win to bring its record to 13-4.

Neumann entered the game with a clear idea of what to expect coach Louis Roskowski said.

“South is tough, and we know they are an aggressive team. We know they fight,” Roskowski said. “They’ve got some guys who get in there, box out, get rebounds, all the little things to get wins. We knew coming in that we had to do all those little things, too.”

With the tip off to South Williamsport, the game kicked into immediate action as both teams traded quick possessions. The game’s first point was a rebound from Neumann starter Daiton Thompson, the first of 12 points he would score in the first quarter alone.

At the same time, South Williamsport’s Chance Quimby and Levi Butler were building steam, starting the second quarter with Neumann in the lead, 19-18. The quarter sped forward with more quick possessions and plenty of hustle up and down the court, trading 1-point leads up to 35-35.

At this point, South Williamsport’s strategy shifted.

“They ended up going 2-3 at one point,” Roskowski said, “and that was OK for us. It slowed us down a little bit, and that worked on their end.”

Despite the shift in play, Neumann adapted and, with a buzzer 3-pointer from Neumann starter Kane Meixel, ended the first half with a 38-37 lead heading into the break.

The second half continued at much the same pace, Neumann bringing in an energetic Connor Haswell and South Williamsport bringing the game’s highest score deficit to eight at 48-40. After grueling play, Neumann starter Zaidyn Diehl-Romano helped finish the third quarter one point ahead for a third time, 52-51.

The fourth quarter brought danger for both teams as fouls racked up, but careful play from South Williamsport put them in a favorable position.

“They were boxing one on Daiton towards the end there, and he ended up stuck in the corner,” Roskowski said. “He was basically guarding the corner since everybody else was in the box, so we tried to get the ball to him on the wing.”

Points were traded, and while tring to break the 58-58 tie, Neumann’s Jahki Brister received his fifth foul on a disputed call.

“First half, we were a little slow,” Roskowski said. “Third quarter, we picked up. Fourth quarter, we lost Jahki, and it really hurt us, hurt us a lot.”

Following this, South Williamsport picked up and, after time outs on both sides, controlled the court and ended the game with a 72-68 lead and win.

“Overall,” Roskowski said, “the whole team kind of chipped in. Kane brings so much energy and heart off the bench. I just love how much hard work he puts in; he hits open shots, and he knows his role. Zaidyn had some real nice moves with a bunch of rebounds, and Connor gave us some energy, some rebounds, a couple stops.”

The game’s top scorer was Neumann’s Thompson with a point total nearing his season’s peak at 30, followed by South Williamsport’s Levi Butler and Andrew Walter with 23 and 19 points, respectively.

Roskowski reflects on what his focus for the team is following the loss.

“We just have to learn and keep moving forward. If there’s one thing from this game to learn, it is to get up,” Roskowski said. “If we get up high enough, then it’s out of everybody’s hands besides yours. We need to do a better job of controlling the tempo.”

Hot off their victory, South Williamsport will be heading to the Montgomery Area Athletic Community Center to face Montgoery on Friday. At the same time, Neumann will be heading to Muncy.

South Williamsport 72, St. John Neumann 68

ST. JOHN NEUMANN (68)

D. Thompson 10 1-2 30, C. Haswell 0 2-3 2, L. Dillard 2 0-0 7, Z. Diehl-Romano 2 4-4 11, A. Taddeo 0 0-0 0, K. Meixel 0 0-0 9, J. Brister 4 1-4 9. Totals 18 8-13 68.

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT (72)

B. Regan 2 0-0 4, A. Walter 5 7-7 19, S. Moy 2 0-0 4, N. Bowen 0 0-0 0, C. Quimby 1 2-2 16, L. Butler 4 3-3 23, J. Carpenter 3 0-0 6. Totals 17 13-13 72.

South Williamsprot 18 19 14 21 — 72

Neumann 19 19 14 16 — 68

3-point goals: Neumann 8 (Thompson 3, Meixel 3, Dillard 1, Diehl-Romano 1), South 9 (Quimby 4, Butler 4, Walter 1)