DANVILLE–Soon after last season concluded, Sullivan County started working. A new opportunity loomed.

Monday night offered the chance to show how far that effort has brought the team. And from a proving ground perspective, it faced the perfect opponent. Second chances are never guaranteed but Sullivan earned one against Lourdes.

And it handsomely cashed in. All that work produced some big profits and now Sullivan has a shot at gold.

Tucker Blasi scored a career-high 24 points, Lucas King collected 17 of his 23 points in the second half and Colin King grabbed 14 rebounds as Sullivan defeated Lourdes, 69-56 in the District 4 Class A semifinals. The Griffins (21-4) not only avenged last year’s 13-point semifinal loss against Lourdes at Danville but also snapped a three-game losing streak against it and earned a spot in the final against defending champion North Penn-Liberty later this week.

Sullivan also secured a state tournament berth for the 11th time since 2011, shining a light upon the strong program which has been built there.

“The same group that last year went to that gym, played that team and laid an egg came back and did everything they had to do to win the game,” Sullivan coach Glenn Vaughan said. “The last two practices were great; shoot-around today was great. They did everything that needed done and played for each other. To play with that toughness and energy and attention to detail, it was a really good performance by our group.”

The Griffins controlled the second half, outscoring Lourdes, 41-31 and opening a 17-point third quarter lead. Every player did his part and Sullivan more than doubled its scoring output from last year’s semifinal. It also exacted a measure of revenge after Lourdes had won an overtime thriller in Laporte last December.

This time, Sullivan scored at least 20 points in three of the four quarters and did all the little things necessary to earn big wins against strong opponents. Jaiden Moore took two charges; Colin King dealt five assists and reserve Dom Marotti hit a key fourth quarter 3-pointer which helped blunt Lourdes’s comeback push.

“Whatever play had to be made, we made it,” Vaughan said. “Even the guys that played zero seconds were into things and were key for us. The whole team was involved.”

Sullivan started strong and scored 21 first quarter points before taking a 28-25 halftime lead. Last December, Lourdes rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit, but Sullivan refused to let history repeat itself. Instead, the Griffins were the aggressors and stormed out of the locker room, going on a 16-2 run.

Lourdes did not go down without a fight, but it also never pulled within single digits again.

“Tonight, we did a better job of finishing and having a little more of a killer instinct,” Vaughan said. “Once we got them down double digits, instead of playing not to lose, we were playing to win. We were still trying to attack while being smart with the basketball. We handled the second half much better from a mental standpoint.”

Lucas King was as dialed in during the second half as Blasi was in the first half. Blasi was named the Mid-Penn’s Defensive Player of the Year last week and played his usual stellar brand of defense. But he also showed how dangerous he can be offensively and broke out of a slump in a big way.

Blasi drilled three first-half 3-pointers and his nine first quarter points helped set the game’s tone. He, Lucas King and Colin King then made 8 of their final 10 free throws in overtime as Sullivan sealed victory.

“He (Blasi) shot the ball well. We gave him a tough defensive assignment and handled that tonight so well, too,” Vaughan said. “He had a couple frustrating games recently and bought into everything and responded to a couple tough games individually, so I was proud of him.”

Blasi converted an and-1 early in the third quarter, eliciting a big eruption from the bench and forcing a Lourdes timeout. Sullivan was on a 7-2 run at that point. Vaughan’s message during the timeout was to come out even more energetic and put together a similar run.

Sullivan actually did one better. The Griffins scored the next nine points and took their biggest lead, 44-27. Lucas King scored nine straight points at one point in the third quarter and Cayden Smithkors (8 points, 5 rebounds) capped the third quarter burst with an inside score.

Lourdes closed within 49-36 entering the fourth quarter and 10 with close to four minutes remaining, but Sullivan slammed the door on the comeback hopes.

“The first time we played them, we were coming off a bad loss at Towanda, and the kids went into the game thinking they had a chance to win. After we played that first game, we knew we could beat them,” Vaughan said. “There was a different mindset, a different energy and a different confidence level.”

A different result, too.

While the win was exciting and celebrated, Sullivan also kept things in perspective afterward. The Griffins worked their way up the ladder Monday but are not yet at the top. Getting there is the biggest goal.

“In the locker room after the game we celebrated and rightfully so, but at the end, we said we practice tomorrow and it’s back down to earth,” Vaughan said. “We took a step tonight, but we’re not to the finish line.”

LOURDES (56)

Gavin Renn 2 0-1 4, Trebor Moore 6 0-0 17, Brighten Sciccitano 9 5-11 2 5, Billy Rishel 4 1-2 9, Johnny Rishel 0 1-2 1. Totals 21 7-16 56.

SULLIVAN (69)

Tucker Blasi 8 5-7 24, Lucas King 8 6-8 23, Colin King 2 3-4 7, Jaiden Moore 2 0-2 4, Dom Marotti 1 0-0 3, Cayden Smithkors 3 2-3 8. Totals 24 16-24 69.

Lourdes 16 9 11 20–56

Sullivan 21 7 21 20–69

3-pointers: Lourdes 7 (Moore 5, Sciccitano 2); Sullivan 5 (Blasi 3, L. King, Marotti).

Records: Sullivan 21-4.