In Central Mountain’s case, the two stat lines that held it back on Friday were rebounding and shooting, particularly from the free-throw line and behind the arc. It played better in the runback against Selinsgrove (14-7), but those aspects kept it a step or two behind throughout the night, as it fell to the Seals, 64-50.

“I think we can say we played them closer,” said Central Mountain head coach Tyler Bardo, referring to the team’s 81-55 loss to the Seals in their previous matchup. “We executed the game plan really well, especially in the first half. But it did come down to shot making without question, and the offensive rebounding that we gave up was, without question, a big part of their offense.”

“We just put a lot of pressure on ourselves in other areas when we’re not hitting shots. Credit to Selinsgrove for wading through some of the foul trouble. Their guys hit some big shots,” he added.

In a first half that saw 25 combined fouls, many Selinsgrove’s way, the Wildcats got plenty of opportunities from the line but struggled to make the most of them. Of their 14 free-throw attempts through the first quarter, just nine were converted, and they’d go 0-for-2 from the line in the second.

TIM WEIGHT/Special to the Sun-Gazette Central Mountain's Darius Shade (2) drives past a Selingrove defender during a boys basketball game on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2026, at Central Mountain. The Wildcats fell 64-50.

Even with their key contributors – like leading scorer Xavier Jackson and Mac Defazio – getting in early foul trouble as a result, those struggles allowed the Seals to hang around early. Being a playoff-caliber squad, that’s all they needed to eventually turn things their way.

“That’s going to be an issue for anybody, but you’ve got to like getting there 16 times,” said Bardo when discussing free-throw shooting. “We put a lot of their influential players in foul trouble early and kept that pressure on. I just don’t think we took advantage of those things.”

Those nine made free-throws accounted for most of their scoring through the first quarter, as the Wildcats made just three field goals from the field, and the game went into the second tied at 15-15.

The foul opportunities would stall in the following quarter. And though baskets from Noah Wells and Collin Confer kept them within a basket of a lead, two missed free throws from Dane Hanna would prevent it from forcing a fourth lead change at 20-19. That’d be Central Mountain’s last chance to take a lead, as the Seals closed the half on a 7-2 run to go up 27-21, and the Wildcats never got within two with the ball again.

They would, however, keep things interesting until late in the third.

TIM WEIGHT/Special to the Sun-Gazette Central Mountain's Dane Hanna (3) dribbles down the court during a boys basketball game against Selinsgrove on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2026, at Central Mountain. The Wildcats fell 64-50.

After going down 32-23 through the quarter’s first few possessions, Calen Hunter would convert a putback layup off a fastbreak kicked off by a Blake Walker steal. Then, on the ensuing fast break, Wells would find Hunter open for a corner three, with the senior draining the team’s lone trey on the night to narrow the gap to four.

That spurt was a large part of a 9-2 run for Central Mountain. Blake Walker rounded out the run’s buckets by hitting an open two off an inbound play and a layup off a deep pass from Wells, as the team cut the deficit to 34-32 past the midway point of the third.

It just wouldn’t last.

Though Wells and Darius Shade would go a combined 3-for-4 from the line to briefly get the Wildcats within a basket at 38-35, that production just served as a blemish on a 10-3 response from Selinsgrove, who’d go into the fourth with a 44-35 lead. From there, that lead would only grow, as the Seals opened the fourth on an 11-4 run and never looked back.

No Central Mountain player finished with more than three defensive rebounds on the night, as the Seals had a field day on second-chance points and compiled double-figure offensive rebounds. And rounding the negatives on the night was its typically potent three-point shooting, which saw just one conversion on nine attempts.

TIM WEIGHT/Special to the Sun-Gazette Central Mountain's Calen Hunter (11) attempts to take a shot while battling multiple Selinsgrove defenders during a boys basketball game on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2026, at Central Mountain. The Wildcats fell 64-50.

“We got a lot of advantage looks early on the three-on-twos and two-on-ones, and that resulted in a lot of fouls. But when we got to half-court sets, I thought we got stuck just reversing the ball on the perimeter,” said Bardo on the team’s offensive issues.

“From a consistency standpoint, we had 15 points in the first quarter and just over 30 the rest of the way. So that’s just not going to cut it.”

There were positives individually.

For the fourth straight game, Noah Wells surpassed 15 points on efficient shooting, finishing with 18 points while missing just two field goals and going 6-for-7 from the free-throw line. He also attributed three rebounds and assists, proving impactful as both a scorer and facilitator.

Fellow senior Calen Hunter finished with a season-high 11 points, his first double-figure outing of the season, giving the Wildcats an offensive spark in the third while also leading them on the boards with four rebounds. And Darius Shade and Blake Walker finished with nine and seven points respectively while combining for five steals.

TIM WEIGHT/Special to the Sun-Gazette Central Mountain's Calen Hunter (11) takes a corner three during a boys basketball game against Selinsgrove on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2026, at Central Mountain. The Wildcats fell 64-50.

The loss puts the Wildcats in an uncomfortable spot when it comes to its playoff hopes, dropping them to 6-14 on the season with two games to go. Though they still have a shot, they can no longer win 40 percent of their games this season, an outcome that would’ve guaranteed them a slot.

For now, they look ahead to a road matchup against Midd-West (2-17) on Monday before capping the regular season at Williamsport (11-9) the next day. Those games are each set for 7:30 p.m.

“We’ve got to have a good practice tomorrow, get some shots up and get a little recovery lift in,” said Bardo. “Obviously, we’re going on the road for two, and we’ve got to do a good job of just getting centered, getting refocused and going out and attacking these last two regular-season games.”

Selinsgrove 64, Central Mountain 50

SELINSGROVE (64)

TIM WEIGHT/Special to the Sun-Gazette Central Mountain's Carson Corturiaux (4) drives pasts a Selinsgrove defender during a boys basketball game on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2026, at Central Mountain. The Wildcats fell 64-50.

Griffin Parker 5 2-2 17; Jullian Torres 2 3-4 7; Xavier Jackson 6 1-2 13; Noah Walter 5 0-0 11; Mac Defazio 1 1-2 4; Chase Carter 3 0-0 6; Jack Piecuch 2 2-2 6. Totals 24 9-12 64.

CENTRAL MOUNTAIN (50)

Blake Walker 3 1-2 7; Isah Dorman 1 1-2 3; Darius Shade 2 5-8 9; Dane Hanna 0 2-2 2; Noah Wells 6 6-7 18; Calen Hunter 4 2-2 11. Totals 17 15-24 50.

Selinsgrove 15 12 17 20 – 64

C. Mountain 15 6 14 15 – 50

Three-pointers: Selinsgrove 7 (Parker 5, Walter, Defazio); Central Mountain 1 (Hunter).

TIM WEIGHT/Special to the Sun-Gazette Central Mountain's Noah Wells (5) takes a layup during a boys basketball game against Selinsgrove on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2026, at Central Mountain. The Wildcats fell 64-50.

TIM WEIGHT/Special to the Sun-Gazette Central Mountain's Carson Corturiaux (4) drives pasts a Selinsgrove defender during a boys basketball game on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2026, at Central Mountain. The Wildcats fell 64-50.

TIM WEIGHT/Special to the Sun-Gazette Central Mountain's Isah Dorman (1) takes a contested layup during a boys basketball game against Selinsgrove on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2026, at Central Mountain. The Wildcats fell 64-50.

TIM WEIGHT/Special to the Sun-Gazette Central Mountain's Collin Confer (23) reaches for a loose ball as Selinsgrove defenders surround him during a boys basketball game on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2026, at Central Mountain. The Wildcats fell 64-50.