ST. MARYS — After playing three quarters of great basketball, the Coudersport boys received a pretty good scare from the Wilmington Greyhounds on Saturday night.

The Falcons (23-3) came perilously close to losing a 23-point fourth-quarter lead, but in the end coach Brian Furman’s squad was able to hold off their opponents from District 10 to win 71-60 in the first round of the PIAA Class AA tournament.

“We played really well for three quarters, then we struggled with some turnovers, missed some foul shots, and they were able to get back in the game,” Furman said. “But the guys came together and the last two minutes of the game we played pretty well. We took care of the ball and made our foul shots. Certainly any win this time of the year is a good win.”

Coudersport got a pair of big games from Owen Chambers and Hunter Ricke, who finished with 25 and 17 points, respectively. Derek Keglovits also finished in double figures with 10 points.

Both teams came out of the gates firing, as the first four baskets of the game were 3-pointers (both sides hit two apiece). The long ball would be a key weapon all game long, with both teams hitting seven 3-pointers in the game.

But Coudy was also able to find success in the first half when driving to the rim. After leading 15-10 after the first quarter, the Falcons opened the second on a 9-2 run.

Chambers was instrumental in helping Coudy pull away, as the junior made it look easy with several nice finishes in traffic.

“He’s done that all year,” Furman said of Chambers. “He’s done a good job of getting to the rim because people are trying to chase him off the 3-point line. He’s got a complete game on the offensive side.”

On the other end, the Greyhounds (14-13) generated some good, patient ball movement. But they simply weren’t able to keep up with Coudy’s hot shooting.

The Falcons outscored Wilmington 21-10 in the second quarter to take a 36-20 lead into the half.

Once again, Coudy began the new quarter with a quick burst of scoring, going on an 8-1 run in the first few minutes of the second half. A three-point play from Ricke capped off the run and pushed the lead to 44-21.

Despite what the the score might have indicated, the Greyhounds were not playing all that poorly. But as has been the case with so many teams who have played Coudy this year, Wilmington couldn’t hit enough shots to keep pace.

With a 55-32 lead after three quarters, it looked like the Falcons might cruise to a big opening-round victory.

But the Greyhounds — who came into the contest having won six of their last eight games — weren’t about to let their season slip away without a fight.

Slowly but surely, Wilmington began to hit some shots while, more importantly, creating some turnovers on the defensive end.

Leading the charge for Wilmington was Tage Kelliher, who scored a team-high 19 points off the bench.

A 3-pointer by Robert Pontius with under two minutes left cut the deficit to 59-52. Less than 30 seconds later, Colton Richards hit a long ball of his own to make it 60-56.

At this point, there was a palpable sense of nervousness pulsing through the Coudersport faithful.

But the Falcons finally began to hit some free throws while also forcing a couple of last-minute turnovers that helped put the game away for good.

“They made a couple shots and the momentum started to turn a little bit,” Furman said. “We just had to collect ourselves, which they did to finish the game off. This time of year, you’re going to play good teams and they’re going to make runs and we were able to withstand it and get the win.”

Coudersport now moves on to the second round where it will face District 7 runner-up Our Lady of Sacred Heart, currently ranked number five in the state by MaxPreps (Coudy is ranked number seven). Sacred Heart defeated Homer Center 81-62 in the first round. The game will take place at Brookville High School at 7 p.m.

The Falcons made it to the second round of the state tourney in 2017 before falling Greensburg Central Catholic. Furman and his players know from experience that the road will only get tougher from here.

“The games don’t get easier,” he said. “We’re certainly going to need to play a full 32 minutes and play at our best if we’re going to have an opportunity to win.”

AT ST. MARYS

Wilmington (60)

Yohman 2 2-2 6, Tage Kelliher 9 1-2 19, Colton Marett 1 0-0 2, Danssen 2 1-2 7, Cameron Marett 1 1-2 4, Robert Pontius 5 0-0 13, Richards 3 2-7 9. Totals: 23 7-19 60

Coudersport (71)

Owen Chambers 8 7-8 25, Keck 2 4-5 8, Derek Keglovits 4 1-4 10, VanWhy 2 0-0 5, Green 2 0-0 4, Hunter Ricke 5 4-6 17, Gleason 1 0-0 2. Totals: 24 16-23 71

Wilmington 10 20 32 60

Coudy         15 36 55 71

Three-point goals: Wilmington 7 (Hanssen 2, Ca. Marett 1, Pontius 3, Richards 1), Coudy 7 (Chambers 2, Keglovits 1, VanWhy 1, Ricke 3); Total fouls: Wilmington 21, Coudy 17; fouled out: Colton Marett, Richards (W)