AUSTIN — Nineteen years since their last District 9 postseason victory, the Austin Panthers are advancing. 

Using turnovers and an emphasis on getting the ball inside, Austin overcame a 13-point second-half deficit for a 56-53 win over visiting Northern Potter to advance to the D9 Class A quarterfinals against Elk County Catholic. 

Austin’s last playoff win came in 2001, when the Panthers toppled Oswayo Valley 63-45.

“We executed very well in the second half, and things worked out,” Austin (12-11) head coach Rich Glover. “Turnovers were a big key to the victory, and then when we started knocking down some shots.” 

Indeed, takeaways were perhaps the biggest difference on the night. After Northern Potter (9-14) pushed its lead to 13, the largest advantage either team held all night, it began giving the ball away. 

Northern Potter, in its first playoff appearance since 2011, coughed up just two turnovers in the first half, but committed nine in the third quarter alone and 13 throughout the second half. 

Those giveaways keyed an 11-0 Austin run to end the third quarter that allowed the host Panthers to draw to within 40-38 entering the fourth. 

And then after the teams traded a pair of baskets each to begin the fourth, Austin once again used takeaways to go on an 8-0 spurt to take a 49-44 lead with 3:50 to go in the game. The hosts hadn’t held an advantage since leading 8-7 with 23 seconds left in the first quarter. 

“I think the pressure got to us where we had some mental lapses, and I think a couple times we tried to go too fast with the basketball,” NoPo head coach Derek Erway said. “We’re a young team, so tonight was a good experience… But this one hurts.” 

Austin also began hitting its shots from inside the perimeter in the second half. After shooting 8-for-30 from the field in the first half and going 4-for-14 from deep range, AAHS began penetrating NoPo’s 3-2 zone to find open passes underneath. 

The host Panthers took just five shots from downtown in the second half, and went 9-for-26 inside. And while that numbers certainly could have been higher, Austin coupled that with a 15-for-18 night from the charity stripe, including going 12-for-15 from the line in the second half. 

“I think driving in and dishing to the big guys and hitting that open guy and making that extra pass, that was key,” Glover said. 

As he has all season, Jackson Glover led Austin with 18 points and five assists, while Parker Glover added 12 points.

Those two each recorded a pair of steals, and were linchpins to Austin’s transition game off of the NoPo turnovers. 

After Austin’s run to take the lead, Northern Potter rallied back to tie things at 53 apiece with 1:19 to go. Then, with 14 seconds left, Jackson Glover hit the front end of a one-and-one to give Austin a 54-53 lead. 

On the ensuing NoPo possession, the turnover bug struck again. The visiting Panthers hurled a pass out of bounds, and Jackson Glover made them pay by hitting a pair of free throws to put Austin up three, 56-53. 

“Foul shots were key,” Coach Glover said. “We went 15-for-18 from the line, so when you’re 83% from the line, you’re usually going to win.” 

Northern Potter had one final chance in the game’s waning seconds. After a frenetic scramble to get the ball up the court, NoPo found Carter Anderson — who led NoPo with 18 points and 10 rebounds — on the wing for a good look at a potential game-tying three. 

However, his shot rimmed out, sending Austin to the quarterfinals. After the game, Erway asserted that Anderson may have been fouled on the shot. 

“I think we had the look, but I was a little disappointed we didn’t get that call, because it looked like he was pushed in the back,” the coach said. “But that’s how it goes. We still had our last-second shot, and it didn’t fall. The first half we were hitting and Austin wasn’t, so it was a tale of two halves.” 

Northern Potter, who is still searching for its first playoff win since 2008, finished the night 20-for-41 from the field, but the visitors’ turnovers allowed Austin to take 60 shots from the field and nine more free throws than NoPo.

The loss brings to an end a season that had finished well for Northern Potter. It had won three of its final four regular season games, and Erway says the loss will serve as a learning experience for his young roster. 

“It’s the mental aspect. We played hard and did everything we should’ve, but we had mental lapses on defense and didn’t finish through on offense,” he said. “We have to learn that this is what we have to do next year to get here and beyond.” 

Austin, meanwhile, moves on to face what is perhaps its biggest test yet. Elk County Catholic enters Friday night’s quarterfinals matchup at 23-1 on the year. A year ago, the Crusaders topped Austin in the quarterfinals, 61-38. 

“We were fortunate enough to get a bunch of film on them. It’s going to be a tough task, and we know what we’re up against,” Coach Glover said. “But our whole team has watched the film, so now we’re going to work out a little tomorrow, and then we’ll see them on Friday.”  

The game is set for 7 p.m. at Bradford Area High School. 

AT AUSTIN

Northern Potter (53)

Carter Anderson 5 4-4 18, Ezra Sprow 6 1-4 13, Benway 1 0-0 3, Langworthy 2 0-0 5, Brown 2 1-1 5, Slawson 2 0-0 5, Wills 2 0-0 4. Totals: 20 6-9 53

Austin (56)

Jackson Glover 5 4-7 18, Parker Glover 5 2-2 12, Joseph Glover Jr. 4 2-2 11, Crawford 2 2-2 6, Rees 1 4-4 6, Lucas 1 0-0 2, Shupe 0 1-2 1. Totals: 18 15-18 56

Northern Po. 9 32 40 53

Austin          8 23 38 56

Three-point goals: NP 7 (Benway 1, Langworthy 1, Anderson 4, Slawson 1), Austin 5 (Ja. Glover 4, Jo. Glover 1); Total fouls: NP 14, Austin 13; fouled out: none.