CLARION — There was no panic in the Ridgway Elkers.

Down by five, 46-41, with 5:45 to play in Saturday’s PIAA Class AA first round matchup with Shenango, the Elkers — who have been on this stage so many times before — were poised.

After trading free-throws that trimmed the Wildcats lead to four, Ridgway went on a remarkable 12-0 run and closed the game by scoring 16 of the last 19 points to pull out a 57-49 victory Saturday at Clarion University’s Tippin Gym.

The win sends the Elkers (20-7) to the PIAA Sweet 16 for a fourth straight season.

Down by multiple possessions with its season on the line, there were no forced shots from Ridgway, no silly passes and no turnovers. Instead, it was a patient offensive attack strategized by a head coach with over 300 career victories.

“We’ve been fortunate to pull out these types of games,” Ridgway head coach Tony Allegretto said. “We’re used to big games, we’re used to being under tight situations and that’s the way we play.”

After the Elkers put together a strong offensive first half that saw them ahead by six, 28-22, at the intermission, the Wildcats (19-7) began to flex some offensive muscle of their own.

Led by 11 points from senior point guard Colin McQuiston, Shenango outscored Ridgway 18-12 in that third quarter to tie the game at 40 heading into the final period. The Wildcats actually went on a 12-2 run right out of the break to pull ahead 34-31, but Ridgway’s Dan Park used a personal 7-0 scoring spree to pull his Elkers back into the game. It was one of several critical stretches for the sophomore forward, who finished tied for a team-high 19 points.

Coupled with fellow sophomore Domenic Allegretto (7 points), the Elker duo took a good deal of pressure off of leading scorers Matt Dush and Zack Zameroski.

“I think early February or mid-February, coach (Eric) Herzing said ‘Our sophomores aren’t sophomores anymore,’” Allegretto recalled. “I thought Dan and Domenic, each one of them one of their best games of the year — and we needed it. We had to have that third ball-handler and Domenic attacked and he got shots for Dan and Dan finished, Dan defended and he rebounded. Both of them played great games.”

Despite that boost from Park to end the third tied at 40, Shenango opened up the fourth quarter on a 6-1 run. The Wildcats’ Case Butchelle — who provided a nice secondary scoring option to McQuiston — hit a 3-pointer to give his team a 46-41 with 5:45 to play.

On Ridgway’s next possession, Dush knocked down both of his free-throw attempts, and after a McQuiston free-throw on the other end — which would prove to be Shenango’s final point for over five minutes — the Elkers went on a game-deciding 12-0 surge.

Unsurprisingly, the run began with back-to-back layups from Park to tie the game at 47. Then, Zameroski and Alex Bon — who scored his first two points of the game — made three straight at the free-throw line.

Suddenly down by three with under a minute to play, McQuiston forced a contested 3-point attempt that was way off the mark.

Allegretto and Zameroski then made four straight free throws to cap off a stunning fourth quarter run to put the game out of reach in the waning seconds.

“I thought we played great defense,” Tony Allegretto said. “We were prepared for everything they threw at us, and they got a little bit frustrated with running their offense. We knew that at some point McQuiston was going to come at us and try to take over. Which he did. He made some shots and got them the lead.”

Indeed, McQuiston finished with a game-high 21 points, but was stymied in the fourth quarter. After knocking in a shot just 30 seconds into the period, he scored just one point over the next 7:30 — despite a flurry of shot attempts.

Even with the point production, Allegretto was pleased with how his team defended the left-handed shooter, especially late.

“Well, we knew he was going to try to get to the basket so we’re collapsing in and we’re going to give him some threes,” Allegretto noted. “He made some big shots, and then we couldn’t leave him open which gave him a little bit more gap but I thought our guys collapsed inside, didn’t leave their feet, didn’t give him any room and he made some tough shots but we made some big rebounds, too.”

For Ridgway, in addition to Park’s huge game in the paint, Dush finished with 19 points and Zameroski added 10. Nine of Dush’s 19 tallies came in the first 16 minutes, where the Elkers shot a potent 13-for-15 from the field.

And in a game where Ridgway had to deviate from its typically deliberate pace on offense to match the intensity and tempo from their opponents, the Elkers only committed two turnovers in the face of a press in the first half and had just six for the game. Shenango, meanwhile had 12.

The best press-breaker on Saturday was being aggressive with the ball, and finding wide-open Park underneath.

“Well, we saw that they ran that press and we had several practices and that’s what we practiced most was attacking that press,” Allegretto said. “Getting it to the middle, attack it with the dribble, once we get it attack the baseline. We told Dan that he was going to have a lot of opportunities, and he finished.”

Ridgway’s next test: District 10’s Farrell. The Steelers hung on for a thrilling 69-64 win over Coudersport in their first round game, and will matchup with the Elkers Wednesday back at Clarion University. It’ll be the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

AT CLARION

Shenango (49)

Colin McQuiston 7 4-9 21, Case Butchelle 4 0-0 11, Kraner 2 0-0 4, Watkins 0 4-7 4, Lenhart 2 1-2 6, Peters 1 0-0 2. Totals: 16 9-18 49

Ridgway (57)

Dan Park 9 1-1 19, Matt Dush 6 4-7 19, Zack Zameroski 3 4-7 10, Allegretto 2 3-4 7, Bon 0 1-2 1. Totals: 20 13-21 57

Shenango 10 22 40 49

Ridgway 14 28 40 57

Three-point goals: Shenango 7 (McQuiston 3, Butchelle 3, Lenhart), Ridgway 2 (Dush); Total fouls: Shenango 18, Ridgway 13; fouled out: Butchelle (Shenango)