ST. MARYS — Elk County Catholic maintained a double-digit lead for most of the second half on its way to a 51-39 win over Ridgway in the AML semifinals on Friday.

The win was the third this season against the Elkers and secured a fourth meeting with Johnsonburg for the AML title on Saturday at St. Marys Area High School

“I was really happy with the way we played with two exceptions,” said Elk County Catholic coach Aaron Straub. “Number one we had four straight turnovers in the fourth quarter when we stopped looking at the basket. The second thing I was disappointed with is they did a number on us on the offensive boards. Other than those two things, I thought we made a lot of big strides.”

The Crusaders took a double-digit lead, 20-10 on a Colby Nussbaum bucket with 5:18 to go in the first half. The lead never dipped below 10 the rest of the game.

“I think we played pretty well,” Nussbaum said. “We matched their energy for sure. We got beat up on the defensive rebounds, though. They got a lot of rebounds.”

Leading 25-15 at halftime, the Crusaders (22-1) went on a 12-4 run to start the third quarter, capped by a Jordan Wasko 3-pointer to extend the lead to 37-19.

Wasko scored five points during the surge and Nussbaum, Lance O’Neil and Timmy Brannock also scored during the run.

“I did not think our guards played well in our last home game,” Straub said. “I thought our guards played extremely well tonight. They were under control, and I was really happy with the way they played. The team is going to go as the guards go.”

Elk County Catholic never trailed in the game, but Ridgway (13-10) hung with them in the early going.

Alex Merritt scored five of his game-high 21 points in the first quarter for the Elkers to keep them within striking distance at 11-9.

The Crusaders started the second quarter on a 7-1 run, which also included a 3-pointer from Wasko and a bucket from O’Neil.

In the fourth quarter, the Elkers tried to make a run, with Merritt once again doing a lot of the damage, scoring 10 points over the final eight minutes.

It was a Jackson Kilpeck shot that got Ridgway back within 11, 41-30 with 4:11 to play, but consecutive makes from O’Neil and Nussbaum stretched the lead back out to 14 for ECC.

“We lost to Brookville (on Feb. 6, ECC’s only loss of the regular season) and we looked at it as three 2-game tournaments,” Straub said. “We had games against St. Marys and Bradford, the AML games and then the district tournament coming up. I thought we did what we needed to do in the first two sets. I thought we did a nice job tonight. It’s going to be a tough assignment (against Johnsonburg). This is the fourth time we’ve played them. We know we’re going to have to do some really specific things.”

Wasko led ECC with 15 points, while Nussbaum and O’Neil had 10 each and Wil Wortman seven.

Hunter Beeler added eight points for Ridgway.

Johnsonburg beat St. Marys in the other semifinal to set up the fourth meeting between the two teams.

In the first meeting, ECC needed a shot at the buzzer to force overtime before coming away with the win. The second meeting in the Elk County Tournament they won by nine and the third game they won by six.

“They’re going to be hard to beat,” Nussbaum said. “They know our stuff and we know their stuff.”

Added Straub: “There’s only so much you can tweak.”

Kilpeck 2 1-2 5, Gustafson 1 0-0 2, Beeler 3 2-2 8, Merritt 8 5-5 21, Streich 1 1-2 3. Totals:

Elk County Catholic (51)Wasko 4 4-4 15, Simbeck 1 0-0 3, O’Neil 5 0-1 10, Wortman 3 1-2 7, Nussbaum 5 0-0 10, Brannock 3 0-0 6. Totals:

Three-point goals: Ridgway (0), ECC (4) Wasko 3, Simbeck; Total fouls: Ridgway 19 , ECC 13; fouled out: None