“We all came into the game knowing it was gonna be a tough game. We knew what we needed to do to win but we just couldn’t get it done. We all gave our best effort and that’s all anyone can ask for,” says Kaden Lengle, #0. Lengle continued,  “It was my last basketball game playing as a Pine Grove Cardinal. After I realized that, I started tearing up. I realized I will never wear a jersey again. I was relatively happy with how the season went, other than I wish we could have made a deeper playoff run but it happens.” To start the first round of district playoffs, the Pine Grove Cardinals face off against the Tamaqua Blue Raiders. It was Pine Groves 3rd time playing Tamaqua this season.

Head Coach Frank D’Agastino says, “I think and the rest of the team knows that we didn’t play as well as we could have. First quarter there were nerves which affected our play. In the end, it ends up being a learning experience of knowing how to control those emotions so that the next time we are in that position, We can harness them in a positive way.” 

Kolby Geesey #50 agrees to a certain extent with Coach D’Agastino, “I was nervous during warm-ups but once the tip off happened I felt like it was a normal game. I try not to let the “pressure” get to me and I just try to do what I do. As a team we all believed we had a good chance to win and we were going in determined. We knew if we worked together and trusted each other we would have had a great shot. But the outcome wasn’t as we hoped and we will work harder over the off-season to make next year have the outcome we want.“ 

Geesey ended the game as PGA’s highest scorer on 17 points with 4, 3 pointers. Geesey has been a valuable asset to the team this year being one of the team’s leading scorers at the end of the season.

The Cards started off on the first quarter rough only scoring 11 points compared to Tamaqua’s 29. The 2nd quarter went a little better with Pine Grove out scoring Tamaqua 14 to 9 but Pine Grove Area was still losing 38-25. The third quarter started off with both teams trading buckets, but the quarter ended on a 11-0 run by Tamaqua. At the end of third quarter the score being Tamaqua 63, Pine Grove Area 35. The fourth quarter was more of the same with Pine Grove scoring only 10 points and Tamaqua scoring 16. The game ended with a score of 79-45 Pine Grove lost to Tamaqua. The game ended the season for Pine Grove Area on a 79-45 loss to Tamaqua.