COAL TOWNSHIP - Jersey Shore brought a ton of credibility into Tuesday night's Heartland I matchup with Shamokin Area.
A win over highly regarded Loyalsock Township - on the Lancers' home floor, no less - and an unblemished, albeit very early-season, record will do that for you.
In the eyes of many, the Bulldogs present the biggest potential stumbling block to the Indians in their quest to defend the HAC-I title they won last year.
Give Round 1 to Shamokin.
With a stifling, almost choking, defense and an offense sparked on this night by Isaiah Reiprich, the Indians held serve in the showdown on their home court.
"It's a big win," Shamokin coach Chris Zimmerman said. "It's at home. You have to hold serve.
"It's a big league game, and we're kind of getting a little bit of a rivalry going with them."
Reiprich, a lanky guard equally adept at shooting from the outside or slashing to the hoop, was the catalyst for Shamokin. He finished with 23 points, 18 coming in the second half, including two treys and a layup that were part of an 11-0 Indians' run early in the second half that pushed a 7-point margin to double digits at 18.
From that point on, Shamokin never looked back.
"We have probably six guys who are capable of scoring like that," Zimmerman said. "The other night, it was Ryan (Sebasovich, who scored 24 in a win over Selinsgrove.) Tonight, it was Isaiah."
Jake Weaver, the Indians' point guard, also had a big night, scoring in double digits with 11 points, and contributing mightily to the defensive havoc that forced a pretty good Bulldogs' team into 22 turnovers.
"We feel defensively like we can do that," Zimmerman said. "I feel like we're quick and athletic and long.
"We might not have the 6-5, 6-6 kids, but we have kids who have long arms and long legs. And they're relentless. We talk about playing angry on defense."
It was a defensive effort that took its toll on Jersey Shore, too. No Bulldogs hit double digits. Brody Smith, with eight points, was the closest.
After that, reserves Nate Bischoff and Clay Newton were able to add six apiece.
Game Summary
JERSEY SHORE (38) - Huling 1 2-2 5, Butzler 0 1-2 1, Haines 1 0-0 2, Smith 4 0-1 8, Miller 2 1-1 5, Bischoff 3 0-1 6, Jenkins 0 0-1 0, Fulkrod 1 0-0 3, Newton 3 0-0 6, Brughter 0 2-2 2. Totals 15 6-10 37.
SHAMOKIN (55) - Sebasovich 2 2-2 6, DiRienzo 3 0-0 6, Reiprich 9 2-2 23, Weaver 5 0-0 11, Moyer 1 0-0 2, Zablosky 1 0-0 2, F. Taylor 2 1-1 5, Munson 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 5-5 55.
3-point field goals: Huling, Fulkrod, Reiprich 3, Weaver.