HUNTINGDON — On the far end of Huntingdon’s gym, in large letters over the student section, the wall reads “Welcome to the Jungle.”

For Penn Cambria, by the end of Wednesday’s District 6 Class 4A semifinal game, it probably felt like it was trying to navigate one, to no avail.

After the Panthers tied the contest at 19 in the second quarter, Huntingdon exploded on an 18-2 run to end the half and went on to defeat Penn Cambria, 75-46.

Huntingdon coach Nick Payne gave credit to Penn Cambria, saying that the squad from the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference was a tough one to scout ahead of time.

“They throw many different things at you and I wasn’t sure what to expect,” Payne said. “Normally our strength is our inside game, so hitting those 3-pointers (in the second period) was a little bonus for us.”

Four of the Bearcats’ seven 3-pointers were from three of their seniors in the second quarter. Rece Ritchey hit two for his sixpoints, while Jackson Ritchey and Nick Gearhart each had one.

Jackson Ritchey was the game’s leading scorer with 17 points, Gearhart had 15, and junior Darin Harman chipped in 13.

“Going into the game, we didn’t want to take Penn Cambria lightly,” Jackson Ritchey said. “They were a tough team to scout, but I think we did a good job of looking at their sets and their defenses and we did a good job of preparing for that.”

The win was even more special because the Bearcats have been dominant at home on this run over the past three seasons with a 32-0 record.

“I’m just proud of how these guys have played on our home court,” Payne said. “We haven’t lost a home game in three years, and this is a testament to these seniors. Just an unbelievable record here for these guys. We have the experience. We know what it takes.”

Payne said that the pregame speech was on composure and poise, something the Bearcats seemed to take to heart after Penn Cambria looked to keep it even in the early going.

“When they tied it up at 19, we weren’t rattled,” Payne said. “We just hit our stride and we were able to pull away here and keep putting points on the board and make it a blowout.

“I knew those guys (Penn Cambria) weren’t going to quit,” Payne said. “I’ve watched a couple of games where they were down 20-plus, and they chipped away and got it to single digits. We just had to kind of keep at it and keep the gas pedal down.”

Payne said this was a night where the defense, especially on the glass, really set the tone for the Bearcats, something that had given Huntingdon issues at different points where at other times it has been a strength.

“Tonight was one of those nights where we were able to pull down a lot of defensive rebounds and not give them second-chance opportunities,” Payne said. “I was sometimes a little disappointed with some of the defense. I thought sometimes in the second half we weren’t closing out or we were a little lazy getting to our guys. But that’s the effort it needs to take, and we need to bring this effort on Saturday.”

The Bearcats advanced to Saturday’s District 6 Class 4A championship game at Mount Aloysius College for a rubber match with second-seeded Tyrone, which battled back in the second half to top Central, 48-46. The squads have split the season series, each having won on its home floor.

It wasn’t a surprise for Payne to hear Tyrone had managed to win — he’d picked them to be in this position back before the season ever started.

“At the beginning of the year, they’re who I picked to be there,” Payne said. “And you know, it’s going to be a battle, it always is. It’s going to be fun.”

Jackson Ritchey was equally excited for the opportunity at another title.

“Going for our third-straight district championship, and we get to play the rubber match with Tyrone, so it’s going to be good,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it, and I’m hoping to come out on top.”

Penn Cambria coach Jim Ronan said that the Panthers had plenty of good looks and good shots, but they seemingly couldn’t get anything to fall through the rim.

“Our goal by halftime, we wanted to keep it within striking distance.” Ronan said. “But all of a sudden (our deficit) was up to 16 by halftime. Even if we make three or four of those good looks, it’s a different game.

“But you’ve got to give (Huntingdon) credit. They smelled blood in the water, they took advantage of it, they’re a really good team.”

Ronan spoke at length about the Bearcat zone and how much trouble it gave the Panthers.

“You have to be able to attack it off the dribble a little bit,” Ronan said of Huntingdon. “If you stay outside perimeter and pass it around, that’s when their length really comes into play.

“They were able to get their hands on a lot of those balls and get some easy transition points. One of our main goals was to take away transition. We did really early in the game, but when they got that burst, they got a lot of easy transition.”

PENN CAMBRIA (46): Karabinos 1 0-0 3, Tsikalas 0 1-2 1, McCombie 1 0-0 2, McCarthy 5 1-2 12, Smith 1 0-0 2, O’Donnell 0 0-0 0, Fogel 2 0-0 6, Martynuska 1 1-2 3, Harrold 6 2-2 17. Totals — 17 5-8 46.

HUNTINGDON (75): Cooper 4 1-1 10, Miller 6 0-4 12, J. Ritchey 7 2-4 17, Gearhart 6 1-2 15, Harman 6 0-0 13, R. Ritchey 2 0-0 6, Poorman 1 0-0 2, Jackson 0 0-0 0, Burchfield 0 0-0 0. Totals — 32 4-11 75.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Penn Cambria 11 10 14 11 — 46

Huntingdon 14 23 25 13 — 75

3-point goals: Penn Cambria 7 (Karabinos, Garrett 3, Fogel 2, McCarthy); Huntingdon 7 (Cooper, J. Ritchey, Gearhart 2, Harman, R. Ritchey 2).

Records: Penn Cambria (12-11); Huntingdon (21-2).

Officials: Chris Rickens, Sean Albright, Randy Burkett.