Altoona Area High School boys basketball coach Doug Pfeffer has been stressing the importance to his players of keeping their feet on the gas pedal for all four quarters in every game.

That was an issue again for the Mountain Lions Friday night at the Altoona Area High School Fieldhouse, as Altoona played an outstanding first half and led by six points at intermission, only to watch Central Dauphin East come out of the locker room and rule the third quarter, riding a 22-4 run to an 86-67 Mid-Penn Conference victory.

Central Dauphin, which improved to 8-5 overall and 5-4 in conference play, outscored the Mountain Lions, 32-15 in the third quarter to take over the game after Altoona (3-11, 2-7) had built a 40-34 halftime lead.

“You can’t give up 32 points in a quarter,” Pfeffer said. “You’re not going to beat anybody when you give up 32 in a quarter.

“Our kids play hard and they never quit, but we need to find that consistency,” Pfeffer added. “We put two good quarters together tonight, but I’m stressing that we play with that type of consistency for a full 32 minutes each game. We’re trying to get to the point where we’re regularly finishing games.”

Friday’s game turned around in the first four minutes of the third quarter, as junior guard Jason Kinard scored nine of his 21 points and senior guard Alijah Cooper scored eight of his game-high 23 in the period for CD East.

The second of two buckets by Altoona junior Cody Chathams early in the third period left Altoona with a 44-38 lead, but that’s where the fun ended for the Mountain Lions, as CD East capitalized on steals and Altoona turnovers to reel off 18 straight points and go ahead, 56-44.

Cooper’s field goal started the surge, senior forward Darign Williams hit two free throws, and Kinard converted a steal in the paint into a short-range bucket that tied the score at 44-44.

CD kept things rolling on successive 3-pointers from the right corner by Kinard and senior forward Mason Coleman-Cobb to open up a 50-44 lead.

A fastbreak layup by sophomore guard Amryn Chase, two free throws by Kinard after Altoona was hit with an intentional foul call, and a putback by Williams gave CD East its 56-44 cushion with 3:53 left in the third quarter.

“Our guys brought out the intensity to start the second half,” CD East coach Ryan Hill said. “(Altoona) had us spread out defensively in the first half, but we emphasized the help side defensively in the second half.

“(Altoona) handled our pressure very well and made some shots in the first half, but we played with a lot more passion in the second half,” Hill added.

That intensity helped CD East place a stronghold on the scoreboard.

“They’re a very good basketball team,” Pfeffer said of CD East, which defeated the Mountain Lions, 64-56 in Harrisburg in mid-December. “Cooper is one of the best basketball players in the league, and they also have other good players around him. They’re a well-coached team, and they took control of the game in the third quarter.”

CD East placed four players in double figures. Along with Cooper’s 23 and Kinard’s 21, Coleman-Cobb chipped in 16 and Amryn Chase added 13.

“We’ve had that kind of scoring balance in all of our best games this year,” Hill said.

Altoona senior forward Elliot McCloskey — who drew praise from Hill — led the Mountain Lions with 20 points, and showed good inside-out form, while hitting a pair of 3-pointers. Senior guard Chris Wagner added 17 points for the Mountain Lions, who battled back from an early deficit to build their biggest lead of the night, 36-27, late in the second quarter.

“Our kids work their tails off, and that’s all that we can ask of them,” said Pfeffer, whose team travels to Carlisle Wednesday night for another conference game. “We have some winnable games ahead in our schedule, if we play 32 full minutes of basketball in those games.”

CENTRAL DAUPHIN EAST (86): Am. Chase 5 2-3 13, A. Cooper 9 4-5 23, Kinard 8 4-5 21, Coleman-Cobb 6 2-2 16, Williams 1 2-2 4, Ant. Chase 1 0-0 2, Moore 2 1-2 5, Z. Cooper 0 0-0 0, Miller 1 0-0 2, Sok 0 0-2 0, Venable-Cooper 0 0-0 0, Z. Cooper 0 0-0 0. Totals – 33 15-21 86.

ALTOONA (67): Wagner 6 4-5 17, Pfeffer 4 0-0 9, Shields 1 0-0 2, Chathams 3 0-0 6, McCloskey 9 0-0 20, Cochran 0 0-2 0, E. Hicks 3 0-0 7, D. Hicks 2 1-1 6, Wuckovich 0 0-0 0. Totals -28 5-8 67.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Central Dauphin East 15 19 32 20 — 86

Altoona 17 23 15 12 — 67

3-point goals: Central Dauphin East 5 (Coleman-Cobb, Am. Chase, A. Cooper, Kinard); Altoona 6 (McCloskey 2, E. Hicks, Wagner, D. Hicks, Pfeffer).

Records: Central Dauphin East (8-5 overall, 5-4 in the Mid-Penn Conference); Altoona (3-11, 2-7).

Officials: Mike Andrews, Derrick Soellner, Tom Fountaine.

JV: Altoona, 47-43. Alex Bandt and Zecall Cooper, CDE, 13 apiece; Coen Cochran, A, 15.