The Altoona boys basketball team ended the regular season in a tough way on Wednesday evening as it allowed a dozen Cumberland Valley 3-pointers in a 73-52 loss to the Eagles at the Fieldhouse.

Although the Mountain Lions clawed their way back into the game in the second half with a 19-11 advantage in the third quarter, the deficit was already too great as Altoona trailed 45-22 at halftime.

“It sounds like a broken record with us, but our kids, they don’t quit,” Altoona coach Doug Pfeffer said. “The effort is always there. Execution isn’t always there, but I can’t fault the effort. They come every day to work, and they stay in games.

“It’s a difficult conference, and (Cumberland Valley) is so well-coached. It’s a tough matchup, and they shot the ball extremely well tonight. It was tough to defend.”

The Eagles (15-7) made life difficult right away for Altoona as they dropped half of their 12 treys in the first quarter alone. They hit nine in the first half on their way to a 23-point lead at the half.

“I think some of it was we knew they would come out in zone, and we spent a lot of time getting to our spots and getting that ball movement,” Cumberland Valley coach David Vespignani said. “We got those high-post catches and kicked it back out, and those are just practice shots our kids have the ability to make.

“We hit nine in the first half and the kids were feeling it. It’s so contagious. One kid hits one, two kids hit one and guys start feeling good about themselves. I was proud of our kids for being able to do that.”

The fight was evident with the Mountain Lions (5-17) as they trimmed the 23-point halftime deficit to 12 late in the third quarter. A Malikai Shields layup capped a 14-2 run that also saw Chris Wagner and Shields hit threes.

Cumberland Valley stopped the run with a Jenner Comstock 3-pointer, and the Eagles led 56-41 after the third quarter.

The Eagles worked the lead back up to 20 points in the middle of the fourth quarter before CV began to empty its bench.

Patrick O’Brien led Cumberland Valley with 19 points, including five buckets from long distance. Elijah Welsh (17), Sam Parsons (12), and Aiden Diehl (11) also scored in double figures.

Wagner had 11 points to pace the Mountain Lions, and Shields pitched in 10 points.

Pfeffer confirmed after the game that the Mountain Lions will enter the District 6 Class 6A playoffs. Altoona will likely play Mifflin County in a semifinal game with the winner taking on State College in the three-team field.

“Right now we’re 0-0, and hopefully we get two wins and have a district championship,” Pfeffer said.

CUMBERLAND VALLEY (73): Wolfe 2 0-0 5, O’Brien 7 0-0 19, Welsh 7 1-2 17, Diehl 4 0-0 11, Parsons 6 0-2 12, Comstock 1 0-0 3, Scott 1 0-0 2, Jimenez 0 0-0 0, Shah 0 0-0 0, Duppstadt 1 0-0 2, Wilcher 0 0-0 0, Lydzinski 0 0-0 0, Santiago 1 0-0 2, Lang 0 0-0 0, Burkholder 0 0-0 0. Totals — 30 1-4 73.

ALTOONA (52): Shields 4 0-0 10, Wagner 5 0-0 11, Chathams 0 1-2 1, Pfeffer 1 0-0 2, McCloskey 3 1-2 7, E. Hicks 3 0-0 8, D. Hicks 0 1-2 1, Cochran 1 0-0 3, Helsel 4 1-1 9, Wuckovich 0 0-0 0, Coldwell 0 0-0 0. Totals — 21 4-7 52.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Cumberland Valley 24 21 11 17 — 73

Altoona 12 10 19 11 — 52

3-point goals: Cumberland Valley 12 (Wolfe, O’Brien 5, Welsh 2, Diehl 3, Comstock); Altoona 6 (Shields 2, Wagner, E. Hicks 2, Cochran).

Records: Cumberland Valley (15-7); Altoona (5-17).

JV: Cumberland Valley, 40-32. High scorers–Duppstadt, CV, 11; Cochran, A, 21.

Officials: Mike Andrews, Chris Rickens, Denny Detwiler