WILLIAMSBURG — In a third-place District 6 Class 1A boys basketball consolation game with its season on the line Wednesday night, the Williamsburg Blue Pirates battled for four quarters, but couldn’t quite come up with the knockout punch against Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy.

The Blue Pirates, who entered the tournament as its top seed, overcame a seven-point third-quarter deficit to tie the score in the fourth quarter, before third-seeded Saint Joseph’s finished in a frenzy, using pressure defense and multiple steals to score the game’s final 10 points and record a 58-46 victory at the Williamsburg High School gymnasium.

The loss ended an 18-7 season for Williamsburg, which will lose seven senior players to graduation. Saint Joseph’s (16-10) advances to meet Shanksville-Shade of District 5 in a PIAA tournament play-in game Saturday at 1 p.m. at Central Cambria.

“I’m proud of our guys for fighting back and continuing to throw punches tonight,” Williamsburg coach Jeff Detwiler said. “I felt like we were battling the whole game, and we kept it close, but we just couldn’t take control of the game.”

A steal and layup by sophomore guard Konner Harker pulled Williamsburg to within two points, 48-46 with about two minutes left, but then the roof fell in on the Blue Pirates.

Junior guard Eric Bowen, who led Saint Joseph’s with 17 points, got free inside and dropped in a field goal before coming up with a steal and layup to give the Wolfpack a 52-46 lead with 1:30 left.

Another steal and layup by sophomore Zach Cadman, combined with one of two free throws from both freshman Isaiah Crispin and junior Caleb Foytack, and an inside bucket by Cadman, helped Saint Joe’s close with a flourish.

“After we cut the lead to two points, they got four quick baskets,” Detwiler said. “It went from a two-point to a six-point game real quick.”

Crispin — the son of former NBA veteran and Penn State standout Joe Crispin, who is now a member of the Penn State men’s basketball coaching staff — scored 16 points, including four 3-pointers, while Cadman finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, second behind the game-high 10 in that category that was accomplished by both Foytack and Williamsburg junior standout Ethan Reffner, who also scored a game-high 21 points.

Saint Joe’s coach Ethan Khoza appreciated his team’s hustle.

“Our guys did a great job of playing 32 minutes tonight,” said Khoza, whose team made nine 3-point shots. “We have some guys who can really shoot it, and we did a much better job in the second half of getting into the paint and getting balance in our game, which led to some better 3-point shots.

“We played with a lot of energy tonight, especially later in the fourth quarter,” Khoza said. “You have to create your own energy, especially in a road environment like this.”

Senior Ty Uplinger, who scored 10 points, tied the game for Williamsburg, 40-40 with a reverse layup early in the fourth quarter. Detwiler said that Uplinger and Williamsburg’s other seniors – Dayne Mock, Preston Isenberg, Evan Becker, Evan Zehner, Zack Merritts, and Ryland Corl — all made contributions and will be missed next year.

“The seven seniors meant so much to the program, and set the standard for our younger guys,” Detwiler said.

SAINT JOSEPH’S ACADEMY (58): Bowen 7 0-0 16, Crispin 5 3-4 17, Luckovich 2 1-1 5, Foytack 1 1-2 3, Cadman 5 0-0 12, Leskowicz 0 0-0 0, Pencek 2 0-0 5. Totals – 22 5-7 58.

WILLIAMSBURG (46): P. Isenberg 1 0-0 2, Reffner 8 2-5 21, Harker 2 0-0 4, Uplinger 4 0-0 10, Mock 2 0-2 5, Becker 1 2-3 4. Totals – 18 4-10 46.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Saint Joseph’s 13 9 18 18 — 58

Williamsburg 10 8 17 11– 46

3-point goals: Saint Joseph’s 9 (Crispin 4, Bowen 2, Cadman 2, Luckovch); Williamsburg 6 (Reffner 3, Uplinger 2, Mock).

Records: Saint Joseph’s (16-10); Williamsburg (18-7).

Officials: Dan Gales, Justin Fraker, Lynn Smith.