The Mathews High School boys’ varsity basketball team, dubbed the “Cardiac Kids” by assistant coach C.K. Ambrose, lived to fight another day as they pulled an amazing comeback victory Monday night against the visiting Westmoreland Eagles in the Region 1A quarterfinal game.
Trailing for much of the game, the MHS boys mounted a second-half rally to win, 57-54. With the win, the Blue Devils advanced to Wednesday’s regional semifinal game at Northumberland, with the winner of that contest playing for the regional title on Friday.
Both teams played strong defense in the opening minutes as the game remained scoreless for a majority of the first quarter. The Eagles would strike first as Mathews fell behind as the game started to gain momentum. While Mathews played strong defense in the first quarter, their offense was non-existent as they failed to find a rhythm. Mathews trailed by 7 points, 13-6, as the first quarter concluded.
Mathews slowly closed the lead as the defense stood strong, lead...