RIMERSBURG— Eight players scored in double figures, seven sank 3-pointers and the score was even through three quarters.

Welcome to Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference basketball.

"Our league is so balanced this year,"said Union boys coach Karen Davis. "Look in the newspaper. ... There's already been a lot of close games and there's probably going to be a lot more.

"We might as well get used to this now."

Golden Knight guards Nate Boltz and Spencer Varner combined to sink 7-of-8 free throws in the fourth quarter as Union (3-1) got past Karns City, 63-55, Friday night.

The Gremlins (3-1) failed to make a field goal in the final 6 minutes and 40 seconds. They sank 1-of-15 shots from the floor in the fourth quarter and shot 28 percent (19 of 67) for the game.

"The only excuse we can give for losing this game is we didn't put the ball in the basket,"Karns City coach Steve Andreassi said.

Union put the ball in the basket early and often, hitting 10 of its first 14 shots, including four treys, to assume a 24-14 lead with 6:30 left in the first half.

It would be the Knights' biggest lead of the night.

Sparked by offensive rebounds and stickbacks by Cameron Turner and Mike Senopole, a 10-point run quickly pulled the Gremlins even. Karns City trailed by one (30-29) at halftime.

"We had 16 offensive rebounds in the first half and only scored 29 points,"Andreassi said. "Obviously, we didn't stick very many of them back in."

The game stayed close throughout the third quarter and the teams were tied at 44 going into the fourth.

Union led 50-49 with 4:51 remaining before going on an 8-0 run in the next two minutes to take control. Varner had a layup off an assist from center Gary Cooper to begin the run. Varner sank two free throws and Cooper added two layups of his own to seal the deal.

"At halftime, one of my kids was upset we gave up that 10-point lead," Davis said. "Basketball is a game of momentum. You score a few, they score a few.

"We gave up a lot of shots, but the key is getting hands in their faces. We did a good job of that tonight."

Varner led the Knights with 22 points, six rebounds and three steals. Cooper had 12 points and nine rebounds, A.J. Etheridge had 11 points and eight boards, and Boltz had 11 points and seven assists.

Karns City had a 42-37 edge in rebounds and forced 23 turnovers to its own 18.

"When you outrebound your opponent and win the turnover battle, you're supposed to win the game,"Andreassi said. "We didn't finish plays."

"We had some turnovers, but we did a better job of controlling the ball down the stretch than we've been doing,"Davis said.

Senopole paced the Gremlins with 16 points and nine rebounds. Turner had 16 points and six boards, Mike McConnell 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Kevin Black had 11 points and eight boards.

A playoff atmosphere in early December?Andreassi will take it.

"If you don't play in atmosphere like this, you don't learn,"he said. "We've only been together for two weeks, but we did some coming together tonight."

KARNSCITY55Mike Senopole 5-17 4-5 16, Mike McConnell 3-15 5-7 12, Cameron Turner 5-10 2-6 13, Matt McConnell 1-7 0-0 2, Chris Harmon 0-0 0-0 0, Kody Craig 0-3 0-0 0, Trevor Williams 0-2 1-2 1, Dan Everetts 0-0 0-0 0, Kevin Black 5-13 0-0 11. Totals: 19-67 12-20 55

UNION63Nate Boltz 3-8 4-5 11, Gary Cooper 5-9 2-2 12, A.J. Etheridge 5-8 1-2 11, Chase Stewart 0-1 0-0 0, Neil Scott 0-2 0-0 0, Colby Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Scott Booth 2-2 2-2 7, Spencer Varner 8-17 4-6 22. Totals: 23-47 13-18 63

Karns City 12 17 15 11—55Union 19 11 14 19—633-point goals: Senopole 2, Mi. McConnell, Turner, Black; Boltz, Booth, Varner 2

JV: Union, 53-27 (U-Neil Scott 17, KC-Cody Williams 8, Jon Burns 8

Tuesday: Karns City atFord City; Clarion atUnion