RIMERSBURG — Trailing by 10 with three minutes left in the third quarter, Karns City was staring at the end of its season.

The Gremlins stared back.

“We're a resilient bunch,” senior guard Austin Fahlor said, grinning.

KC (16-7) answered the deficit with a 10-0 run to pull even early in the final quarter. They then used a 30-point fourth period to run off with a 69-57 District 9 Class 2A boys basketball quarterfinal victory over Redbank Valley Tuesday night at Union High School.

“We switched defenses when we fell behind by 10, got a few turnovers against them and worked our way back into the game,” Karns City coach Chris Bellis said.

Redbank Valley (13-10) turned the ball over only six times all night, but three of those miscues occurred in the final quarter. The Gremlins badly out-rebounded the Bulldogs in the final frame as well.

At one point in the fourth, Karns City missed consecutive free throws, grabbed the offensive rebound both times and wound up with points.

“They're a good team and they got us tonight,” Redbank Valley coach Emmanual Marshall said. “They took the game in the fourth quarter.”

Fahlor sank a trey and a layup during the Gremlins' 10-0 run that tied the game. He scored 15 of his team-leading 24 points in the second half, adding nine rebounds and a pair of steals to his night's work.

“Austin is a senior leader and he showed it tonight,” Bellis said.

Redbank Valley's last lead of the night was with 7:05 left in the game as Declan Fricko sank an 8-footer for a 43-41 edge.

That's when KC sophomore center Nathan Waltman made his presence felt. After going scoreless while playing in foul trouble in the first half, Waltman stuck back an offensive rebound and sank a layup for a 45-43 KC lead with 6:14 to play.

The Gremlins never trailed again.

“He was the best player on the floor in the second half,” Fahlor said of Waltman.

Waltman scored 16 points and had eight rebounds. He scored 14 of his 16 in the fourth quarter, including four free throws in the final 30 seconds to help salt the game away.

“The first half was frustrating for me,” Waltman admitted. “I wanted to come out in the second half and just help my team.

“We took care of the ball a lot better in the second half.”

Bellis said “we got Nathan some touches in the second quarter to keep him involved in the game. I think that helped.

“He took over inside late. And Erik Pfeifer had an outstanding game on the boards for us.”

The Gremlins wound up with a 52-31 rebounding advantage. Pfeifer had 15 boards while Chase Beighley contributed 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Ethan McElroy had six rebounds.

“Just a good team win — everybody had a part in it,” Bellis said.

Karns City and Redbank Valley split their two regular season meetings. The Gremlins had 17 turnovers in the first three quarters Tuesday, only one in the fourth.

The Bulldogs could not take advantage of the early KC mistakes. Redbank Valley sank just 25 of 76 shots from the field and were three of 10 at the foul line.

“We had a cold shooting night and it killed us,” Marshall said. “Our leading scorer (Nick Smith at 15 ppg.) had just two points. It just didn't go our way.”

Chris Marshall paced Redbank with 27 points. Bryson Bain had 14 points and eight rebounds.

The score was tied seven times and the lead changed hands on five occasions before the Gremlins took control in the fourth quarter.

KC did not get a double-digit lead until two McElroy free throws gave the Gremlins a 63-53 edge with 46 seconds left.

REDBANK VALLEY 57

Keaton Kahle 4-11 0-0 8, Nick Smith 1-11 0-0 2, Chris Marshall 11-24 3-8 27, Declan Fricko 1-4 0-0 2, Bryson Bain 6-18 0-0 14, Tanner Kerle 1-6 0-0 2, Logan Wadding 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 25-76 3-10 57.

KARNS CITY 69

Erik Pfeifer 3-7 1-2 7, Chase Beighley 2-8 11-16 15, Ethan McElroy 2-9 2-2 7, Austin Fahlor 9-12 4-8 24, Nathan Waltman 6-10 4-4 16, Josh Wimer 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 22-47 22-32 69.

Redbank Valley 8 15 18 16 — 57

Karns City6 17 16 30 — 69

3-point goals: Mrshall 2, Bain 2; McElroy, Fahlor 2

Next: Karns City vs. Brockway, District 9 2A semifinals, TBA