Apparently, there are stiff necks that can leave someone nearly immobile and stiff necks that are little more than a nuisance -- at least for a little while.
Count Matt Gelber among those parked in the latter category.
Having slept wrong a couple of nights back, the solidly built Boiling Springs senior checked into Steel-High's Benkovic Gymnasium a little sore and slightly restricted. Several hours later, Gelber left feeling the same way.
In between?
Well, let's just say the 6-2 forward felt mighty, mighty good while causing plenty of pain for the guys playing at home.
Pass the Advil.
Gelber cranked out a career-high 32 points -- 22 in the second half -- and pulled down 11 rebounds as Boiling Springs upended Steel-High 69-64 in a District 3-AAA surprise Tuesday night at the Roller Pit.
Sam Gelber and Austin Pittenger added 15 points apiece for Pat Dieter's 13th-seeded Bubblers (16-7), who will meet No. 12 Palmyra in Friday's quarterfinal round at Carlisle High School's Gene Evans Gymasium.
Palmyra knocked off No. 5 Gettysburg 66-61.
Dee'quan Fleming banked 16 points and Mark Perry bagged 12 -- Perry also snared nine rebounds -- for a Steel-High program (19-6) that entered the 18-team tournament lugging the No. 4 seed.
Neither team had reached this level since the 2009-2010 campaign.
Only one moved on.
"We knew what people were expecting so we just came in and tried to play as hard as we could," Matt Gelber said. "Came out pretty good.
"Kept momentum the whole way through the game."
And thanks to a remarkably productive third quarter fueled almost exclusively by the Gelber twins -- Matt was 6-for-6 from the floor, while Sam was 5-for-6 -- Dieter's determined Bubblers were able to grab a 45-39 lead.
Most of the damage generated by the Gelbers came on drives to the tin, finishes at the rim set up by slick interior passing, stickbacks and a series of short jumpers. In transition as well as some patient half-court sets.
"We had some nice crisp break situations and some of them involved the twins," Dieter said. "They're seniors. They don't want to go home."
Matt Gelber even buried a trey from the top of the key.
"Matt in the third quarter was just, he was just unbelievable," Dieter said. "I heard the fans calling for walks and all that, but he's been doing that all year -- but not in that large of a spurt where he just took over the game.
"I'm trying to get us to run offense, but he's just taking it and going. So then I started telling our other guys, 'Don't stand and watch him, go to the boards.' In case he misses, we'll be there. But he didn't miss a whole lot."
"We actually noticed after the first half that we were actually boarding pretty well and holding them off the boards," Matt Gelber said.
"We realized that the offense was open and we were just trying to drive through and get some points off free throws and get some buckets."
That cushion heading into the final quarter might have been even larger -- Boiling Springs led by as many as 11 points twice -- but the Rollers' late 5-0 salvo gave them a needed boost and made it a two-possession game.
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Didn't matter.
Although the Rollers sliced their deficit to three down the stretch -- and that happened five times -- Boiling Springs never caved.
Not even the Roller Pit's famed rhythmic clap fazed the Bubblers.
Seems Dieter had tried to convince his club not to be freaked out by Steel-High's hoop mystique. Obviously, that worked.
"Steel-High's been a great basketball program for years and years -- and they will continue to be," Dieter said. "That group of kids right there are gonna be so good. They keep at it, those young guys, they're gonna be really, really good."
Dieter also stitched in some timely stat numbers, reminding his Bubblers that they lived in the Capital Division prior to this season and were a perfect 5-0 against teams housed in that eight-team circuit.
Obviously, that worked as well since the Bubblers are 6-0 against teams from the Mid-Penn's Capital Division.
So each time Steel-High managed to close within three points -- from the midway point of the fourth quarter on -- the Bubblers answered with a hoop or free throws. Boiling Springs, in fact, canned 14 of its 17 late freebies.
Pittenger was particularly effective -- Pittenger also did much of Boiling Springs' ballhandling against Steel-High's pressure -- going 7-for-8.
"We trust him every time we come up the floor with the ball," Matt Gelber said. "He's good. In practice, with pressure, we have guys going after him pretty hard and he's goes after them. So, he's used to it.
"He's scrappy. He's small," Matt Gelber added. "He's tough, so we like him bringing up the ball for us."
And at the line.
"Oh, yeah," Matt Gelber said. "He came up big."
"That's huge."
Matt Gelber and B.J. McHenry also pitched in, each converting three attempts.
And when McHenry canned a pair with 8.3 seconds to go, upping the Bubblers' lead to five (69-64), Steel-High was pretty much done.
Moments later, a terrific season ended.
CLICK HERE TO SEE A PHOTO GALLERY FROM VICKI VELLIOS BRINER
For whatever reason, the Mid-Penn Capital Division co-champs were off a tick or two all game long. And, as a result, the Rollers paid the ultimate price.
Playing too fast, even for a fast-paced Steel-High squad.
Committing unforced errors.
Accruing fouls much too quickly.
Not displaying the confidence normally seen from Steel-High sides.
"There's nothing we can pinpoint," Hawthorne said. "I think a lot of it has to do with our guys' -- I don't want to call them young -- inexperience.
"It's the first time any of our guys have been to the playoffs. I think that got to them a little bit. I think today, guys just played ... played nervous. We played nervous, we played not to lose. We didn't play to win."
While the Bubblers had problems gaining traction in the first half, the Rollers were piling up 15 of their 23 turnovers. Plus, Perry was assessed his second foul with 3:30 gone, earning a seat next to assistant Tristan Crawford.
"It's crucial," Hawthorne said of losing Perry early in the first half. "Especially with all the adversity we went through all year, missing a few guys.
"It's big. It's big," Hawthorne added. "Just another offensive threat out there that we could have definitely used."
Regardless, the Rollers sported a 23-22 lead at the break.
But something settled Dieter's ballclub during that 10-minute respite. And when Sam Gelber stuck a short turnaround jumper off a McHenry dish with just under five minutes to play in the third, the Bubblers led 28-27.
They never trailed again.
Able to take advantage of the space they found in Steel-High's man defense, the Gelbers attacked. Not only did they attack when the Bubblers' solved the Rollers' pressure, but they attacked in the half-court as well.
Everything was falling.
Even Matt Gelber's trey.
"He's a senior," Dieter said.
"And the bottom line is seniors just don't want to go home."
Plus, Boiling Springs' confidence was brimming. Meanwhile, on the other bench, the Rollers kept searching and searching for the right combination to complement the hard-working Perry inside and the slippery Fleming.
They never quite found it.
While Sam Gelber and fouls limited Perry's productivity and minutes -- the 6-2 senior, who didn't hoist a first-half shot attempt, finished 4-for-6 from the floor -- Fleming had to work for all 16 of his points.
"My brother's a tough defender, so we knew he'd give him some trouble coming in," Matt Gelber said. "I was happy to have him on him.
"It definitely helped that he had the two fouls in the first half, but other than that we were happy with Sam on him."
"Keeping Fleming out of the lane is so big," Dieter said. "I saw what he did against Township [Susquehanna Twp. in the Mid-Penn semis]."
The Bubblers also did a good job protecting the arc, pushing out on shooters and contesting looks. While Rameik James pocketed three treys for Steel-High -- in eight pops -- the other Rollers were 0-for-9.
"I tip my hat to Boiling Springs," Hawthorne said. "They came out here and they played hard. And I explained to my guys that at playoff time, it comes down to no more Xs and Os, just who wants it more.
"And today, those guys wanted it more. They wanted it more," Hawthorne said. "They outbattled us. Every 50-50 ball, they weren't afraid to go get it. Our guys were a little timid tonight."
As a result, Steel-High is moving out and the Bubblers are moving on.
"I think tonight proved a lot," Matt Gelber said. "That we can get after it."
Stiff neck or not.
Another Advil please.
MICHAEL BULLOCK: mbullock@pennlive.com
BULLOCK ON TWITTER: @thebullp_n