WHITEHALL TWP. — If this game was meant to be a warmup for Archbishop Carroll, suffice it to say it worked.

The Patriots, perhaps casting an eye down bracket lane toward a familiar name, first had to warm to the challenge Tuesday night from a one-loss team in Shamokin.

Speed, size and cityball experience were on Carroll’s size. Only the mental hurdles remained to be cleared.

“We weren’t concentrating,” Patriots guard Juan’ya Green would say later. “We weren’t keeping the pressure up. … We weren’t containing them and we weren’t making shots.”

That was an honest assessment from Carroll’s multi-talented sophomore, but maybe it was easier for him to speak the truth in the aftermath of a 62-51 Patriots victory over Shamokin at Parkland High.

With this hard-earned pass into the PIAA Class AAA quarterfinals, Carroll did its part for a showdown with fellow Philadelphia Catholic League nemesis Neumann-Goretti, which has already taken down the Patriots twice and still enjoys national-level ranking recognition.

Of course, all that matters is what plays out for real.

“We want them,” Patriots guard D.J. Irving said of those wascally Pirates. “Third time’s the charm.”

Despite going on a 15-2 run after Shamokin opened the game with a layup, Carroll’s path to the quarterfinals wouldn’t exactly be charmed. Green’s admission of a loss of concentration characterized a second quarter that beheld the Patriots melting down and giving up their 15-4 first quarter lead.

Carroll missed shots from everywhere, but mostly from in tight. The Patriots also lost their defensive focus, allowing a bang-it-inside Indians offense room to grow along the baseline and in the lane.

What first appeared to be a likely blowout in the Patriots’ favor turned into a three-point Patriots lead at halftime. And that was only because Carroll awoke late from a second-quarter slumber that saw it go scoreless for the first 5:15 of that second quarter.

“I would have liked more of those easy ones to drop, for sure,” Carroll coach Paul Romanczuk said. “Maybe some nerves played into it early on or whatever.”

If that was so, then it was the Patriots’ heads that played into what happened afterward. They started to heat up for this game and warm to what before this game still seemed an unfamiliar postseason challenge.

With center Kasheef Festus (seven points, 10 rebounds) finding foul trouble, it was Green who started cranking up the pace for Carroll. Before then, Shamokin took the lead on a pair of foul shots by Shephen Carsto (team-high 16 points) at 29-28.

But Green (16 points) hit a 12-footer off the dribble, hit a couple of foul shots, and then looked on as senior Andre Wilburn hit a bucket and set up Ben Mingledough (11 points) for an easy one that gave Carroll a 36-31 lead.

Mingledough hit two more field goals, Irving (15 points) scored off a fast break, then as the third quarter buzzer was sounding, a Shamokin turnover wound up in Green’s hands, and he threw up a three that hit all net as the buzzer sounded for a 45-31 lead.

“I don’t know if we’ve had a worst eight-minute stretch than that second quarter and, looking back, I don’t know if we’ve had a better run than that third quarter,” Romanczuk said. “But basketball is a game of runs and you want to be the team that makes that last strong push.”

When Carroll did just that, it did it hot, heavy and fast. The game was over except for the fourth-quarter cruise, which was reserved for a growing sense of understanding for a Carroll team just getting used to this postseason environment.

“At times I was wondering before the states the level of importance for them,” Romanczuk said. “It was almost like we had to warm up to it. But now, after watching my team play; how intense they played this second half, there’s no doubt they’ve warmed up to continuing the season and playing hard and enjoying this state playoff experience.”

It just took a while. … And a nice slap from Shamokin.

“I think it’s a lot more fun here,” Irving said. “The atmosphere is way better in this PIAA tournament. So we have to get adjusted … well, I think we’re adjusted to it now.”