Mirror photo by Chuck Myers Sam Cleary tackles PC defender Gavin Harrold’s dribble.
Written by Nate Ritchie
nritchey@altoonamirror.com
TYRONE — The Tyrone boys basketball team has gotten off to a great start through the first month of the season, winning its first five games before this weekend’s tournament by an average margin of just under 31 points per game.
Friday night’s 29-point win over Claysburg Kimmel didn’t do much to change that average, but Saturday’s Fred B. Miller Memorial Holiday Basketball Tournament championship game against Penn Cambria did more. It is thought that it was a close battle.
The Golden Eagles had a different plan, and it showed from the get-go as the hosts leapfrogged the Panthers.
Tyrone used 13 unanswered point runs in the first quarter alone to win 77-43 and grab a 22-point cushion en route to a 34-point deficit.
With this win, the Eagles remain undefeated at 7-0.
Tyrone coach Luke Rose said: “I’m really happy with the players. I’m really happy with how they work every day in practice and how they push each other to get better and how they push each other to build up each other.” “There is,” he said. “January is a very tough month, so we want to build on this.”
PC’s Isaac Strittmatter made a layup just 19 seconds into the game, giving his team its only lead of the night.
Tyrone’s Kendall Lehner started the first spurt by making the first of three Eagle putbacks.
“Our coaches have done a great job of making that (offensive rebounding) our focus,” Lehner said. “Last year we struggled and weren’t very good. That’s what we’re going to focus on this year. So if we can get those offensive rebounds and putbacks, we can build a lead.”
During this period, Lehner and Andrew Escala, members of the all-tournament team, scored all 13 points and grabbed four rebounds each.
“We like to get hot, take big shots down low and get rebounds,” Escala said. “We’re going to play fast and try to finish it in the first quarter.”
Escala, who made 5 of 13, grabbed a rebound of his own and tucked it in at 6:41, giving Tyrone a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
Lehner, who tied Escala for game-high honors with 16 points, scored three straight points inside, and Escala sank a 3-pointer at 4:44 to cap the spurt and make the score 13-2.
“We talked about energy and coming out every game and playing with that energy,” Rose said. “The good thing is we started to focus inside. I think they (Escala and Lehner) got up quickly and bounced the ball back.” That’s what they wanted to follow today. ”
The Panthers (3-4) won 9-5, with Brady Jones coming off the bench and making a trey with 2:33 left, making the game 18-9.
Tyrone’s Eli Woomer, who finished with 13 points, knocked down the first of his three from deep and exploded for a 13-0 run on the second.
“I was really pleased with the intensity with which our players really focused,” Rose said. “…I have to give credit to the guys for the way they passed the ball on those early runs. I was really happy with how we found open guys, made the extra passes and really attacked from inside and out. Sometimes I settle for an outside shot, but early in the game I thought I was going to go inside, but the outside shot widened.”
Escala connected on five more points, Woomer scored again, Trent Adams made a free throw and Ashton Emmi beat the first quarter buzzer to give the Golden Eagles a 31-9 lead.
“I’ve been playing with these boys basically my whole life,” Escala said. “We know each other so well that we are always thinking about each other.”
Tyrone capitalized on a 7-0 run to start the second quarter of a 13-game series, pushing the lead to 38-9 after the first period.
“They (Tyrone) were the much better team tonight,” Penn Cambria coach Jim Ronan said. “They were hungry. These two schools play football and basketball. Long-time rivalry. We talked about it, and they (Tirone) came in with Edge and Chip. They had a big chip on their shoulder. They executed it, their game plan. Their energy was through the roof and they were going to destroy us, and that’s what happened. is.”
PC’s Kayden Gibbons ended the spurt with a driving layup at 4:53, but tournament MVP Sam Cleary was quick in transition and scored 13 points, even though it was midway through the second quarter. The score was 41-11, giving the Eagles a 30-point lead. .
An old-fashioned 3-point play by the Panthers’ Brandon Lavish, who was named to the All-Tournament team after leading the team with 14 points, led the team to a narrow 7-5 scoring lead over the next three minutes as PC. I was able to produce it. He started to show some fight.
After a baseline driving layup from Penn Cambria’s Jace Davison ended that mini-run to make the score 47-18, Tyrone ended the first half with six straight points from Landon Hamer. It allowed the Golden Eagles to spread the game wide open early.
Defensively, Hammer grabbed the rebound, kicked it toward a teammate, and immediately sprinted right to the opposite rim to receive the pass.
In addition to scoring eight points, the senior had a team-high eight rebounds, easily catching the ball and making a layup at the buzzer to lead the Eagles to half-up, 53-18.
“We’re really focusing on big size because we want them to run rim-to-rim,” Rose said. “We talk about it, but he (Hammer) did a great job of getting rebounds, creating good outlets, flowing out there and making catches and finishing.”
With Mercy Rule’s running clock in effect throughout the second half, Tyrone took advantage of a 14-12 scoring advantage in the third and took a 67-30 lead in the fourth.
With the bench empty for the final game, Penn Cambria won the quarter by a 13-10 margin, setting up the final game.
“If you’re down 30 points at that point, it just doesn’t mean anything,” Ronan said. “We played a lot harder in the second half.”
In the repechage, Claysburg-Kimmel defeated Bellwood-Antis 60-57, led by Brayden Haney with 20 points, Gavin Torreon with 17 points and Christian Torreon with 12 points. The Bulldogs (2-7) trailed 18-8 after the first quarter.
BA (0-6) was led by Jackson Dorminy’s 21 points and Holden Schreier’s 15 points.
championship
Penn Cambria (43): Lilly 1 4-6 6, Gibbons 1 2-2 4, Lavish 5 4-4 14, Strittmatter 3 0-0 6, Harold 1 0-0 3, Farabaugh 1 0-0 2 , Jones 1 0-0 3, Nadolski 1 1-1 3, Marshall 0 0-0 0, Davison 1 0-0 2, Mallory 0 0-0 0, Himer 0 0-2 0, Price 0 0-0 0. Total: 15 11-15 43.
Tyrone (77): Cleary 5 0-0 13, A. Walk 0 0-2 0, Escala 5 4-4 16, Lehner 6 4-4 16, Woomer 4 2-2 13, Hammer 4 0-0 8, Adams. 0 1-2 1, A. Emig 2 0-2 4, M. Emig 0 0-0 0, Oaks 0 1-2 1, Novak 0 1-4 1, Dasher 1 0-0 2, Parsons 1 0-0 2, Harpster 0 0-0 0, Gwynn 0 0-0 0, Ludden 0 0 -2 0. Total: 28 13-24 77.
Score per quarter
Penn Cambria 9 9 12 13 — 43
Tyrone 31 22 14 10 — 77
3-Point Field Goal: Penn Cambria 1 (Harold). Tyrone 8 (Crilly 3, Woomer 3, Escala 2).
Record: Penn Cambria (3-4) at Tyrone (7-0).
comfort
Claysburg-Kimmel (60): Haney 5 7-8 20, Walter 1 0-0 2, Couric 3 0-0 9, C. Torreon 5 0-0 12, G. Torreon 8 1-3 17, Knisely 0 0 – 0 0. Total: 22 8-11 60.
Bellwood-Antis (57): H. Schreier 5 3-4 15, Fatzinger 2 0-1 4, Mays 3 2-2 8, Dorminy 7 2-2 21, Shedlock 2 2-3 6, McClellan 1 0 -0 3, Shanafelt 0 0-0 0. Total: 20 9-12 57.
Score per quarter
Bellwood Antis 18 8 20 11 – 57
Claysburg-Kimmel 8 18 18 16 – 60
3-point goals: BA 8 (Dominy 5, H. Schreier 2, McClellan); CK 8 (Haney 3, Couric 3, C. Torreon 2)
Record: Bellwood vs. Antis (0-6), Claysburg vs. Kimmel (2-7)
