Tyrone and Indian Valley both came into Monday night’s game looking to overtake the MAC’s top spot as they both posted 13-2 records in the conference. The Warriors already had a win over Tyrone earlier this season, beating the Eagles 57-54. Tyrone looked to change all of that, but it is always a tough task to walk out of Indian Valley with a win.
Steve Catich led Tyrone through the first half with 12 of the Eagles 23 points. Jay Hartman knocked down nine points, all from beyond the arc, giving the Warriors a 24-23 lead after the first half of play.
Austin Long didn’t waste much time in the third, opening up with a fade away jumper at 7:32, giving the Warriors a whiff of momentum to start out the second half, but Catich answered on the ensuing possession. These two stars battled it out for the second time this season, but both teams kept their guard up a little better this time around, as they were both held under 20 points throughout the night.
After the Warriors jumped ahead 35-30 at 4:23 in the third, Tyrone exerted a 7-0 run to take a 37-35 lead, but Long managed to get just enough room in the corner to sink a trey over Catich and snatch the lead back.
After a couple of buckets to end the third, Tyrone found themselves down 42-41 going into the final quarter. Tyrone shot 8-14 from the field and gave away four whereas the Warriors went 7-13 from the field and turned it over just three times. It doesn’t get much more even than that.
After both teams scored 18 points a piece in the third, neither team could get any type of offense rolling in the fourth. With 5:38 to go, Tyrone finally got on the board behind two free throws of Travis Peterman, cutting the Warrior lead to just one. It was a minute and a half later when Nate Dane added two points to give Tyrone a 45-44 lead at 4:07.
After a Warrior basket, Tyrone looked to switch the lead back to their side when Nate Dane drove the lane and made a great pass through traffic to Ben Ingle for the lead, 47-46. Tyrone then forced a Warrior turnover, where Dane was fouled and missed on an opportunity for two points on the one-on-one attempt. The miss gave Will Long his chance to shine with his only two points giving the Warriors the lead back at 48-47, with 1:30 to go.
What a barn-burner it was, as Dane redeemed himself with two free-throws at 1:06, giving Tyrone the lead back once again. Call it clutch, but Hunter Kratzer answered Dane’s foul shots with a nice baby hook shot from the small corner as the clock crept under 1:00.
The score read 50-49 in favor of Indian Valley, as the clock ticked all the way down to :20 seconds when Tyrone head coach, George Gripp, motioned for a timeout, but Indian Valley’s Nick Eversole managed to poke the ball away before the timeout was granted. Tyrone lucked out as he missed the lay-up, but Catich came up long with :08 seconds to go.
Hartman sunk two more foul shots and Eversole picked off the final inbound pass to seal the deal.
“We knew it was a big game for us,” Gripp stated, “because we wanted to win the MAC, which was one of our goals this season. If we win out, we can still get 20 wins and the Nittany Division title, which was also a goal for us before the season. You never know, Indian Valley could lose and if we win out, we are the MAC champions. We’ll see what happens this week after we play our last two games.”
Since the last meeting between these two teams, Tyrone ripped off 10 straight wins until Indian Valley beat them on Monday night. Catich led the way with 18 points, despite being shut out in the fourth quarter. Tyrone looks to finish up the season with a 20-4 record as they face Philipsburg, Wednesday, and Penns Valley, Thursday at home. Both games will put Tyrone in a position to win the Nittany and the overall MAC championship.
Long and Hartman combined for 32 points, knocking down 16 each. Hartman kept the pace in the first half, and Long cleaned up the second half as the two made it very difficult for Tyrone to defend the two. The Warriors improved to 15-6 overall and 14-2 in the MAC. They now have sole possession of the MAC with the win and take on Lewistown and Penns Valley to finish off the season.
Indian Valley 52 Tyrone 49
Tyrone – Catich 8 1-2 18, Dane 3 3-5 9, Gehret 2 0-0 6, Ingle 2 0-0 5, Brooks 1 1-2 3, Updyke 2 0-1 4, Franco 1 0-0 2, Peterman 2-2 2. Totals 19 7-12 49.
Indian Valley – Hartman 5 2-2 16, A. Long 6 2-2 16, Kratzer 3 2-2 8, Battista 3 0-0 6, Keefer 2 0-0 4, W. Long 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 6-6 52.
Score by Quarters
Tyrone 13 10 18 8 – 49
Indian Valley 13 11 18 10 – 52
Three-point foals: Tyrone-4 (Gehret-2, Catich, Ingle)
IV-6 (Hartman-4, Long-2)
Alex Lynn sparks Eagles over Indian Valley in Jayvee action
After taking a brutal blow to the face, Alex Lynn laid on the floor in a pool of blood. He walked away, but the damage was done when Tyrone made their comeback. From this point on, Tyrone made a run to win the game behind 16 points from Andy Brokenshire, edging the Warriors, 34-31.
Tyrone 34 Indian Valley 31
Tyrone – Brokenshire 7 1-2 16, Reihart 2 1-2 6, McKeehan 2 0-0 4, Henneman 2 0-0 4, Taylor 2 0-0 4, Murray 0 0-2 0. Totals 15- 2-6 34.
Indian Valley – Bridgens 3 2-2 8, Thompson 3 0-0 7, Marnin 2 0-0 5, Walters 1 1-2 3, Schaffer 1 0-0 2, Bargel 1 0-2 2, Sitch 1 0-0 2, Keefer 1 0-0 2. Totals 13 3-6 31.
Score by Quarters
Tyrone 5 6 14 9 – 34
Indian Valley 8 6 14 3- 31
