Tyrone was off to one of their best starts in school history, sitting on a comfy’ 14-3 record going into Monday night’s match-up against Central at Tyrone. The last meeting wasn’t a pretty one for Tyrone as they managed to outscore the Dragons 15-7 in the fourth quarter to win 45-40.
The first half started out back and forth, but midway through the second quarter the Eagles put on an 11-0 run and never looked back. With a 27-13 lead, Central seemed to pack up shop and head home.
Steve Catich led all scorers at the break with 15 points as the Dragons decided they had to play Tyrone straight man after Kyle Updyke’s amazing performance against Bellefonte last Thursday. The decision to play man, zone, or box-on-one is what every team must make from here on out against Tyrone, and there will never be an easy decision at that.
Tyrone came out of the locker room with a 29-16 lead, but was edged 16-15 by the Dragons in the third, cutting the lead to 12. This was as close as the game would get as Tyrone opened up a huge run in the fourth, finishing off the Dragons once and for all.
It all started with a Catich steal and a breakaway slam that pumped up the Eagles and the crowd. A quick timeout and a few adjustments for Central gave them an opportunity to answer with a dunk from Jace Keller. Keller’s looked good, but Catich won the dunk contest.
Tyrone managed to outscore Central 18-5 in the fourth, running away with a 62-37 win. Central didn’t help their cause in the fourth, as they were 1-11 from the field. An ugly statistic indeed, but Tyrone also shot the lights out going 9-for-11 from the field in the fourth. It was lights out from the 11-0 run in the second quarter, and Catich proved his offensive skills can only be matched if you sacrifice one of your own to try.
Tyrone picked up their 15th win on the year. An amazing start for the Eagles, and hopefully this great story keeps on rolling.
“We know we’ve got an ‘X’ on our back, and teams are going to keep giving us their best each game we play from here on out,” head coach George Gripp stated. “The guys aren’t digging to much into this, but they aren’t shrugging it off either. They are just taking it one game at a time and climbing that ladder to where we want to be at the end of the year.”
Catich led the Eagles with 30 points, as the senior trails Eric Castorina by 83 points on the All-Time scoring list at Tyrone. Catich has averaged just over 23 points per game, so with six games remaining, the senior should accomplish yet another amazing feat.
Central managed to get two players into double-figures, but left the rest of the team with just seven points. Keller and Shane Cafferty each tallied 15 points in the loss. The Dragons are now 9-10 on the year as they try to fight for that .500 season.
Tyrone travels to Central Mountain Thursday night. The Eagles beat the Wildcats 78-47 in their last meeting, but the long bus ride and the great home court advantage will make it tough for them.
“It’s always tough to play out there, especially after the long bus ride. They have five guys who can handle the ball well and shoot effectively, so that’s going to be the test for our defense against Central Mountain. We are going to take the next few days to look over their scheme again and come out ready to play on Thursday.”
Tyrone 62 Central 37
Central – Keller 5 2-2 15, Cafferty 6 3-4 15, Hamilton 1 0-0 3, Forshey 0 2-4 2, Ewart 0 2-2 2. Totals 12 9-12 37.
Tyrone – Catich 13 3-4 30, Updyke 4 0-0 8, Dane 3 0-1 6, Ingle 3 0-0 6, Brooks 2 0-0 4, Gehret 2 0-0 4, Franco 1 0-0 2, Peterman 1 0-0 2. Totals 29 3-5 62.
Score by Quarters
Central 6 10 16 5 – 37
Tyrone 14 15 15 18 – 62
Three-point goals: Central-4 (Keller-3, Hamilton)
Tyrone-1 (Catich)
Tyrone JayVees battle back to get squashed at the buzzer
Andy Brokenshire and the Tyrone Jayvee’s found themselves down 16 late in the third quarter. The Eagles looked bad throughout three-quarters of the game, but managed to tie the game up in the fourth. Tyrone’s chances of winning were ended at the buzzer as Drew Ebersole managed to bank a three in from deep in the corner.
Tyrone lost 38-35 behind 11 from Brokenshire. Ebersole drained 10, including the game-winner over Tyrone, Monday night.
