After carving out scoring margins in each of the first three quarters, the Tyrone boys basketball team had to hold on for dear life in the final minutes of their game Wednesday against Bellefonte. The Red Raiders outscored the Eagles 34-19 in the fourth quarter to make things very interesting before Tyrone finally was able to pull out a 74-72 squeaker, at Bellefonte.
With Steve Catich again leading the way with a game-best 29 markers, the Eagles jumped out to a 13-9 advantage after one quarter and then added to their lead with 22-16 and 20-13 margins in the second and third quarters. Tyrone had the advantage 55-38, but unbeknownst to the Golden Eagles and everybody else in the gymnasium, the Bellefonte boys were just warming up for the fourth quarter.
“We had the opportunity to blow them away by 30 points,” said Tyrone coach George Gripp. “That fourth quarter, it seemed like there was a lid on our basket. They were firing treys up and in from everywhere, while we were missing layups. Brandon Gehret fouled out and we had to make some switches and play practically the entire fourth quarter without our point guard.” Nate Dane also fouled out for Tyrone.
Catich and senior classmate Ben Ingle were called on to hit some huge foul shots in the fourth quarter to fight off the Raider comeback and secure the Mountain League victory to improve to 2-1 overall and in the conference. Ingle scored 11 points, Johnny Franco had eight points and Kyle Updyke added seven for the Orange and Black.
“We told the kids that this would be a tough one, we haven’t won down here for about four years,” added Gripp. “Steve Catich made some big baskets in the fourth quarter and Catich, Ben Ingle and Johnny Franco all mad some big fourth-quarter free throws..”
Mitchell Colpetzer fired in five treys and had a total of 18 points for Bellefonte, Zach Tressler added 12 points and Robert Irwin scored 11 for the Raiders.
“This was a wild one,” said Gripp. “We have to win the tough ones on the road if we want to win this league. We faced adversity and were able to come out with a big win. After running up that big league, we were just waiting for the final buzzer to sound and get out with a “W.”
Tyrone continues its Mountain League road journey on Friday with a game against Central at Martinsburg.
Junior Varsity
The Tyrone junior varsity (2-1) team edged the Bellefonte JayVees 46-43 for their second victory in three games in the preliminary game. Sophomore Jordan Taylor scored 17 points to lead the Eagle junior varsity.
Tyrone 74 Bellefonte 72
Tyrone – Gehret 5 0-0 10, Brooks 2 0-0 4, Catich 10 9-12 29, Updyke 3 1-2 7, Dane 1 0-0 2, Franco 2 4-5 8, Ingle 4 3-4 11, Peterman 1 0-0 3, Brokenshire 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 28 17-23 74.
Bellefonte – Irwin 4 3-4 11, Harter 0 0-0 0, S. Tressler 5 0-0 12, Strouse 1 1-2 4, Maggs 1 0-0 3, Kline 2 0-0 6, Z. Tressler 6 3-6 12, Benscoter 1 1-2 3, Colpetzer 6 1-2 18. TOTALS 26 9-16 72.
Score by Quarters
Tyrone 13 22 20 19 – 74
Bellefonte 9 16 13 34 – 72
Three-point goals: Tyrone- 1 (Peterman)
Bellefonte- 11 (Colpetzer 5, Kline 2, S. Tressler 2, Strouse, Maggs)
