Tyrone squeezed by in a 51-44, seven-point victory against the Bishop Carroll Huskies Wednesday night as they took a third place in the annual County Seat Tournament. Steve Catich led the Eagles’ charge with 18 points, but took part in a very sloppy battle for the third spot.
The game started out great for Tyrone as Doug Morrow tipped off to Brandon Gehret for the first strike of the game. The ensuing possession, Gehret stripped the solitary senior for the Huskies and took it the length of the court for the first four points of the game, giving Tyrone an early lead within the first minute. It looked as if Tyrone would cruise from here, but the Eagles gave up the next five points including a Victory Tranquillo trey’ to aid the first swing for the Huskies. They would only manage two more points for the remainder of the quarter as Catich finished off with the last four points of the quarter, giving the Eagles a slight edge, 10-7.
Tyrone was on pace for another 40 point game, but luckily they were up against a team who had little size and lack of experience around the court. Catich led the way again in the second, but Tyrone just couldn\’t get it going early as they led 14-13 with 6:26 to go in the half. They were very sluggish and had trouble finishing inside shots, but managed to break the lead wide open with a 9-0 run, four more from Catich, as Tyrone pushed forward to a 22-13 lead with just under three minutes to go in the half. For those watching the game, a chalked-up victory was almost a guarantee at that point, but the Huskies would fight back despite trailing by eight at the half and turning the ball over 12 times thanks to Johnny Franco and Gehret\’s spectacular defense throughout the game.
Catich and the Eagles scored just 23 points in the first half, but held Bishop Carroll to just 15. This is a great defensive statistic to look at, but on the other hand, the offensive production was down again and has yet to get a boost from the bench.
The lead belonged to Tyrone for most of the third quarter as Tyrone jumped out to a 29-17 lead until the Huskies began a run of their own.
Adam Crookshank began the 9-0 run with a three-pointer with 5:45 to go in the third and cut into Tyrone\’s 12-point lead with less than four minutes remaining. The lead was just 29-26 until Wade Branstetter jumped into the action and followed a Catich miss for two points of his own.
Tyrone started out the fourth quarter ice-cold, but continued to go to the foul-line for free-throws as they carried 14 straight free-throws without a bucket from the end of the third quarter until mid-way into the fourth. They went 6-12 on the stretch, allowing the Huskies to have room for that late comeback.
With 4:24 to go, Tyrone led 37-32, but the Huskies poured on the five points needed to tie the game as Brian Springer, Crookshank and Chad Panick knocked down five from the foul line on three straight possessions.
After a B.C. timeout, Catich took it coast-to-coast past the press to take a two-point lead, but Crookshank immediately answered on the ensuing possession to tie it up.
After a couple of misses at both ends, Catich finally knocked down another shot to put Tyrone up 41-39 with 1:26 to go in the game.
The game looked close to the finish, but after a miss from the Huskies, Franco took an outlet pass coast-to-coast for an easy two, putting Tyrone up four late in the game.
To add insult to injury, Gehret picked Crookshank\’s pocket, missed the lay-up, but Franco was there to put it back, extending the lead to six points. Catich then stole the ensuing inbound pass and took it to the house, sealing the victory and snapping the five-game skid and grabbing a third place.
Catich, once again, knocked down double-digits and led the team in scoring with 18 points. It was a quiet 18 points, but they were all accounted for. He was the only scorer in double-figures, but Tyrone managed to ensure victory for the second time this season. The Eagles play host against Bellwood-Antis this Saturday, Dec. 30 with the junior varsity at 6:00 p.m. and the varsity at 7:30 p.m. The Blue Devils received second place in the same Tournament as the Eagles as Central Cambria thwacked the Devils, 73-33. It should be a good match-up between the two rivals.
The Huskies recorded three players in double-figures, despite scoring under 50 points for the game. Crookshank and Springer each recorded 10 as Tranquillo led the way with 11 points in the fourth place finish Wednesday night.
Tyrone’s Catich and Bishop Carroll’s Crookshank were among those named to the All-Tournament Team.
Tyrone 51 Bishop Carroll 44
Tyrone – Catich 7 4-6 18, Franco 3 0-0 6, Gehret 2 2-2 6, Morrow 3 1-4 7, Brooks 2 1-2 5, Updyke 0 4-6 4, Dane 1 0-0 2, Branstetter 1 1-2 3, Etters 0 0-2 0. Totals 19 13-24 51.
Bishop Carroll – Crookshank 4 1-4 10, Tranquillo 5 0-2 11, Weakland 1 0-0 2, Springer 3 4-5 10, Panick 2 2-2 6, Makin 0 0-2 0, Shrift 1 2-2 5. Totals 16 9-17 44.
Tyrone 10 13 10 18 – 51
Bishop Carroll 7 8 13 16 – 44
Three-point goals B.C. -3 (Shrift-1, Tranquillo-1, Crookshank-1).
Tyrone- None.
