What kind of game was this going to be? Tyrone, a third seed in District six rankings, and Bellwood-Antis, who didn’t make the playoffs, but seem to give Tyrone a hard time each season.
Last year, Tyrone took Bellwood-Antis out within the first half and poured it on the entire game to win 68-49 at Bellwood. This season was different and the Blue Devils wanted to win this one for the bragging rights between the two schools.
It wasn’t long until Tad Chamberlain picked up the pace for the Eagles eight of Tyrone’s 17 first quarter points. With his towering size over all of the Blue Devil players, he didn’t have to fight much to pull down rebounds and put them back.
Tyrone wasn’t having an easy time, however as they turned the ball over several times which kept Bellwood hanging in the game down 17-10 after the first quarter. The Blue Devils wanted to take the rivalry down, but they weren’t scoring at the same pace as Tyrone.
As the game moved on, Bellwood-Antis picked up an early run in the second quarter as they went on a 6-2 run to cut the lead to 19-16 with 4:35 to go in the half.
It was the Blue Devils’ “in your face defense” that seemed to bother Tyrone as they recorded four first half offensive fouls against the Eagles and kept Leonard Wilson and Tad Chamberlain in foul trouble early.
Led by a spread attack from Aaron Bell, Paul Greiner and Mike Blazier, Bellwood cut the lead to just 22-20 with a 1:16 to go in the half. It was a ball game now and anyone had a chance to grasp it by the horns.
Before the half ended, Chamberlain and Josh Crabtree both scored late points to give the Eagles a six point edge, 26-20, at the break.
Tyrone played very sloppy in the first half, turning the ball over seven times and getting into foul trouble early. With the momentum on either side of the court from the fans, Tyrone needed to make some early second half runs to put the Blue Devils away.
As the second half got underway, Chamberlain got back into his rhythm scoring Tyrone’s first four points and giving the Eagles a 30-22 lead. He looked unconquerable in the paint and had few problems getting the points when he wanted.
Late in the third quarter, Leonard Wilson slashed down the court on a fast break, juked two Bellwood defenders, and dished it off to Adam Corle who nailed the lay-up with 2:17 to go giving Tyrone a 35-29 lead. This was part of a 7-0 run for Tyrone that ended the third, 40-29, in favor of the Eagles.
Although Tyrone had an 11 point lead, Bellwood still had a great chance of getting back into the game.
Tyler McClellan played perfect defense on Josh Clark tonight, who never has had problems against other teams, managed to tip a couple of Clark’s dribbles away for turnovers.
“I’m not sure exactly where the game was lost for us last night,” said Bellwood-Antis coach Tim Keech, in a phone interview Friday morning. “Tyrone is a very strong, quick basketball team. We got outrebounded and Tyrone’s changing defenses and quickness forced us to hurry too much, especially in the first half. Their size and aggressiveness hurt us on the boards at times. We did some good things coming down the final stretch and to end up within five points of the district’s third seed was as pleasing as anything since I have been here.
“In the second half, we settled down, Tyler McClellan did a good job of recognizing defenses and we shot the ball better.”
With McClellan leading the way in the fourth, Bellwood tried to make a run at Tyrone’s lead, but just couldn’t shut down Leonard Wilson.
Wilson scored nine of his 13 points in the fourth, five from the foul line. He was stealing passes, running the break, and being a great team leader on the floor which gave Tyrone a huge boost of confidence and the lead.
Tyrone would remain ahead until the final buzzer despite a slight run from the Blue Devils at the end of the game.
Bellwood-Antis managed to cut Tyrone’s lead to 52-47 with :23 seconds to go in the game, but Wilson hit both one and one attempts to make it a three possession game.
After the icing on the cake from Wilson, Tyrone went on to win 54-49 in the rival that turned out to be a great game for the hometown fans.
“I think we need to work on our offensive execution a little more,” coach Mike Harris said. “Setting screens, working the ball around for a good shot, and just working on offensive and defensive executions is what we need to do to prepare for District playoffs next week where we will wait for the winner of Purchase Line and Bishop Guilfoyle.”
Tyrone never trailed once in the entire game, managing to keep the lead and the game never came to a tie. It wasn’t the best game for the Eagles, turning the ball over 24 times to Bellwood’s 12. Tyrone had some trouble handling the ball, but played a great defensive battle against Blue Devils.
Tad Chamberlain once again led the Golden Eagles with 16 points, dominating his part of the game: Rebounding. With Chamberlain in the lineup, it is tough to stop Tyrone in the paint. Leonard Wilson chipped in with 13, nine of which came in the fourth quarter to edge Bellwood-Antis, Thursday night.
Tyrone improves to 15-8 overall with their second straight win over Bellwood-Antis and finish off the season at home against Williamsburg Friday night (senior night).
Bellwood had three players reach double figures in the loss against Tyrone. Tyler McClellan, Aaron Bell, and Paul Greiner combined for 38 of Bellwood’s 49 points. Bell and McClellan both scored 13, Greiner with 12.
“These three seniors stepped it up last night, and they have been doing that all season,” said Keech. “I couldn’t have been more pleased with the way we played.”
Bellwood-Antis finishes their season Friday night at home for their senior night and fall to a 9-14 record. They will face Bald Eagle Area and hope to fight off the Boone brothers in non-conference action.
Tyrone 54 Bellwood-Antis 49
Bellwood-Antis – McClellan 5 0-0 13, Bell 6 0-0 13, DeArmitt 0 4-5 4, Greiner 6 0-2 12, Blazier 0 3-4 3, Edmiston 1 1-2 4. Totals 18 8-13 49.
Tyrone – Wilson 4 5-6 13, Crabtree 3 2-4 8, Hershberger 3 0-0 6, Chamberlain 7 2-2 16, Clark 1 2-3 4, Corle 1 1-2 4, Haney 1 0-0 2, Barr 0 1-2 1. Totals 20 13-19 54
Score by Quarters
Bellwood-Antis 10 10 9 20 – 49
Tyrone 17 9 14 14 – 54
Three point goals: Bellwood-Antis-4 (McClellan-3, Bell)
Tyrone 1 (Corle).
Tyrone jayvee improve to 13-5 behind Byron Kost “Money”
Another spectacular performance from Byron Kost in jayvee action as he dropped 23 points on the Bellwood-Antis Blue Devils Thursday night. Despite the game becoming very close at the end, Tyrone managed to fight off Bellwood’s comeback by hitting 8-9 from the foul line the entire game. The Little Eagles held on for a 48-45 victory.
Byron Kost and Steve Catich scored 37 of the Eagles 48 points. Kost with 23 and Catich scoring 14 in the Eagles win.
Bellwood Antis jayvee drop to 18-4 on the season with the loss at Tyrone. Paul Christner led Bellwood-Antis with 10 and L. J. Seidel added nine points and Tony DelGrosso had eight for the Blue Devils.
Tyrone 48 Bellwood-Antis 45
Bellwood-Antis – Christner 4 0-2 10, DelGrosso 4 0-0 8, Seidel 3 2-4 9, Winterstein 2 1-2 5, Elvey 3 0-0 7, McCrum 0 2-2 2, Hughes 2 0-0 4, Totals 18 5-10 45.
Tyrone – Barr 1 3-4 5, Kost 10 1-1 23, Catich 5 3-3 14, Morrow 2 0-1 4, Levinson 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 8-9 48.
Score by Quarters
Bellwood-Antis 10 15 14 6 – 45
Tyrone 10 22 9 7 – 48
Three point goals: BA-4 (Christner-2, Seidel, Elvey).
Tyrone-3 (Kost-2, Catich).
