Having played a tough matchup just hours before with a determined Hollidaysburg team on their home floor where the Eagles were upset 20-17, and had their undefeated record blemished, the Tyrone eighth grade boys team attempted to rebound against the Keith eighth graders in the St. Mary’s Tournament final.
But another blow to the Eagles was the loss of Ethan Etters during the fourth quarter of the ninth grade game where he injured his ankle when called upon to defend Hollidaysburg’s Alex Raymond. Tyrone worked hard to stay with Keith throughout the first half, who were led by their center, and eventual tournament MVP, Anthony Lytle.
They fell behind early, but fought back, and led 10-9 with with 10 minutes to go. But the lead slipped away as Keith outscored the Eagles 13-3 to close the half, leading 22-13.
In the second half, it was obvious that the Eagles had no legs left. Their only scores were a hook shot from the side by Nathan Dane, and a free throw from John Shaffer. They lost by a final score of 43-16.
Shaffer led the Eagles scoring with seven points followed by five from Dane.
One bright spot from the evening was that Nathan Dane was awarded the Hustle Award for the game for the Eagles, and was named to the St. Mary’s All-Tournament Team.
St Mary’s championship finals
Keith 43 Tyrone 16
Score by halfs:
Tyrone 13 3 – 16
Keith 22 21 – 43
Scorers: Shaffer 7, Dane 5, Peterman 3, Ingle 1
Little Eagles drop home contest
Playing their fourth game in five days, and fresh off an exciting win over Bellwood the day before, the Tyrone Junior High boys basketball team took on probably their toughest opponent of the season in the Hollidaysburg Golden Tigers.
Although the Little Eagles fought hard through the first quarter, taking a one point 7-6 lead, the Tigers quickly pounced on the Eagles in the second and third quarters, controlling the boards, feeding fast-break layups, and hitting several three-pointers.
And on the defensive end, they made it difficult for Tyrone to run it’s offense, denying easy opportunities down close to the basket. Before the Eagles could climb back in the fourth period to make the outcome look respectable, the Hollidaysburg lead had grown to 38-19. The final score was 42-31 in favor of the Tigers.
Brandon Gehret led the way for the Eagles with eight points, followed closely an effort off the bench in the third quarter by Travis Peterman to hit two three-pointers for six points.
Alex Raymond led all scorers with 16 for the Tigers.
The loss dropped the Tyrone Junior High boys record to 15-4.
The Eagles last game of the season will be at Clearfield on Thursday, February 17th.
Hollidaysburg 42 Tyrone 31
Score by quarters:
Hollidaysburg 6 17 15 4 – 42
Tyrone 7 4 7 12 – 31
Scorers: Gehret 8, Peterman 6, Brooks 5, McCaulley 4, Bradley 3, Hampton 3, Harris 2.
In the preliminary eighth-grade contest, the Tyrone Golden Eagles had their undefeated record spoiled by the visiting Tigers 20-17, finding it difficult to beat them twice in one week. This was the same Hollidaysburg team that the Eagles defeated a week ago in the St. Mary’s tournament to reach the finals, and they were determined to beat Tyrone.
The Eagles led slightly after one period 4-2, but fell behind by halftime 9-8. Both teams were tied going into the final period after a controversial last second basket by Hollidaysburg. But a three-pointer from the side by the Tigers with less than a minute to go gave them the win.
The Eagles made a strong attempt to tie the game, but the Tigers used up their remaining fouls to stop Tyrone from getting up the floor in the last few seconds for a solid shot.
Nathan Dane led the Eagles with eight points, and Ethan Etters added four.
Eighth Grade game
Hollidaysburg 20 Tyrone 17
Score by quarters:
Tyrone 4 4 7 2 – 17
Hollidaysburg 2 7 6 5 – 20
Scorers: Dane 8, Etters 4, Updyke 3, Shaffer 2..
