A non-conference rivalry was back in Tyrone this year as the Scarlet Dragons from Central were back in town. Tyrone lost to Central last year on the road and looked to take control of the young Central squad.
It wasn’t long before Tyrone got back into their game, as they sprinted out of the gates early with an 11-0 lead with 3:30 to go on the way to a 67-49 victory. The spread scoring of the Eagles confused Central as all of Tyrone’s 11 points came from five different Tyrone players.
It was a route from the beginning and Tyrone continued to pour it on.
After a Zach Hamm lay-up, Tyrone ran off nine straight points giving them a 20-2 lead with just a minute to go in the first quarter. The Eagles were playing to perfection running the fast break, getting offensive boards, and nailing every shot they put up to start off the game.
After one quarter of play, the Eagles led 20-4 and looked to continue the domination on offense.
“The past couple of games we got out to a slow start,” coach Mike Harris said, “and tried to play catch up the entire second half. Tonight, we got off to a great start and we really stepped it up defensively by holding them to four points in the first quarter.”
The run wasn’t over yet. Tyrone poured it on in the second quarter with the spread scoring among Hershberger, Leonard Wilson, Tad Chamberlain, and Adam Corle all combining for 27 points in the first half. It was a route from the beginning as Tyrone took a 40-19 lead going into the locker room.
“Our defense has been lousy the past couple of games,” Harris said. “Indian Valley was embarrassing, but the kids came back yesterday focused and really went after the defense as hard as they could. Tonight we played a lot better, especially from the guards keeping the ball on the sideline in our press. They really did a nice job getting into their positions and doing the little things right.”
Tyrone recorded seven different players that scored in the first half, sharing the ball and playing great team basketball to jump all over this Central squad.
The third quarter was all Central as they came out with fury, fouling Tyrone hard everytime to the basket and out hustling the Eagles as they pulled within 13 after the third, 51-38. It seemed as if Tyrone felt they had the game won, but Central was inching closer and closer going into the fourth.
It was senior, Kevin Hershberger who made a big impact on the fourth quarter, outrebounding several Central defenders and scored 11 second half points that gave Tyrone an edge in the post. He fought off defenders, along with Wilson as the Dragons looked to take any lay-up attempt away with a hard foul.
As the fourth quarter favored the Eagles, Central pulled within 10 points, but that was as close as it got as Tyrone finished the game on a 10-3 run winning big at home and pushed themselves back into their game.
“At the half, I wish we were up by more because we missed some easy baskets,” Harris said. “We ran the fast break all over them and I’m not a big timeout coach. I don’t want the team to cut back into the lead, the kids have to figure that out for themselves and slow things down when its needed. The team leadership comes into play and they can stop and slow things down after taking that big lead. The players should talk amongst themselves instead of me having to guide them through the game. They are the ones working hard, they need to work with each other.”
With the win, Tyrone is now 12-7 overall and look for some conference action at home against Huntingdon, Wednesday night. Kevin Hershberger dominated Central in a tough performance on the boards and on the offensive swing with a team-high 16 points. Tad Chamberlain and Adam Corle both scored 13 points a piece as well in the win.
Central dropped to 6-13 overall, and have a long road ahead of them for the season, having only one senior on the team, it can only get better each year for their team.
Chad Saylor led the Dragons with 13 points in their loss at Tyrone, Wednesday night.
Tyrone 67 Central 49
Tyrone – Wilson 1 6-8 8, Crabtree 3 0-0 6, Hershberger 6 4-6 16, Chamberlain 4 5-10 13, Clark 3 0-0 6, Corle 6 0-2 13, Haney 1 0-0 2, Kost 1 0-0 3. Totals 25 15-26 67.
Central – Runk 1 0-0 2, Stiffey 2 1-3 5, Saylor 4 4-7 13, Ritchey 0 1-3 1, Z. Bechtel 4 0-0 10, Albright 2 2-2 6, A. Bechtel 0 6-6 6, Hamm 3 0-2 6. Totals 16 14-23 49.
Score by Quarters
Central 4 15 19 11 – 49
Tyrone 20 20 11 16 – 67
Three point goals: Central-3 (Z. Bechtel-2, Saylor)
Tyrone-2 (Corle, Kost)
Tyrone Jayvee play out an extra three in loss to Central
Tyrone and Central kept it close the entire game and it was heading for overtime, or should I say three?
With 50 seconds left in the game, Tyrone led 40-38. It wasn’t long until Ryan Ritchey nailed a jumper to tie the game up with just 20 seconds to go in regulation.
After a timeout, Tyrone looked to set up a last second shot, but Steve Catich missed a last second opportunity to end the game. This one was headed for overtime.
In the first overtime, both teams scored only one basket a piece as neither team could hit a final shot in the last seconds which sent it to a second overtime. Both teams gave it all they could through the extra frames.
Double overtime usually decides a winner, but with four seconds left in the game, Tyrone had another chance to drain a buzzer beater to end the game. With the ball placed underneath the hoop, Tyrone was looking to get the ball to either Byron Kost or Jamie Levinson for the last shot. As the players broke from their formation, Kost looked to be wide open at the top of the key, but Shane Barr went with first instinct to Levinson in the corner as he forced a tough shot that rattled in and out and sent it to a third overtime.
The Dragons got up early in triple overtime as they took a 49-45 lead with just under 30 seconds to go. Barr hit a lay-up with :08 seconds to go and Tyrone called a quick timeout to set up a defensive stop or foul.
As Tyrone went back out, Central lost control of the ball, but Tyrone missed a desperation three to end the game as they lose 49-47 at home Wednesday night.
Doug Morrow led Tyrone with 15 points in the loss to Central, dominating the post, but it just wasn’t enough to put away the Dragons.
Ryan Ritchey scored 18 points and helped the Central Dragons win in a long battle in Tyrone.
Central 49 Tyrone 47, 3 OT
Tyrone – Barr 2 3-5 7, Kost 2 3-4 9, Catich 2 2-3 6, Brockett 2 0-0 4, Levinson 2 1-2 6, Branstetter 0 0-1 0, Morrow 6 3-4 15. Totals 16 12-19 47.
Central – Stiffey 4 0-0 8, B. Ritchey 2 2-2 8, Runk 1 0-2 2, Albright 3 0-0 6, Elder 1 0-0 2, Reid 2 1-1 5, R. Ritchey 8 2-3 18. Totals 21 5-8 49.
Score by Quarters
Central 7 14 9 10 2 3 4 – 49
Tyrone 7 12 13 8 2 3 2 – 47
Three point goals: Central-2 (B. Ritchey-2).
Tyrone-3 (Kost-2, Levinson).
