Tyrone and Blairsville matched up in the finals of the Blairsville Kovacik Holday Tournament.
Tyrone (4-3) defeated Berlin in the first round to battle the unbeaten Bobcats from Blairsville (9-0) as they defeated Rockwood High School. This was a great matchup for a tournament finals, and it played out to be a great game.
Early in the first quarter, Tyrone jumped into a full court press to start off the game, recording a 7-0 run in the first 3 minutes of the game. Adam Corle hit Tyrone’s first two buckets, followed by a Leonard Wilson steal that put them ahead 7-2 with just 4:42 remaining in the first quarter.
Blairsville started to panic when starting point guard, Adam Highberger, committed his third personal foul with just 3:03 remaining in the first quarter. The Bobcats had eight first quarter fouls which forced Blairsville to place Highberger on the bench and rely on the rest of his teammates to step it up on the offensive strike.
Remaining in control, Tyrone pushed Blairsville around, almost putting them on tilt. With just 2:11 remaining in the first quarter, Tyrone busted off a 12-0 run that put them ahead by 14 after one period of play. Several shots from Josh Crabtree and Adam Corle dropped in the run, placing all of the momentum onto Tyrone’s side.
Down 22-7, Blairsville called two straight timeouts, trying to regroup and focus on getting back into this ballgame.
After the first quarter, Tyrone led 24-10 and managed to frustrate the Blairsville Bobcats and take complete control of the game going into the second quarter.
Jerome Nadeo started off the quarter hitting the Bobcats first three shots, trying to collapse Tyrone’s huge lead, but a trey from Shane Barr and a couple of layup’s from Jason Haney and Josh Crabtree put Tyrone in a comfortable position, taking a 31-15 lead with just 4:00 remaining in the half.
A series of fouls and wild play on the court from both teams occurred, creating a frustrating atmosphere in the gymnasium. After a few missed calls for both sides, the players were back at it, trading buckets until Tyrone had a 10-point halftime lead, 39-29.
This was what Tyrone came into the game hoping to take control early and get on top of this 9-0 squad from Blairsville.
The second half rolled around and Tyrone was in the pilot seat, coasting through and taking charge. Adam Corle caught his fourth foul with 7:14 remaining in the third quarter, taking out a three point threat from Tyrone’s offense. This wouldn’t stop them as Tyrone went on a 7-2 run in the first three minutes putting them ahead 46-31.
However, Blairsville put a run on of their own scoring the next eight points, cutting Tyrone’s lead to just seven with 4:48 to go in the third. Mark DeMarines and Adam Highberger exchanged three’s for Bobcats in their two possessions during their 8-0 run.
Jason Haney stepped it up for Tyrone as he came in off the bench and took control of the boards scoring 10 points, six of those from foul shots.
Going 6-7 from the free throw line, Jerome Nadeo and Andy Ostach did not want to get into any more foul trouble and put this machine back onto the charity stripe.
Tyrone’s lead was in total command going up 57-43 with just a minute to go in the third quarter, putting all the pressure on the back of the favorite, Blairsville.
Being down and almost out, the Bobcats cut the lead to 11 going into the fourth quarter and looked for a miracle to comeback into this ballgame that they had trailed the entire game.
Jerome Nadeo started off with a bang in the fourth quarter scoring six straight points, trying to be a dominating force in the key against this strong Tyrone defense.
Answers from Crabtree and Tad Chamberlain put Tyrone in the lead 64-54 with 5:55 remaining in this championship game.
After a Mark DeMarines fast break layup, Blairsville called a timeout with just over 5 minutes to go in the game.
Coming out of the timeout, Tyrone inbounded the ball to Josh Clark who passed the ball ahead to Tad Chamberlain who was immediately hounded by Blairsville defenders, turning over the ball. A quick pass ahead and an NBA range trey from Mark Demarines cut the lead to 66-59 with just 4:55 remaining.
With a controversial no-call, all three of Blairsville coaches had walked out onto the floor, and confronted an official. There was no penalty to the coaches, although if a coach is on the floor at any time of a basketball game it is an automatic technical foul.
This was a key point to the momentum if Tyrone could have sealed a 2 point swing and the ball back if the proper call was made. Josh Clark took control of the ball this time as he got the ball ahead to Josh Crabtree who was fouled going to the basket and getting his two free shots.
After Josh missed both shots, Highberger looked to be possessed as he pulled up in major traffic and drained a long three that sent the crowd wild as they were back in the game and only down two.
On the ensuing possession, Josh Clark lobbed a pass to Josh Crabtree only to be rejected by Jerome Nadeo to start a Blairsville fast break. Almost like an explosion, Mark DeMarines took the only lane available and knocked down another three-pointer which put Blairsville ahead 67-66 with just 2:20 to go in the game.
This was only their second lead of the game as the first was all the way back in the first quarter being up 2-0 with 7:20 left in that quarter. Blairsville did not want their record to be ruined, nor lose their own holiday tournament.
With the crowd chanting, “Defense, Defense,” Tyrone seemed to lose their focus as they were stood up once again by Jerome Nadeo sending Jason Haney off the backboard and up the floor to Mark DeMarines for another fast break layup as he converted 12 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter to seal the championship.
Blairsville held Tyrone to just eight fourth-quarter points as they routed 27 for themselves in their huge comeback victory for the Kovacik Holday Tournament Championship.
“We snatched defeat from the jaws of victory,” coach Mike Harris quoted. “We had the game won. We had a 19-point lead and guys just started to turn the ball over. They started hitting more three’s and started to get more confident. We started missing our foul shots and we were 14-25 from the line, which doesn’t cut it for championship play. We shoot 30 foul shots a day. We just have to put our nose in a grindstone and get better. That’s all we can do for now.”
Tyrone could not get back into the game as they lose a tough one in the championship game at Blairsville. Tyrone shot just 14-25 from the free throw line, giving Blairsville opportunities to stay in the game. This game was played hard by both sides, and Blairsville just didn’t give up their undefeated mentality going into the fourth quarter.
With the loss, Tyrone falls to an even 4-4 and a second place finish in the Kovacik Holiday Tournament. Josh Crabtree and Tad Chamberlain received All-Tourny team awards as Crabtree combined for 35 points in his two games in the tournament. Tad Chamberlain had 16 his first game and six in the championship game against Blairsville High School.
Blairsville 75 Tyrone 67
Tyrone – Wilson 4 3-4 11, Crabtree 8 3-8 19, Corle 5 0-0 12, Hane 3 6-7 12, Clark 1 2-5 4, Chamberlain 3 0-0 6, Bar 1 0-0 3, Kost 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 25 14-24 67.
Blairsville – Highberger 6 1-3 16, DeMarines 8 3-6 22, Stone 2 0-0 4, Ostach 3 3-4 9, Nadeo 8 1-1 18. TOTALS 27 8-14 75.
Score by Quarter
Tyrone 24 15 20 8 – 67
Blairsville 10 19 19 27 – 75
Three point goals: Tyrone-3 (Corle-2, Barr 1).
Blairsville-8 (DeMarines-4, Highberger-3, Nadeo 1).
