TYRONE - Although the Tyrone boys basketball team had already secured a spot in the Mountain League Championship game, the team still had plenty to play for Friday against Central.
The Golden Eagles were going for a perfect record in Mountain League play on senior night and got it with a 67-44 win over Central at the Tyrone Area High School gym.
Led by Richard Crabtree's game-high 26 points, four Tyrone players scored in double-digits.
Steve Franco racked up 14 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for a double-double. Brandon Gripp tallied 12 points, and Charles Wilson-Adams added 11.
Crabtree and Gripp made a combined nine 3-pointers. Crabtree hit five, and Gripp made four.
"We've been shooting well. When Richard and Brandon are hitting like that, it opens up a lot of other things for us," Tyrone coach George Gripp said.
Tyrone got off to a bit of slow start and trailed 14-9 after one quarter.
Five straight points from Crabtree midway through the second quarter put Tyrone ahead 20-18, but Central reclaimed the lead on Austin Cunningham's 3-pointer from the top of the key.
Those were the last points Central scored in the first half. Tyrone closed out the half with a 12-0 run to go up 32-21 lead at the break.
Tyrone increased its lead to 17 by the end of the third quarter and sealed the win 7-0 spurt to start the fourth quarter.
Matt Ritchey led Central with 14 points. Cunningham added 10 points.
"We made shots early and stayed right with them, but then Crabtree got hot," Central coach Bill Forshey said. "They're very athletic and present some hard matchups on defense for us. They're not 17-2 for nothing."
The Tyrone defense continually collapsed on Central center Brandon Myers, double and triple teaming him every time the ball went into the post. The 6-foot-4 senior did not score in the first half and finished with just six points before fouling out early in the fourth quarter.
"We know some of the sets they run. When they ran an isolation play in the post, we wanted to double team him and make him give up the ball," Gripp said. "We also wanted to attack him on defense and get him in foul trouble."
The Golden Eagles finished out Allegheny Division play a perfect 8-0. Tyrone went 7-0 against Nittany Division foes.
"It was definitely nice to play well on senior night," Franco said. "It's a special night that recognizes what we've accomplished this season."
Franco, Crabtree and Cody Dickson were honored in a pre-game ceremony for the seniors.
Their work is not done yet, though.
Tyrone wraps up the regular season with three non-league contests before facing Central Mountain in the league championship game Feb. 18 at Bellefonte Area High School.
The 10-9 Scarlet Dragons have two more games left in the regular season.
CENTRAL (44): Myers 3 0-0 6, Ritchey 5 2-2 14, Ebersole 3 0-0 6, Cunningham 3 1-2 10, Farkus 1 0-0 2, Forshey 0 0-0 0, Greenland 0 0-0 0, Slagenweit 2 0-1 4, Brumbaugh 1 0-0 2, Dickson 0 0-2 0, Hamm 0 0-0 0, Patterson 0 0-2 0, Couch 0 0-0 0. Totals - 18 3-9 44.
TYRONE (69): Gripp 4 0-0 12, Franco 5 4-5 14, Crabtree 10 1-4 26, Wilson-Adams 4 3-7 11, Dickson 0 0-2 0, Wagner 0 0-0 0, Fowler 1 0-0 2, Ingle 0 0-0 0, Soellner 0 0-0 0, Hample 1 0-0 2, McKeehan 1 0-0 2. Totals - 26 8-18 69.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Central14 7 14 9 - 44
Tyrone9 23 20 17 - 69
3-point goals: Central 5 (Cunningham 3, Ritchey 2); Tyrone 9 (Crabtree 5, Gripp 4).
Records: Central (10-9, 3-4 ML Allegheny); Tyrone (17-2, 8-0 ML Allegheny).
Officials: Jim Klausman, Keith Redfoot, Tom Fountaine.
JV: Central, 49-37. High scorers-Patterson, C, 11; Fowler, T, 10.
