TYRONE - A game after needing double overtime to eke out a hard-fought one-point win over Huntingdon on Tuesday, the Tyrone High School boys basketball team had an easier time against Central.
Tyrone defeated the Dragons, 60-42, in Mountain League action at Tyrone Area High School on Friday night.
"It was a very big win," George Gripp said. "It made us 4-0 in the Mountain League."
After beginning the season with four straight wins, the Dragons have lost their last three - to Bald Eagle Area, Penns Valley and now Tyrone.
"We need to play better," Central coach Reggie Nevins said. "I need to coach better. Give Tyrone credit. They executed better than we did. We're a work in progress."
It was an extremely competitive first half. After Central tied the game at 10-10, courtesy of a runner by Tristan Greenland, the Golden Eagles got treys from Brandon Gripp and Dalton McKeehen on back-to-back possessions to give their team a 16-10 lead after one quarter of play.
The Dragons cut their deficit to three twice in the second quarter, the second coming on a fast-break layup by Zach Slagenweit with just less than three minutes left, but that was the closest they came the rest of the game.
Following the Slagenweit layup, senior Jacob Belinda scored six of his team's last nine points of the second quarter, giving Tyrone a 28-23 lead at the half.
The Golden Eagles defense held Central to just six third-quarter points, forcing four turnovers in the quarter. They refused to allow them onto the boards until a little more than three minutes into the third quarter, and by that time, Tyrone had already netted seven points.
Trailing by 16 points, the Dragons got a traditional three-point play by Greenland to end the quarter. Following a pair of free-throws made by Austin Cunningham, Tyrone went on a 12-3 run over the next three-and-a-half minutes, building a 22-point lead along the way.
Gripp and McKeehen both drained treys, helping build the big lead. Alex Lafferty made a pair of treys for Central late to make the score look better than it actually was.
A game after Tyrone's scoring column was dominated by one player in Gripp and his 33 points and just one other player in scoring in double-digits - Erik Wagner 10 - the Golden Eagles had a much more balanced effort. Gripp was the high man again with 19, but two others broke double-digits, in Belinda and McKeehen. Wyatt Fowler scored eight, and Wagner chipped in with six of his own.
"Brandon's been playing well," Coach Gripp said of his son. "I was really pleased with the balanced scoring tonight. We also had good balance inside and out."
Tyrone and Central will both be in action later next week in holiday tournaments. Central will be playing in the Williamsburg Holiday Tournament, while Tyrone will host one of its own called the Reliance Bank Holiday Tournament.
Tyrone, now 4-0 on the season, will play Bellwood-Antis next Friday night.
CENTRAL (42): Greenland 3 1-2 8, Cunningham 3 2-2 9, Forshey 1 0-0 3, Slagenweit 4 0-0 11, Lafferty 3 0-0 9, Patterson 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 3-4 42.
TYRONE (60): Ingle 2 0-0 4, Wagner 3 0-0 6, Gripp 7 3-5 19, Fowler 4 0-2 8, Belinda 3 3-4 10, Lingafelt 0 0-0 0, N. Soellner 0 0-0 0, McKeehen 3 2-2 11, Mitchell 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 8-13 60.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Central10 13 6 13 42
Tyrone16 12 14 18 60
3-point field goals: Central 9 (Greenland, Cunningham, Forshey, Slagenweit 3, Lafferty 3. Tyrone 6 (Gripp 2, Belinda, McKeehen 3).
Records: Central (4-3); Tyrone (4-0).
JV: Tyrone won 45-37. High scorers Forshey, C, 13; Mitchell, T, 16.
