JOHNSTOWN — Thursday night’s District 6 Class 3A boys basketball quarterfinal contest between visiting Tyrone and Westmont Hilltop was a gritty, physical contest in which both teams’ defenses made their presence felt.

The Hilltoppers opened up an early double-digit lead, but Tyrone refused to fold, and the Golden Eagles clawed back to make it a one-possession game in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. However, the Hilltopper defense kept the Golden Eagles at bay down the stretch, and Westmont Hilltop ended Tyrone’s playoff run with a 45-34 triumph.

After a layup by Mason Emigh pulled sixth-seeded Tyrone (14-9) within 35-32 at the 7:15 mark of the fourth, the Hilltoppers responded by outscoring the Golden Eagles 10-2 the rest of the way with senior guard Jack Wesner contributing seven of his game-high 18 points during that late surge.

“Our guys played hard,” Tyrone coach Luke Rhoades said. “If you would have told me we would hold them to 45, I’d say we would have won the game.

“Give Westmont credit, they are a good team. Every time we would hit a shot or get a stop, one of their guys would come right back and hit a big shot. … We just couldn’t put the ball in when we needed to at the end.”

Third-seeded Westmont Hilltop (18-5) advanced to next Tuesday’s district semifinal matchup at Forest Hills.

“We have been preaching since Sunday that defense was going to win this game,” Westmont Hilltop coach Dave Roman Jr. said. “I thought we had a great game plan defensively against a really physical team. We had to earn this one.”

Tyrone’s defense cooled off the Hilltoppers’ normally torrid 3-point shooting as Westmont Hilltop hit just two treys on the night. However, sophomore forward Joziah Jashienski came off the bench and was a force in the paint for Westmont Hilltop with 10 points.

Points were at a premium in the early going, and the Hilltoppers scored the last seven points of the first quarter to go up 9-2.

A jumper by Grant Craig opened up a 13-3 edge for Westmont Hilltop at the 6:42 mark of the second before the Golden Eagles later narrowed the gap to 17-12 on a Brayden Parsons free throw in the final minute. Jashienski and Wesner answered with consecutive buckets, but a putback by Ben Walk made it 21-14 at the break.

The teams traded baskets for much of the third quarter. Jashienski’s layup gave the Hilltoppers a nine-point edge with just over a minute left, but a jumper by Ashton Emigh and an Eli Woomer layup pulled Tyrone within 32-27.

Craig then drained a long 3-pointer at the buzzer to build an eight-point Hilltopper lead heading into the fourth.

Woomer paced the Golden Eagles with 13 points, while Ashton Emigh finished with 11.

Reflecting on the Golden Eagles now-concluded season, Rhoades said “we were a resilient team. We kept fighting all year and never gave up.”

“I hope our seniors are able to take those lessons with them, to keep working hard and good things can happen.”

TYRONE (34): Gwinn 0 0-0 0, Woomer 5 2-2 13, A. Emigh 5 1-2 11, M. Emigh 3 1-2 7, Parsons 0 1-2 1, Walk 1 0-0 2, B. Rudden 0 0-0 0, Oakes 0 0-0 0, Stanton 0 0-0 0. Totals — 14 5-8 34.

WESTMONT HILLTOP (45): Valente 2 0-0 5, Gartner 0 0-0 0, Jashienski 5 0-0 10, Craig 3 1-2 8, J. Wesner 8 2-4 18, Bowles 2 0-2 4, L. Wesner 0 0-0 0. Totals — 20 3-8 45.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Tyrone 2 12 13 7 — 34

Westmont Hilltop 9 12 14 10 — 45

3-point goals: Tyrone 1 (Woomer); Westmont Hilltop 2 (Valente, Craig).

Records: Tyrone (14-9); Westmont Hilltop (18-5).

Officials: Jim Racchini, Chuck Glasser, Chris Garritano.