That was certainly the case in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference boys basketball showdown between the two schools Monday night at the Tyrone Area High School gymnasium, in a game that took two overtimes before Tyrone emerged a 62-55 winner.

Central battled back from an early 10-point deficit to take the lead with a fourth-quarter rally, and regulation ended with the teams in a 49-49 tie.

Both teams scored six points apiece in the first four-minute overtime period, necessitating a second overtime session that Tyrone carried, 7-0, to pull out the victory.

“What a great high school basketball game,” marveled Tyrone coach Luke Rhoades. “Anybody watching certainly got more than their money’s worth tonight. It was one heck of an effort by both teams, and both teams left everything out on the floor tonight.”

Christian Heuston battles for a rebound against Ashton Emigh (4) and Mason Emigh (5).

Senior forward Eli Woomer paced Tyrone with a game-high 22 points, but junior forward Ben Walk came up particularly big for the Golden Eagles in the second half and over both of the overtime periods. Walk scored 10 of his 17 points in the second half, then added three field goals and a free throw over the two overtime sessions, to serve as the catalyst for Tyrone’s victory.

“He really stepped up tonight, and got some big rebounds,” Rhoades said of Walk, who corralled 10 rebounds to tie for the team-high in that category with junior forward Mason Emigh, who also reached double figures in scoring for the Golden Eagles with 10 points.

Walk felt that the Golden Eagles’ team cohesiveness was vital down the stretch.

“It was a team effort,” Walk said. “We played good defense, and on offense, we found the open guys. We did the little things right tonight.”

Walk’s inside bucket to start the second overtime session gave Tyrone a 57-55 lead. After the ball changed hands a couple times, Walk got free inside, scored another bucket with 1:28 left, was fouled on the play, and converted the free throw to complete a 3-point play and stake the Golden Eagles to a 60-55 lead.

Woomer added two free throws with 23 seconds left to set the 62-55 final margin of victory for Tyrone in an outcome that left both teams with identical 1-1 overall and conference records.

“The guys dug deep,” Rhoades said of his players. “There were times when we could have packed it in tonight, but we kept battling, and that’s a tribute to our senior leadership.

“We challenged their shooters and rebounded the ball well in that second overtime session,” Rhoades added.

Central — which drew hefty praise from Rhoades — did an excellent job of battling back itself.

The Scarlet Dragons put three players in double figures, led by senior guard Christian Heuston’s 20 points, sophomore forward Jesse Muthler’s 13, and senior guard Josh Beltz’s 10.

Muthler also collected a game-high 13 rebound for Central, which took its first lead of the game, 47-46, on a 3-pointer from senior Landon Rhodes with 2:40 remaining in regulation.

Beltz hit a pair of free throws later in the quarter, while Woomer scored two free throws and Walk added another as the game went into overtime.

Central went back in front 55-53 on a 3-point play and one of two free throws by Muthler in the first overtime session, but senior Ashton Emigh’s bucket off an inbounds feed tied the game 55-55 and created the second overtime.

“(Tyrone) jumped on us quickly tonight and they were ready to go,” said Central coach Paul Frederick, whose team trailed 14-7 after one quarter and 36-31 after three periods but roared back. “What I really liked about our kids is that they kept fighting, and finally, in the fourth quarter, we were able to get the lead.

“Our kids put forth a fantastic effort tonight,” Frederick added. “Both teams made a lot of good plays, but they just made a few more than we did at the end tonight. It was a good ballgame.”

Tyrone is at Huntingdon on Thursday while Central plays at Central Mountain on Friday.

CENTRAL (55): Muthler 4 3-7 13, Heuston 8 0-0 20, Beltz 2 6-7 10, Hoover 3 0-0 8, Decker 0 1-4 1, Rhodes 1 0-0 3, Scott 0 0-0 0. Totals – 18 10-18 55.

TYRONE (62): A. Emigh 3 2-4 8, Walk 6 5-7 17, Woomer 6 9-10 22, M. Emigh 3 4-6 10, Gwinn 0 0-0 0, Parsons 2 0-0 5, Rudden 0 0-0 0, Oakes 0 0-0 0. Totals – 20 20-27 62.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Central 7 12 12 18 6 0–55

Tyrone 14 12 10 13 6 7–62

3-point goals: Central 9 (Heuston 4, Muthler 2, Hoover 2, Rhodes); Tyrone 2 (Woomer, Parsons).

Records: Both teams are 1-1 overall and in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference.

Officials: Steve Searer, Dave Pray, John Thompson.

JV: Central, 35-33. High scorers–Talan Diehl, C, 14; Jon Stroup, T, 12