CRESSON — Hollidaysburg kicked off the 2026 calendar year by acing a potentially challenging road test Friday night.

The Golden Tigers put together a 23-point run that began late in the second quarter and extended until late in the third period, and rolled to a 72-47 Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference boys basketball victory over Penn Cambria at the Penn Cambria High School gymnasium.

Led by sophomore guard Vincent Albarano’s game-high 22 points, the Tigers, who improved to 5-2 overall and 4-2 in conference play, placed five players in double figures.

Senior forward Kasen Metzger chipped in 17 points, and senior forward Ben Zimmerman, junior forward J.J. Stultz, and junior Tyson Delerme each scored 10 points apiece for Hollidaysburg, which used the 23-point unanswered surge to balloon a 26-22 second-quarter lead to a 49-22 advantage before Penn Cambria finally snapped out of its drought with 2:30 left in the third quarter.

“When we share the ball and don’t care who scores, we can be a pretty darn good team,” Hollidaysburg coach Brad Lear said. “This is a big win for us on the road after the Christmas break. We played tonight the way that we have practiced. We had a lot of kids score tonight, and defensively, to hold a team like Penn Cambria to 47 points is very impressive.”

The game was close late in the second quarter, when Hollidaysburg held a 26-22 lead. The Golden Tigers scored the last six points of the first half, with Albarano hitting a jumper from the key, Stultz converting two free throws, and Metzger hitting two more free throws, giving Hollidaysburg a 32-22 lead at halftime.

Hollidaysburg proceeded to reel off 17 straight points in the third quarter to put the game on ice. Zimmerman started the surge with an inside bucket, and Albarano converted a putback before following with a 3-pointer from the top of the circle. Metzger then scored from the key, and Delerme scored off the drive, to give the Tigers a 43-22 lead.

Buckets by Metzger, Zimmerman and Delerme closed the 23-point, two-quarter barrage.

“You have to win every quarter,” said Albarano, whose 11 rebounds placed him second only to Zimmerman’s 12 for the game’s best in that category. “We came out at halftime on a run, and took off from there.

“We have a bunch of people on this team who contribute,” Albarano said. “And that will help us to build a good record this year, and make a deep run in the playoffs.”

Penn Cambria (5-4, 3-2) got 21 points, including five 3-pointers, from senior forward Caden Gibbons, and 11 points, including three 3-pointers, from senior Blake Lilly, but the Panthers were hurt by their overall inability to put the ball in the basket during the extended Hollidaysburg run.

“We just have to put the ball in the basket and give ourselves a chance,” Penn Cambria coach Jim Ronan said. “We didn’t do that enough tonight.

“Hollidaysburg executed really well, they finished their shots well around the rim tonight, and we missed a lot of easy shots,” Ronan added. “You can’t give a team like Hollidaysburg that kind of separation.”

Lear, whose Tigers visit Tyrone Monday night, concurred that his team was very effective going to the rim Friday.

“We did a good job of attacking the basket, and when we did, we finished,” Lear said. “That’s another thing that we have been working on in practice.”

HOLLIDAYSBURG (72): Metzger 6 5-6 17, Zimmerman 5 0-1 10, Stultz 4 2-2 10, Albarano 10 0-1 22, Rhodes 0 0-0 0, Delerme 4 2-2 10, Wolfe 1 0-0 3, Frazier 0 0-0 0, Padamonsky 0 0-0 0, Steiner 0 0-0 0, McDade 0 0-0 0. Totals – 30 9-12 72.

PENN CAMBRIA (47): Nadolsky 0 3-4 3, B. Jones 1 0-0 2, Gibbons 7 2-4 21, Semelsberger 4 1-1 9, Lilly 4 0-0 11, Marshall 0 1-2 1, Himmer 0 0-0 0, Mallory 0 0-0 0, G. Gides 0 0-0 0, Price 0 0-0 0, Davison 0 0-0 0, C. Gides 0 0-0 0. Totals – 16 7-11 47.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Hollidaysburg 12 20 23 17–72

Penn Cambria 12 10 12 13–47

3-point goals: Hollidaysburg 3 (Albarano 2, Wolfe); Penn Cambria 8 (Gibbons 5, Lilly 3).

Records: Hollidaysburg (5-2 overall, 4-2 in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference); Penn Cambria (5-4, 3-2).

Officials: Dan Amrhein, Jason Moschgat, Pat Hall.

JV: Hollidaysburg, 50-37. High scorers–Evan Rhodes, H, 14; Callen Gides, PC, 16.