By Jamie Eichenlaub

For the Mirror

HOLLIDAYSBURG — A good win isn’t always a pretty win, and the Central boys basketball team put that theory to the test Thursday night.

The Scarlet Dragons struggled from the free throw line, shooting barely over 50 percent for the game, and went scoreless for a five-plus-minute stretch in the second quarter, but they wouldn’t let that deny them a victory.

Hunter Smith was effective on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor, and teammate Eli Muthler sank a pair of key free throws late in the fourth quarter to help Central pull out a gritty 48-45 win over Hollidaysburg in the second game of the Hollidaysburg Golden Tiger Roundball Classic.

“That’s kind of our thing, we gut out pretty much every win right now.,” Central coach Paul Frederick said. “I love how hard we’re playing on defense. We’ve got some work to do but I like what we did, I like how we’re competing. We’re finding a way to win some games but there’s still a lot of work to be done.”

Central, which improved to 7-2, made just 8 of 17 free throws in the fourth quarter but managed to outscore Hollidaysburg 20-14 in the final quarter to secure the victory

“We need to close out games better than we did as far as making free throws, and we know that,” Frederick said. “Some of our guys play a lot of minutes but they are capable shooters, we just missed some free throws tonight.

“It’s always tough playing these guys, they’re always well-coached, they’re tough kids, they’re experienced,” Frederick added. “For us to come in here and get this win, that’s a big credit to our kids.”

Senior forward Hunter Smith was a problem for Hollidaysburg the entire game. He finished with a game-high 19 points, including eight in the pivotal fourth quarter, and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds.

“We made some big foul shots and took care of the ball at the end of the game, and came out with a win,” Hunter Smith said.

Junior guard Eli Muther watched his teammates struggle at the foul line late in the fourth quarter, converting just 1-of-6 free throws with less than a minute to play. Muthler stepped to the line for two shots and Central holding a 46-43 lead with 19.4 seconds left. Muthler drained both free throws to give the Scarlet Dragons a five-point cushion.

“I was just thinking about the next shot,” said Muthler, who scored 13 points and grabbed four rebounds, and missed two free throws earlier in the fourth quarter. “You can’t look back in the past and worry about the ones you missed.”

Hollidaysburg coach Brad Lear pointed out the play of Hunter Smith and Muthler as keys to the game.

“Hunter and Eli are just such strong, tough-minded kids,”Lear said. “Got to tip your cap to coach Frederick and his team. Coming down the stretch, their grit really showed.”

Muthler had a pair of layups and a short jumper to close out the first quarter and open the second quarter, giving Central a 13-9 lead at the 6:25 mark of the second. Then the Scarlet Dragons went cold. Hollidaysburg rattled off 11 straight points over the next five-plus minutes to take a 20-13 lead at 1:01. Hollidaysburg carried a 22-17 edge into halftime.

Central trailed most of the third quarter until a Hunter Smith free throw tied the game at 26-26 at 1:06. Senior Leyton Weimert, who scored a team-high 15 points, netted a half-court 3-pointer that beat the third quarter buzzer to give Hollidaysburg a 31-28 lead heading into the fourth. After Muthler’s two free throws put Central up 48-43, Hollidaysburg’s Jake Hileman made a layup to cut the lead to 48-45 with 14.1 seconds left, but the Scarlet Dragons were able to close out the game and get the win.

GAME NOTES: Both teams are off until Jan. 3 when Central travels to Tyrone and Hollidaysburg hosts Penns Valley. … Central outrebounded Hollidaysburg, 31-26. … Hileman and Brady Steiner chipped in eight points apiece for the Golden Tigers. … Nick Garver added eight points for Central.

CENTRAL (48): H. Smith 6 4-9 19, Muthler 5 3-5 13, Butler 0 2-6 2, Garver 2 3-3 8, Bettwy 1 0-0 2, Long-Yarrison 2 0-0 4, Byler 0 0-0 0, Klotz 0 0-0 0. Totals – 16 12-23 48.

HOLLIDAYSBURG (45): Goodman 1 1-2 3, Rhodes 1 0-0 2, Hileman 3 2-3 8, Walters 1 4-4 7, Holsopple 2 0-0 4, Steiner 1 5-6 8, Weimert 5 2-2 13, Metzger 0 0-0 0, Albarano 0 0-0 0. Totals – 14 14-17 45.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Central 11 6 11 20 — 48

Hollidaysburg 9 13 9 14 — 45

3-point goals – Central 4 (H. Smith 3, Garver); Hollidaysburg 3 (Walters, Steiner, Weimert).

Records: Central (7-2); Hollidaysburg (6-2).

Officials: Joe Hanna, Dan Gales, Tyler Fink.