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By John Hartsock
jhartsock@altoonamirror.com
CRESSON -- Just eight days ago, Tyrone clipped Penn Cambria, 77-67, in the boys championship game of the Reliance Bank/Kiwanis Club Holiday Basketball Tournament at Tyrone High School.
The rematch between the two teams Friday night was a different story.
Led by a game-high 21 points from senior guard Easton Semelsberger and 19 from junior Brandon Rabish, Penn Cambria placed four players in double figures in defeating Tyrone, 75-57, in a Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference game at the Penn Cambria High School gymnasium.
Sparked by Semelsberger's 16 first-half points, Penn Cambria (5-6 overall, 2-5 in the conference) started quickly, building a 40-21 lead at halftime.
Led by Rabish's seven points, the Panthers took command of the game with a 15-point run in the second quarter that widened their 23-19 lead to 38-19. Penn Cambria carried the quarter, 21-6 overall.
"We played relentless defense tonight, and we made it tough for them to score - they didn't get a whole lot of easy buckets,'' said Penn Cambria coach Jim Ronan, whose team converted seven 3-point shots, three apiece by Semelsberger and Rabish. "We shot the 3-pointer well tonight. When we shoot the 3-pointer well, we create a really tough matchup for the opposition.''
Even though Tyrone rallied to make a game of it in the third quarter, the second quarter was pivotal.
"The second quarter killed us,'' said Tyrone coach Luke Rhoades, whose team dropped to 6-4 overall and 4-3 in conference.
Rabish started his team's 15-point second-quarter spurt with a field goal, Semelsberger followed with a layup, sophomore Caden Gibbons converted a putback, and senior Carter McDermott hit a field goal and made two free throws after a Tyrone player was assessed a technical foul.
Rabish made a fast-break layup, was fouled, and converted the free throw, and Alex Cherico parlayed a steal into a layup to close the 15-point run.
"We knew how to adjust from the first game that we played them,'' Rabish said. "We came out in a zone defense tonight, and I think that really helped us with our spacing and with defending their shooters.''
Semelsberger scored 14 points in the first quarter for Penn Cambria, which also got 11 points apiece from McDermott and junior Gavin Harrold.
"I thought that Easton played a fantastic first quarter plus for us,'' Ronan said. "His senior leadership gave us some rhythm to build on.''
Tyrone, which was led by junior guard Sam Crilly's 20 points and 10 from junior forward Andrew Escala, whittled its 19-point halftime deficit to just 10 points, 52-42, late in the third quarter. Crilly scored 10 points in the period, which Tyrone carried, 21-15.
Rabish applied the dagger, however, canning a 3-point shot from the right side to give Penn Cambria a 55-42 lead after three quarters, and also making a 3-pointer from the right corner at the outset of the fourth quarter as Penn Cambria hiked its lead to 16 points, 58-42.
"I think that my role on the team is to shoot the 3-pointer,'' Rabish said. "I think that helps us the most.''
It certainly did in the second half of Friday's game.
"When he gets hot, he's one of the best shooters around,'' Ronan said of Rabish. "We try to get him the ball as much as we can when we see that look in his eye and he's feeling it.''
Rhoades thought Penn Cambria's ability to pull away again after Tyrone had made a game of it in the third quarter was crucial.
"Our goal was to get to within nine points by the end of the third quarter,'' Rhoades said. "We got within 10, but then we had a defensive breakdown, they hit the open 3, and that put the nail in the coffin.''
Penn Cambria converted 27 of 55 floor shots for a 49 percent clip, while Tyrone made 19 of 48 floor shots for 39.6.
Led by junior Kendall Lehner's game-high eight rebounds, Tyrone - which hosts Huntingdon in a conference game Monday night — won the battle of the boards, 30-22.
But Penn Cambria was laser-focused when it needed to be.
"Their toughness and quickness really showed,'' Rhoades said of the Panthers, who host Chestnut Ridge in a conference game Monday night. "Defensively, we got beaten off the dribble, and when they didn't score inside, they would kick it out for open shots.''
TYRONE (57): Lehner 6 5-6 17, Walk 2 0-0 4, Crilly 7 4-4 20, Crowell 0 0-0 0, A. Escala 3 4-5 10, Woomer 1 2-2 5, Ronan 0 0-2 0, M. Emigh 0 1-2 1, Oakes 0 0-0 0, A. Emigh 0 0-0 0, Bruggert 0 0-0 0, Parsons 0 0-0 0, Dasher 0 0-0 0. Totals - 19 16-24 57.
PENN CAMBRIA (75): Harrold 5 1-4 11, E. Semelsberger 7 4-5 21, McDermott 4 3-4 11, Farabaugh 0 0-0 0, Rabish 6 4-4 19, Gibbons 3 2-2 8, Lilly 0 0-0 0, Cherico 1 0-0 2, Tremel 1 0-0 3, L. Semelsberger 0 0-0 0, Strittmatter 0 0-0 0, Jones 0 0-0 0, Price 0 0-0 0. Totals - 27 14-19 75.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Tyrone 15 6 21 15 -- 57
Penn Cambria 19 21 15 20 -- 75
3-point goals: Tyrone 3 (Crilly 2, Woomer); Penn Cambria 7 (Rabish 3, E. Semelsberger 3, Tremel).
Records: Tyrone (6-4, 4-3 Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference); Penn Cambria (5-6, 2-5 Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference.
Officials: Bill Pfeffer, Dan Amrhein, Craig Andros.
JV: No game.