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BELLWOOD -- Bellwood-Antis boys basketball coach Tyler Mertiff says that he regularly prepares his team for high-pressure, end-of-game scenarios during practices.
But most of the Blue Devils' games this season haven't gone down to the wire, so the players haven't had much occasion to implement what they've learned.
Until Friday night, that is.
Led by junior Holden Schreier's 20 points, the Blue Devils staved off Central Cambria down the stretch and registered a 50-44 Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference victory at the Bellwood-Antis Senior High School gymnasium.
"I'm happy for our kids,'' said Mertiff, whose Blue Devils improved to 5-14 overall and 3-12 in the conference. "We've had the monkey on our backs for a long time about not being able to finish games and win them.
"I'm especially happy for our seven seniors -- who have worked their butts off,'' Mertiff added. "We've been focusing on game-ending scenarios in our practices, but we haven't been in too many close games this year. It was nice to finally use what we have been working on.''
Schreier agreed.
"We've worked all year on end-of-game situations, and it was nice to see us put that into practice tonight and come out with a win,'' Schreier said. "We stayed cool under pressure tonight.''
Trailing by as many as 11 points in the third quarter, Central Cambria (8-9, 7-7) battled back to tie the score, 38-38, early in the fourth quarter behind junior guard Grady Snyder, who scored a game-high 21 points.
Snyder scored a bucket on a putback, then hit three of four free throws, to pull Central Cambria even after Bellwood had forged a 38-33 lead at the three-quarter mark.
A putback by senior guard Anthony Caracciolo -- who had 10 points in the game -- gave Bellwood a 40-38 lead, and Schreier followed with a driving bucket to put the Blue Devils ahead, 42-38.
Senior forward Connor Serenko scored off Snyder's inside feed for Central Cambria, but Schreier answered that with a drive to the hoop and a field goal to give Bellwood a 44-40 advantage.
Snyder's driving bucket pulled Central Cambria to within 44-42 with under three minutes left, but Bellwood finished strong, scoring six of the game's final eight points.
Schreier hit two of two free throws with 2:01 left, and after Snyder converted one of two free throws with 1:17 remaining, senior guard Connor Bardell --who scored 11 points for the Blue Devils -- hit one of two foul shots, and Vincent Cacciotti did the same, to put Belllwood up, 48-44, with 55 seconds left.
Schreier and sophomore Martin Fatzinger both converted one of two free throws in the final minute as Bellwood came up with some clutch rebounds down the stretch to hold on for the victory.
"We battled real hard in the second half, but I thought we didn't play well in the first half,'' said Central Cambria coach Adam Stephan, whose team trailed, 25-18, at intermission. "We missed a lot of layups around the rim in the first half, but we finished more of our shots in the second half.
"We put some defensive pressure on them and started to get on a little roll and tied up the game in the fourth quarter, but then when we needed a defensive stop, we weren't able to get one,'' Stephan added. "We made too many mental mistakes from start to finish tonight -- mistakes that we shouldn't be making at this point in the season.''
Caracciolo led Bellwood with eight rebounds, and Schreier grabbed seven. Central Cambria got 11 points from sophomore guard Brayden Swope, along with a game-high 10 rebounds from senior forward George Dill and nine from Snyder, a guard who shoots well from the outside but also plays physical underneath the basket.
"They played great pressure defense and controlled the second half,'' Mertiff said. "Holden really stepped up, and we made enough plays to win tonight.''
Game notes: B-A hosts Forest Hills Monday, and Central Cambria hosts Hollidaysburg Tuesday. ... The JV game came down to the wire, with B-A prevailing, 34-33, on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Connor Mayes.
CENTRAL CAMBRIA (44): Dill 2 0-0 4, Serenko 3 0-0 6, Snyder 6 7-12 21, Iacono 0 0-0 0, Swope 5 0-0 11, Muldoon 1 0-0 2, Ray 0 0-0 0. Totals - 17 7-12 44.
BELLWOOD-ANTIS (50): Caracciolo 5 0-0 10, Bardell 5 1-2 12, H. Schreier 7 5-7 20, Shanafelt 0 0-0 0, Cacciotti 0 1-2 1, Fatzinger 1 5-6 7, Gibbons 0 0-0 0, Dorminy 0 0-0 0, Dickinson 0 0-0 0. Totals - 18 12-17 50.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Central Cambria 9 9 15 11--44
Bellwood-Antis 13 12 13 12--50
3-point goals: Central Cambria 3 (Snyder 2, Swope); Bellwood-Antis 2 (H. Schreier, Bardell).
Records: Central Cambria (8-9 overall, 7-7 in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference); Bellwood-Antis (5-14, 3-12).
JV: B-A, 34-33. High scorers--Burkett, CC, 10; Mayes, BA, 10.