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By Ron Musselman
For The Mirror
HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Junior forward Kasen Metzger equalled his season average of 20 points by halftime Friday afternoon.
He sank two more free throws midway through the third quarter before leaving the game for good.
By then, Hollidaysburg had already kicked it into cruise control en route to a 77-46 victory over Central Cambria in a Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference game.
The 6-foot-3 Metzger, who made 9 of his first 12 shots from the field, led all scorers with 22 points. Fifteen of his points came in the first quarter as the unbeaten Golden Tigers (8-0) rallied from an early deficit to take control.
"(Metzger) was very good," Red Devils coach Adam Stephan said. "We wanted to try and limit him, but we weren't able to do that. "I thought he shot the ball pretty well in the first half. He's a heck of a player, he's an outstanding player. He played a really good game."
Hollidaysburg coach Brad Lear said the Red Devils, who were missing standout guard Grady Snyder due to an illness, played tight defense and forced his team to abandon its 3-point shooting and focus more on an inside game.
The Tigers made just one 3-pointer in the first half and three for the game, well below their average.
"They took away our 3-point shooting, so we went inside to Kasen," Lear said. "The kids did a really good job of getting the ball to him and he did a good job of making his shots.
"I was really pleased with the way the kids played. I'm proud of what the kids have done so far."
Metzger got plenty of offensive support from his teammates. Jay Albarano (11 points), Brady Steiner (10) and JJ Stultz (10) also reached double figures for the Tigers.
"They were missing one of their best players, so we came out and just pounded the ball down low," Metzger said. "They really couldn't really stop us anywhere. They were giving us the shots we wanted.
"Not all shots fell, but most did and everyone was scoring."
Central Cambria's Brayden Swope was hot early on, hitting his first four 3-point shots. His first 3 staked the Devils to a 13-5 lead in the first quarter and his last one snapped a 13-13 tie with 1:20 remaining.
Metzger quickly put Hollidaysburg ahead for good a short time later with a nifty shot inside.
Swope finished with a team-high 17 points for Central Cambria, but he injured his leg early in the third quarter and did not return. Isaac Bradley added 10 points for the Devils (5-3).
"We were kind of undermanned -- we were missing two guys due to an illness, we had another foul out and then (Swope) got hurt," Stephan said.
"We didn't perform to the best of our abilities.
"Hollidaysburg is playing very well right now. Coach Lear has them playing really, really hard. They're strong and they're physical."
The Tigers, playing their first game in eight days, have outscored their first eight opponents by an average margin of 22 points per game.
According to MaxPreps, the Hollidaysburg boys are off to their best start since the 2005-06 season. The Tigers started that year 10-0 en route to a 22-6 record.
"We're playing really well together," Albarano said. "We always have. This year has been a great year so far and we're really enjoying this run we are on right now."
Hollidaysburg hosts undefeated Forest Hills (9-0) in an LHAC game next Friday, while Central Cambria plays at Huntingdon.
CENTRAL CAMBRIA (46): Brouse 3 2-2 8, Swope 6 0-0 17, Burkett 0 0-0 0, I. Bradley 4 0-0 10, H. Bradley 1 0-0 2, Kutchman 0 1-4 1, Dill 0 0-0 0, Barra 2 1-2 6, McCloskey 0 0-2 0, Sinosky 1 0-0 2, James 0 0-0 0. Totals -- 17 4-10 46.
HOLLIDAYSBURG (77): Metzger 9 3-4 22, Wolfe 0 0-0 0, B. Steiner 4 0-0 10, Delerme 0 2-2 2, Bell 2 0-0 4, J. Albarano 3 5-5 11, V. Albarano 4 0-0 8, Stultz 5 0-0 10, Zimmerman 2 2-2 6, Figard 0 0-0 0, T. Steiner 0 0-0 0, Anderson 2 0-0 4, Kirsch 0 0-0 0, McDade 0 0-0 0, Joseph 0 0-0 0. Totals -- 31 12-13 77.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Central Cambria 16 11 12 7 -- 46
Hollidaysburg 19 22 28 8 -- 77
3-point goals: Central Cambria 8 (Swope 5, I. Bradley 2, Barra); Hollidaysburg 3 (B. Steiner 2, Metzger).
Records: Central Cambria (5-3); Hollidaysburg (8-0).
JV: Hollidaysburg, 38-23. High scorer-Padamonsky, H, 12; McCloskey, CC, 8. Record: Hollidaysburg is 7-0.
Officials, John Depsha, Rich Gergley, Jim Racchini.