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By Matt Michelone
For the Mirror
BELLWOOD -- When you're coming off two tough losses in back-to-back games, sometimes playing against your rival can be the perfect pick-me up.
Wednesday night both Tyrone and Bellwood-Antis had a back-and-forth first-half affair. Both teams played to an eight-point Golden Eagle lead at the break.
The Eagles, however, exploded in the third quarter, outscoring the Blue Devils 19-4, never looking back as they got a 63-34 win.
"I thought we came out the first half and didn't execute real well defensively," Tyrone coach Luke Rhoades said. "I was real happy with the way we responded after halftime. We've got to be mentally in every game. I thought (B-A coach) Tyler (Mertiff) did a great job with his team, had them ready to go. His gameplan was good, try to slow us down, and took us out of our rhythm."
Eli Woomer knocked down a pair of threes early in the opening frame. He scored 16 points to get the Eagles offense started. Kendall Lehner put away a layup for two of his game-high 25 points to give Tyrone a 17-7 lead after one.
In the second quarter, Ashton Walk's jumper helped give the Eagles a 13-point lead, but the Blue Devils flipped the script for a moment.
Jackson Dorminy put away a pair of 3-pointers, and Collin McClellan added a bonus free throw which kept the Devils within eight at 30-22 at the break.
"We talked at halftime about going inside-out," Rhoades said. "When we had a little bit of a lead in the first half, we were settling for three after three after three after three. Balls not going through the hoop. We took two threes right off the bat and missed them. We went to the basket, and things opened up for us."
That plan took a little time to come to life offensively, but once Lehner buried a 3-pointer, that's when the Eagles offense took off. Lehner scored nine during the frame. Woomer came up with a layup with under four in the quarter as Tyrone took a 49-26 lead after three.
"We gave Tyrone everything they could handle in that first half," Mertiff said. "We had them concerned. We're a young team, no excuse about that. These guys haven't been in any of these situations at all. Once we get over that hump, and I think we're believing it now that we can compete with any team in the area. You may not get the win, but you've got to be able to compete."
Tyrone outscored B-A, 33-12, in the second half.
With the hopes of a postseason fading this season, Mertiff is looking to make the most out of the remaining schedule.
"These are valuable minutes," he said. "Most teams that are 0-11, 0-10, they pack it in. My kids come to work every single day ready to go. We didn't back down, we played hard until the final tip. You hate to say you're building for the future, but we truly are. These seniors are building to get these guys better."
TYRONE (63): Escala 1 2-2 4, Walk 2 1-4 5, Woomer 6 0-0 16, Lehner 11 2-4, Adams 0 0-0 0, Crilly 2 1-2 5, Hamer 4 0-0 8, Rudden 0 0-0 0, Parsons 0 0-0 0, Gwinn 0 0-0 0, Dasher 0 0-0 0, Harpster 0 0-0 0. Totals: 26 6-12 63.
BELLWOOD-ANTIS (34): Gibbons 1 0-0 2, Mayes 3 0-2 8, H. Schreier 0 0-0 0, Simmons 0 0-0 0, Dorminy 6 3-4 18, McClellan 2 2-3 6, Fatzinger 0 0-0 0, Worthing 0 0-0 0, Bardell 0 0-0 0, McConnell 0 0-0 0, Litzinger 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12 5-9 34.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Tyrone 17 13 19 14 - 63
Bellwood-Antis 7 15 4 8 - 34
3-point goals: Tyrone 5 (Woomer 4, Lehner), Bellwood-Antis 5 (Mayes 2, Shanafelt 3)
Records: Tyrone (9-2), Bellwood-Antis (0-11).
Officials: Chad Walsh, Eric DiStefano, Wayne Warfel
JV: Tyrone, 62-42. High scorers: Gwinn, T, 25; Shanafelt, B-A, 10