That was certainly the case in an evenly-matched first half between the two county rivals in their non-conference boys basketball showdown at a packed Hollidaysburg Area Senior High School gymnasium Tuesday night.

The second half of the game, however, was a completely different story.

Ahead by just one point, 35-34 at intermission, Hollidaysburg ruled the final 16 minutes, 41-25, en route to posting a 76-59 victory.

“I think the nerves came into play a little bit in the first half for us — we missed four point-blank layups in the first quarter,” Hollidaysburg coach Brad Lear said. “We were able to calm down in the second half.

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Altoona's Elliott McCloskey is pressured by Hollidaysburg's Ben Zimmerman.

“We always talk about trying to win the first four minutes of every quarter, and I thought that the first four minutes of the third quarter were definitely good for us,” Lear added.

Hollidaysburg, which won its sixth game in a row and improved its season record to 15-3, used an eight-point run at the start of the second half as a springboard to a 17-10 edge in the third quarter, which ended with the Golden Tigers up, 52-44.

Senior forward Kasen Metzger, who scored 20 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for Hollidaysburg, started the scoring in the second half by weaving inside for a field goal and following with a driving layup to give the Tigers a 39-34 lead.

After a Metzger steal, junior J.J. Stultz got free for a fast-break layup, and senior forward Ben Zimmerman scored off an inbounds feed to put the Tigers up, 43-34.

“We had to work through some nerves in the first half playing in a big game before a packed crowd here tonight, but in the second half, we came out with a lot more energy,” the 6-foot-3 Metzger said. “We hit more shots in the second half, and defensively, we dug in and we all communicated better and played better.”

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Altoona's Malikai Shields puts up a shot by Hollidaysburg's Vince Albarano.

After making 14 of 24 floor shots in the first half, Hollidaysburg cashed in on 18 of 28 in the second half. The Golden Tigers placed four players in double figures, with sophomore guard Vince Albarano converting a bevy of acrobatic moves to the basket into a game-high 21 points, Stultz adding 15, and Zimmerman scoring 11.

With Albarano scoring seven fourth-quarter points, sophomore Wyatt Frazier adding three field goals for six points, and Zimmerman chipping in five more points, Hollidaysburg increased its lead to as many as 19 points, 76-57, late in the fourth period.

Altoona, which dropped to 4-13, converted only eight of its 27 floor shots in the second half after going toe-to-toe with the Golden Tigers during a fast-paced, entertaining first half in which the lead changed hands frequently.

Senior Ethan Hicks came off the bench to score 11 of his team-high 14 points in the first half for Altoona, while senior guard Malikai Shields scored all 13 of his points in the first half for the Mountain Lions, who made 15 of their 28 first-half shots.

“We executed very well in the first half, played some solid defense, and made some shots,” Altoona coach Doug Pfeffer said. “In the second half, we couldn’t guard anybody. Our one-on-one defense was not good, and our help-side defense was just as bad.

“Give Hollidaysburg credit – they took high-percentage shots in the second half and they made them, but we needed to do a much better job of forcing them to take tougher shots than they were getting,” Pfeffer added.

Both teams are back in action tonight. The Mountain Lions hosts Harrisburg in a Mid-Penn Conference game, while the Golden Tigers travel to Penns Valley for a Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference game.

“Altoona plays a lot of road games in their conference that involve two-hour drives and that has made their players tough and thick-skinned,” Lear said of the Mountain Lions. “They have eight guys who can shoot and dribble the ball well, and they all play hard. I think (Pfeffer) does a good job of getting those players motivated.

“41-25 in the second half,” Lear said of the Golden Tigers’ advantage in the final 16 minutes. “That was the difference in the game tonight.”

ALTOONA (59): Wagner 3 2-2 8, Pfeffer 2 2-3 7, Shields 6 0-2 13, Chathams 2 0-0 4, McCloskey 3 0-1 6, E. Hicks 5 2-3 14, D. Hicks 2 0-0 4, Cochran 0 3-6 3, Helsel 0 0-0 0. Totals – 23 9-15 59.

HOLLIDAYSBURG (76): Metzger 9 0-0 20, Zimmerman 4 3-4 11, Stultz 5 2-2 15, Albarano 10 1-2 21, Delerme 0 0-0 0, Frazier 3 0-1 6, Wolfe 1 0-0 3, Rhodes 0 0-0 0, Padamonsky 0 0-0 0, McDade 0 0-0 0, Steiner 0 0-0 0. Totals – 32 6-9 76.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Altoona 18 16 10 15–59

Hollidaysburg 18 17 17 24–76

3-point goals: Altoona 4 (E. Hicks 2, Pfeffer, Shields); Hollidaysburg 6 (Stultz 3, Metzger 2, Wolfe).

Records: Altoona (4-13); Hollidaysburg (15-3).

Officials: Wally Reimer, Sarah Fye, Dave Wright.

JV: Altoona, 42-24. High scorers–Kayden Gergley, A, 14; Will Padamonsky, H, 5.