“He just couldn’t move,” Rhoades said of Emigh’s sickness.

Emigh was well enough to play down the stretch in a tie game. He got up the court after a crazy sequence on the defensive end, and got off a last-second prayer for the win to give the sixth-seeded Golden Eagles a 58-56 win over No. 11 Central Cambria.

“Mason just made a play at the end,” Rhoades said. “He’s been as sick as can be. For him to make that play, wow. That’s all I can say.”

The shot came so close to the buzzer that Central Cambria coach Adam Stephan believed it shouldn’t have counted, which would have sent the game to overtime.

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Central Cambria's JD Brouse and Tyrone's Eli Woomer go for a rebound.

“It was a battle of a game,” Stephan said. “It’s a shame it had to end like that. In my opinion, it should have gone to overtime. That’s the way it falls sometimes. You have to deal with it and move on.”

Eli Woomer, who had 24 points for the Golden Eagles, including 15 in the second half, said he wants the ball in Emigh’s hands with the game on the line. Emigh also had a tip-in at the buzzer in a road win at Bellwood-Antis earlier this season.

“That was probably some of the most exciting basketball I’ve ever played,” Woomer said.

For Tyrone to even be in that position at the end of the game was a bit of an upset. Tyrone fell behind by as many as 17 points in the first half, but got its first lead since the first quarter with 3:35 to play on a Brayden Parsons 3-pointer.

A lot of the problem for Tyrone came from the Red Devils’ Brayden Swope, who finished the game with 34 points.

“I just thought it was possibly my last game, and wanted to give everything I had,” Swope said. “Unfortunately we didn’t come out on top, but it was just a crazy game.”

“I’m so proud of him going out the way he did,” Stephan said. “He didn’t want it to end tonight. He left everything on the floor tonight. He just played a sensational game. It’s the way that a kid should go out.”

Rhoades said his team’s focus on the defensive end was Central Cambria post player JD Brouse, who was held to just four points.

“Their defense had us a bit stifled. “Swope just shot the lights out. We watched many films and we knew he could shoot, but he just didn’t miss tonight.”

Central Cambria went up 56-52 after a Swope basket with 46 seconds left. After an Emigh basket and a Tyrone timeout with 31 seconds left, the Eagles’ Ben Walk got a layup off a turnover to tie the game with 20 seconds left.

Tyrone got a stop on the defensive end to set up Emigh’s heroics at the end.

“We’ve been resilient all year,” Rhoades said. “We keep battling and battling. I love these guys, man. They’re so resilient.”

Central Cambria finished the season 10-13.

Tyrone (14-8) will travel to third-seeded Westmont Hilltop on Thursday in the quarterfinals. The Golden Eagles played the Hilltoppers back in early December, losing by only four points, 74-70, on the road.

CENTRAL CAMBRIA (56): Kutchman 3 2-2 9, Sinosky 2 0-0 4, Swope 15 0-0 34, Barra 1 0-0 3, Brouse 2 0-0 4, McCloskey 0 0-0 0, Jackson 1 0-0 2, Giles 0 0-0 0. Totals — 24 2-2 56.

TYRONE (58): Gwinn 2 0-0 5, Woomer 9 1-2 24, A. Emigh 4 1-2 9, M. Emigh 3 0-0 6, Walk 4 0-0 8, Parsons 2 0-0 6, Oakes 0 0-0 0, Rudden 0 0-0 0. Totals — 24 2-4 58.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Central Cambria 19 15 12 10 — 56

Tyrone 15 9 13 21 — 58

3-point goals: Central Cambria 6 (Kutchman, Swope 4, Barra); Tyrone 8 (Gwinn, Woomer 5, Parsons 2).

Records: Central Cambria (10-13); Tyrone (14-8).

Officials: Todd Parker, Tom Fontaine, Mike Andrews