The 2023-2024 regular season has come to an end, which means it’s time for the Golden Eagles to make a push for a District VI Championship. Aided by an eight-game win streak to end the season, Tyrone achieved a 16-6 record that gave them the three seed and momentum going into the playoffs.
Tyrone’s regular season offensive attack was led by juniors Sam Crilly, Kendall Lehner, and Drew Escala.
Crilly averaged 16.0 points per game and shot an impressive 40% from behind the arc. Lehner contributed 12.9 points per game and Escala added 12.5. Junior Ashton Walk was the main playmaker, racking up 148 assists. Walk also led the team in rebounds.
Tyrone opens up their playoff run on Friday night at home with Penns Valley, who sits at a record of 11-11.
The Golden Eagles started the regular season against Penns Valley with a back-and-forth game until the final quarter, where Tyrone pulled out a 70-55 win. The two teams met again at the end of January. This contest was a much closer game for the Golden Eagles than before, this time the score being 67-60 still in favor of Tyrone.
The Rams are led by sophomore guard Fletcher Ironside, who only had three points in the first matchup and then went off for thirty points in the next meeting.
The Golden Eagle defense will look to stop Ironside from getting hot early. Another key scorer and well-rounded player is freshman Spencer Althouse who had fifteen in the first matchup along with twelve in the second matchup.
Penns Valley runs different varieties of zone defenses. The Golden Eagles will look to shoot well from behind the arc and find holes in the zone to get open looks.
While the regular season success against the Rams points towards Tyrone being a strong favorite, it’s never easy to defeat a team three times in the same season.
When asked about the contest, assistant coach Joe Laukaitis highlighted the three main focuses for Tyrone, which were “Consistency on the defensive end, playing together as a team, and focusing on the task at hand.”
The last focus Laukaitis mentioned is going to be key, as the Golden Eagles are likely eyeing up a rematch with Bishop Guilfoyle in the District Six championship game. Bishop Guilfoyle defeated Tyrone earlier in the season in a 65-57 tight game.
If the Golden Eagles can defeat the Rams and advance to the semi-finals, Tyrone will play the winner of Forest Hills and Penn Cambria. If they fall to the Rams, their season will be over.
Penn Cambria and Tyrone played two times this season, with both teams taking one. The Golden Eagles defeated Penn Cambria in the first matchup by a score of 77-67, while Penn Cambria won 75-57 the following week.
Tyrone has yet to play Forest Hills in an official game this season, but they matched up in a scrimmage before the season.
In the 3A division of District 6, three teams can advance to the state playoffs. As long as Tyrone wins their first-round match, they will still have an opportunity to advance to the state playoffs regardless of the result of their semifinal game.
The Golden Eagles look to win the District Championship and make it the first one in the program since 2000.
“We’re ready to go. We’re hitting our stride at the right time and need to keep it rolling,” junior Sam Crilly said.
