Tyrone’s state playoff game was much like their past few games, a tale of two halves. The first half started out great for Tyrone, but the Golden Eagles crumbled in the second half, dropping a 71-41 decision to the undefeated Aliquppa Quips.

The first half was nearly perfect for Tyrone even though they down 35-31. To Tyrone’s credit, a four point margin against the undefeated consensus best team in the state is something to be proud of.

Aliquippa applied some serious pressure with a man to man full court press.  Tyrone sophomore Jacob Meredith took the heat and handled the ball very well against one of the best guards in the state.

Tyrone also took the Quips style of play very well too. Aliquippa got out on the break and ran a lot, but Tyrone limited many of Aliquippa’s fast breaks due to their mostly effective 2-1-2 zone.

Tyrone actually outscored the Quips 17-13 in the second half.

Unfortunately the second half was much, much different than the first. Aliquippa came out of the locker room on fire, scoring the first 20 points of the second half.  Tyrone was outscored 22-4 in the third quarter.

The fourth quarter was not much different. Tyrone was outscored 14-6. The Quips sealed the game with a solid 2nd half.

Although Tyrone ended the season with a tough loss, they put up a great fight against the number one ranked team in the state.  Senior forward Anthony Politza led the way for the Eagles, as he has all season long, with a team high 14 points.

Aliquippa’s senior forward Chucky Humphries led all scorers with 23 points, while their stellar guard Jassir Jordan dropped 17.

Tyrone ended the season with a 15-10 record. This mark was, for most people, a lot better than expected. Aliquippa will move on in the State playoffs to play Bishop Canevin.

Penns Valley won their state playoff game against Kane 56-36, which means they will move on. Bellwood and West Branch both lost their games by decent sized margins, which means Penns Valley is the only team from District 6 still alive in the state playoffs.

Until next year…

BOX SCORE

TYRONE (41): Mitchell 0 0-0 0, Meredith 3 0-0 6, A. Weaver 2 4-4 8, Thomas 4 0-0 11, A. Politza 7 0-2 14, Lewis 0 2-4 2, Soellner 0 0-0 0, G. Weaver 0 0-0 0, Anderson 0 0-0 0, Ferguson 0 0-0 0, N. Politza 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 6-10 41.

ALIQUIPPA (71): Jeter 2 4-4 8, Jordan 6 2-2 17, D. Crute 0 0-0 0, Humphries 11 1-2 23, Pugh 6 4-5 16, Fields 0 0-0 0, Jumar 0 0-0 0, Cashaw 0 0-0 0, R. Crute 2 0-1 4, Bible 0 2-2 2, Perry 0 0-0 0, Moreland 0 1-2 1, Gipson 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 14-18 71.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Tyrone 14 17 4 6 – 41

Aliquippa 22 13 22 14 – 71

3-point goals: Tyrone 3 (Thomas 3); Aliquippa 3 (Jordan 3).

Team records: Tyrone (15-10); Aliquippa (26-0).