Parker Mitchell and Dylan Thomas combined for 49 points in leading Tyrone to a 74-54 win at Juniata, who came into the game with a 17-3 mark.

Mitchell scored 29 points and added seven rebounds to go with Thomas’ 20 points. Teammate Jake Meredith added 15 points and eight assists as the Golden Eagles improved to 12-9.

The first quarter was back and forth as both teams traded buckets until the quarter ended with Tyrone leading 13-11.

In the second quarter the tides changed, as the Eagles came out scoring the first seven points. This forced Juniata to change their defense for the third time in the game. This contained the Eagles but didn’t stop them completely as they won the quarter 17-11, and took a 30-22 lead heading into the half.

“We had the momentum heading into the half, it was all about how we carried that into the second half that was really important to our win,” said Junior Parker Mitchell.

The Eagles didn’t slow down in the second half like they have had a tendency to do this season.  Instead, they outscored Juniata 44-32 to lead them to a twenty point victory.

Head Coach George Gripp had some very complimentary words for his team after the big victory.

“This team was 17-3 coming into the game and it the number one seed in the 3A bracket. This was a huge win for our guys and they need to carry this play into the playoffs,” said Gripp.

Tyrone’s final regular season game is Monday at West Branch. Playoffs will begin on Tuesday, February 21.

BOX SCORE

TYRONE (74): Z. Kohler 0 0-0 0, J. Kohler 0 0-0 0, Mitchell 11 4-6 29, Meredith 6 2-2 15, Ferguson 2 0-0 5, Lewis 2 1-1 5, Thomas 6 5-6 20, Anderson 0 0-0 0, Politza 0 0-0 0. Totals — 27 12-15 74.

JUNIATA (54): Parson 1 1-2 4, Leonard 2 5-5 11, T. Clark 7 1-1 20, Lauver 4 4-5 14, B. Clark 2 0-0 5, Bailor 0 0-0 0, Martin 0 0-0 0. Totals — 16 11-13 54.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Tyrone 13 17 18 26 — 74

Juniata 11 11 12 20 — 54

3-point goals: Tyrone 8 (Thomas 3, Mitchell 3, Meredith, Ferguson); Juniata 11 (T. Clark 5, Leonard 2, Lauver 2, B. Clark, Parson).

Records: Tyrone (12-9); Juniata (17-4).

JV: Tyrone, 44-34. High scorers–Moon, T, 12, Reinhard, J, 12.