The Tyrone boys basketball team ended 2023 on a high note, winning the 12th Annual Tyrone Reliance Bank tournament.
Tyrone had three starters make the all-tournament team. Juniors Sam Crilly, Ashton Walk, and Kendall Lehner all were selected, with Lehner being awarded the MVP of the tournament.
Tyrone started the tournament facing off against Bellwood, a team that has struggled to start the season.
Ashton Walk got the Golden Eagle offense going early, scoring 7 points and 3 assists. Tyrone closed out the first quarter with a 20-9 lead.
Bellwood Antis senior Anthony Caracciolo kept the Blue Devils in the game, scoring 19 of Bellwood’s 23 first-half points. Despite the strong performance from Caracciolo, Bellwood still trailed Tyrone by 12 at halftime.
Tyrone came out of the break hot and outscored the Blue Devils by 7 in the third quarter, extending their lead to 18. Walk found fellow junior Kendall Lehner uncovered under the basket multiple times and added a couple of shots himself to improve the Golden Eagle lead.
The fourth quarter was when Tyrone took over the game and built up a lead that was far out of reach for the Blue Devils to come back from. Tyrone closed out the game with the ball and secured the 70-43 win and improved their record to 5-2.
Walk and Lehner led the team with 16 points each, as Andrew Escala contributed 11 and Eli Woomer had 9 off the bench.
This win put Tyrone in the Championship game of the tournament against a 4-4 Penn Cambria team the next day.
Unfortunately for Tyrone, they would be without junior Andrew Escala. Escala injured his ankle in the Bellwood game and was unable to play against Penn Cambria.
Even without Escala, Tyrone was able to jump out to an early first-quarter lead.
A balanced attack led by juniors Ashton Walk, Kendall Lehner, and Sam Crilly gave the Eagles a 21-14 lead over Penn Cambria to close out the first quarter.
Both teams went back and forth trading baskets to begin the second quarter. Tyrone was unable to keep up, though, as Penn Cambria caught fire from beyond the arc. A 19-2 Penn Cambria run had the Panthers up 38-32 going into halftime.
“We were struggling to get stops, but after talking things through at halftime we knew we’d just have to lock in and play tough defense,” senior Brady Ronan said.
The start of the third quarter was much of the same, as Penn Cambria held a 9-point advantage over Tyrone after multiple possessions. That was, until, the Tyrone defense began to disrupt the Penn Cambria offense. Multiple steals led to easy fast-break points, and Penn Cambria struggled to recover the rhythm they had in the second quarter. Tyrone ended the third quarter with a 54-49 lead.
Tyrone’s defensive efforts continued into the fourth quarter, resulting in multiple turnovers and tightly contested shots. The Golden Eagle offense turned to senior Dravyn Crowell to close out the game. Crowell scored 13 fourth-quarter points, and Tyrone came out on top with a 77-67 victory.
Kendall Lehner scored a game-high 22 points, while Crowell and Sam Crilly both contributed 15. Ashton Walk packed the stat sheet, as he scored 14 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and tallied 15 assists.
BOX SCORE – FINALS
PENN CAMBRIA (67): McDermott 5 3-5 13, E. Semelsberger 5 1-4 13, Harrold 5 0-0 12, Rabish 5 1-2 15, Gibbons 5 0-0 12, Farabaugh 1 0-0 2, Lilly 0 0-0 0, Plunkett 0 0-0 0, L .Semelsberger 0 0-0 0. Tremel 0 0-0 0. Totals: 26 5-11 67.
TYRONE (77): Crilly 5 5-6 15, A. Walk 5 4-6 14, Lehner 9 4-5 22, Crowell 7 1-2 15, Woomer 1 0-2 3, Ronan 2 0-0 5, M. Emigh 0 0-0 0, A. Emigh 1 1-2 3. Oakes 0 0-0 0Totals: 30 15-21 77.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
PC 14 24 11 18 – 67
T 21 11 22 23 – 77
