Dealing with adversity for the first time this season, the Golden Eagles overcame a first-half slump and improved to 5-0 last night with a 75-53 win at Clearfield.
“I don’t think we came out and played with the intensity we needed to and I don’t think we did a good job in recognizing who their scorers were. As a team we need to understand the level we need to play at if we want to accomplish our goals,” Tyrone Head Coach Luke Rhoades said.
Poor defensive intensity and a lack of establishing a half-court offense snowballed into a lack of defensive rebounding and transition offense for the Golden Eagles.
Tyrone jumped up to a 20-13 lead in the first quarter but the struggles on offense and lack of intensity questioned Tyrone’s identity during a poor second quarter.
Early foul trouble for Ashton Walk and Kendall Lehner resulted in Landon Hamer, Trent Adams, and Mason Emigh having to step up, but Clearfield seized the momentum and outscored the Golden Eagles 12-7 in the second.
Tyrone held just a two-point advantage at halftime, and in the locker room, Head Coach Luke Rhoades asked his team what they wanted to be remembered for.
With some inspiration from the coaches and senior leadership, Tyrone came out in the second half looking like a completely different team.
Seniors Sam Crilly and Kendall Lehner controlled the offense with 20 points each.
Lehner scored 19 of his 20 points in the second half.
“I think the ability to prove to ourselves that we can overcome adversity this early in the season is crucial to our success going forward, and will help the players and coaches stay composed in tight situations,” Lehner said.
Strong full-court defense and hustle from senior Drew Escala forced Clearfield to take tough shots and generated turnovers that helped push the ball up the floor in transition.
Clearfield focused on shutting down the Golden Eagles’ outside shooting but by doing so they became vulnerable to inside layups and traditional three-point plays for Escala and Lehner.
Woomer and Crilly were still able to find shots despite the tough matchup. Both hit three 3-pointers, helping the Golden Eagles to push their lead to 20 early in the fourth.
“We came out slow in the first half but picked it up in the second half and finished the game strong,” Crilly said.
The big factor in Tyrone’s second-half success on offense was a renewed intensity on defense.
Despite the improved showing in the second half, Rhoades said that he wants the team to reflect on the negatives and make that a focus going forward.
Clearfield point guard Braison Patrick Led the Bison with 27 points, proving to the Golden Eagles that there is much work to be done to reach their goals.
Tyrone now improves to 5-0, and will host the Claysburg-Kimmel Bulldogs in the first round of the Reliance Bank Holiday Tournament on Friday, December 27. Tip-off is at 7:30 PM
BOX SCORE
TYRONE (75): Crilly 7 3-4 20, A. Walk 1 1-1 3, Escala 4 1-1 9, Lehner 7 6-8 20, Woomer 3 0-0 9, Adams 1 2-2 4, A. Emigh 0 0-0 0, Hamer 2 0-1 4, M. Emigh 1 0-0 3, Novak 0 0-0 0, Dasher 0 0-0 0, Harpster 1 0-0 3. Totals – 27 13-17 75.
CLEARFIELD (53): Collins 2 0-0 4, Ev. Maines 6 2-2 15, Patrick 9 4-6 27, Kaskin 0 1-2 1, Lynch 0 1-2 1, Rumfola 0 0-0 0, Broad 0 2-2 2, Ea. Maines 1 0-0 3. Totals – 18 11-14 53.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Tyrone 20 7 19 29 – 75
Clearfield 13 12 14 14 – 53
3-point goals: Tyrone 8 (Crilly 3, Woomer 3, Emigh, Harpster); Clearfield 6 (Patrick 4, Ev. Maines, Ea. Maines).
Records: Tyrone (5-0); Clearfield (1-4).
JV: Clearfield, 48-36. High scorers–Parsons, T, 14; Curry, C, 16.
