The Tyrone Golden Eagles kept the ball rolling with a 57-41 win over the 7-8 Bellefonte Red Raiders on Tuesday night. The Golden Eagles now sit atop the Mountain League with an impressive 16-2 record.

Last night was senior night for the hosting Golden Eagles. While things like senior night or homecoming will often distract a team, this was not the case this time around. Tyrone seemed to be running on all cylinders once again, something players and fans alike have been longing for for quite a long time.

“We played well tonight. I think we got a little bit of our swagger back. For a while we haven’t been going on the runs that we used to go on. But tonight everything seemed to connect again,” senior PG Shane Geis explained.

It was Bellefonte who jumped out to an early lead, going up 7-5 in the first quarter. Something must have clicked for the Golden Eagles right then and there, because in the next two minutes the Golden Eagles were up 25-9.

“Defense, once again, was the motor to the win tonight. Without Geis supplying some mean ball pressure and Politza’s tough rebounding down low, tonight may have ended differently,” senior forward Tristan Lingafelt said.

Senior guard Pooky Soellner was absolutely lethal in the contest, leading the team with 18 points.  Preston Mitchell added 11 for the Golden Eagles.

“The shots were falling for me tonight,” said Soellner, “but I have Geis and my guards to thank for that, for driving the lanes to kick it out to me.”

Tyrone’s basketball game is a spectacle to watch. At times they look like they are playing with their food, making 5 or 6 no-look passes in a row until the ball lands softly yet impossibly into the hands of Politza for an easy layup or Brooks for a towering three. This kind of passing can only be accredited to Tyrone’s enviable team chemistry, something they have been building for the past 11 years.

Regardless of how well Tyrone played, the Eagles will face tougher opponents in the near future. They will need to play just as well to take down Bald Eagle and Central Mountain on their home turfs later this week.

BOX SCORES

BELLEFONTE (41): Fortney 4 1-2 10, Knisely 1 2-2 4, Kregger 2 5-6 9, Caprio 7 0-0 16, Helms 1 0-1 2, Stiner 0 0-0 0, Feldman 0 0-0 0, Armstrong 0 0-0 0, Pryzbys 0 0-0 0.

Totals – 15 8-11 41.

TYRONE (57): P. Mitchell 0 1-2 1, Meredith 1 0-0 3, Brooks 3 0-0 8, Geis 0 1-2 1, N . Soellner 7 0-1 18, Lingafelt 4 0-0 9, Pr. Mitchell 4 3-6 11, Politza 3 0-2 6, Anderson 0 0-0 0, Thomas 0 0-0 0, Lewis 0 0-0 0.

Totals – 22 5-13 57.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Bellefonte: 9 10 4 18 – 41

Tyrone: 20 18 12 7 – 57

3-point goals: Bellefonte 3 (Caprio 2, Fortney); Tyrone 8 (Meredith, Brooks 2, N. Soellner 4, Lingafelt).

Records: Tyrone (16-2).

JV: Tyrone, 49-37.

High scorer-Parker Mitchell, T, 16.