Defense was the theme of the day on Wednesday, February 4, as the Tyrone Golden Eagles faced off against the Central Dragons in a very low-scoring game.
The Golden Eagles pulled away in the end to win 35-30.
“Even though we weren’t scoring, I’m proud of our defense for stepping up, and I hope we can play defense like that for the rest of the year,” senior guard Eli Woomer said.
Tyrone was led by junior Carter Gwinn with 9 points, all from beyond the arc.
Woomer added eight, and Ashton Emigh and Ben Walk each scored seven, while Billy Rudden had four to account for all of the Golden Eagles’ points.
Dylan Hoover led all scorers with 15 points for Central, and teammate Jesse Muthler had 8 points, including two of Central’s five three pointers.
Tyrone scored on the first possession of the game on an Ashton Emigh layup, but scoring after that was limited as the first quarter ended quietly with Tyrone leading 5-2.
After another slow second quarter, the Golden Eagles went into the locker room up 15-8.
Even though Tyrone wasn’t scoring, their hustle and defensive intensity kept them ahead.
Both teams came out of the first half still slow, but the Golden Eagles outscored the Dragons in the third quarter 7-5, making the score 22-13, Tyrone leading going into the fourth.
A minute into the fourth quarter, Gwinn hit a huge three-pointer to put the Eagles up by 12.
Tyrone led 31-25 with just 16 seconds left when junior Mason Emigh was called for a charging foul, leading to the Tyrone bench getting called for two technical fouls after arguing the call.
“It’s just the emotions of the game,” Rhoades told the Altoona Mirror. “Our guys got a little emotional at the end. We got called for that foul and took a layup away. We overreacted. The bench got the technical, and it is what it is. It happens, and I like our guys playing with passion. I like us playing as a team.”
Luckily for Tyrone, Central only went 2-4 from the foul line to make the score 31-27.
Central then fouled Eli Woomer, and after Woomer hit both charity shots, the Eagles were up by six points.
Central wasn’t finished yet as Jesse Muthler shot a deep three and banked it in, but Eli Woomer hit two more free throws in the final seconds to seal the game for Tyrone, 35-30.
Tyrone improved their record to 11-7, and Central fell to 12-6.
Box Score
TYRONE (35): Gwinn 3 0-0 9, Woomer 2 4-4 8, A. Emigh 2 3-4 7, M. Emigh 0 0-0 0, Walk 3 1-2 7, Parsons 0 0-0 0, Oakes 0 0-0 0, Rudden 1 2-2 4. Totals — 11 10-12 35.
CENTRAL (30): Muthler 3 0-0 8, Heuston 0 0-0 0, Hoover 4 6-10 15, Beltz 0 0-0 0, Dickson 1 1-2 4, Decker 0 0-0 0, Rhodes 1 0-0 3, Reynolds 0 0-0 0. Totals — 9 7-12 30.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Tyrone 5 10 7 13 — 35
Central 2 6 5 17 — 30
3-point goals: Tyrone 3 (Gwinn 3); Central 5 (Muthler 2, Hoover, Dickson, Rhodes).
Records: Tyrone (11-7); Central (12-6).
JV: Central, 56-41. High scorers–P. Scott, C, 15; Sweitzer, T, 13.
