The 13-2 Tyrone Golden Eagles are one step closer to clinching the Mountain League title for only the seventh time in Tyrone basketball history.  However, this week presents two HUGE obstacles to meeting that goal with games against Huntingdon and Clearfield.

The 9-4 Huntingdon Bearcats did the Eagles a huge favor by knocking off Penns Valley earlier this season. That win, combined with Tyrone’s 52-50 victory over the Rams, make it very difficult for the Rams to contend for the Mountain League title.

Meanwhile, Huntingdon truly doesn’t have a chance to win the Mountain League either, somehow ending up with four conference losses already.

However, the Bearcats won’t be aiming to do the Eagles any more favors on their own court on Wednesday night. This is a good team highlighted by some stellar scoring from senior Nate Gearhart. While he usually doesn’t contribute too much defensively, he is lethal from deep, and proved that in the last meeting with Tyrone.

Remember when Huntingdon scored 33 points in the fourth quarter to almost come back against Tyrone? Yeah, that was almost exclusively Gearhart. And he will likely be on again.

“Against Huntingdon, all we really need to do is shut down Gearhart and make sure we secure the rebounds. If we do that and play well offensively, we will be fine,” senior big man Diddy Mitchell explained.

Clearfield is probably an even bigger challenge for Tyrone.

One of only two teams to beat Tyrone, they are sitting pretty at 15-1. Penns Valley is the only team that have conquered the Bison this season. And while Tyrone is 13-2, both teams have only one loss in the Mountain League, and therefore both are currently tied for the title. It is reasonable to say that whoever wins the game on Friday will win the conference trophy.

The Bison have a team full of physical, scrappy, and strong players. While none of them have the talent of Huntingdon’s Nate Gearhart or Bellwood’s Nate Davis, this is by far the toughest team Tyrone has seen. If there is a loose ball, it usually ends up in Bison possession. If there is a tough rebound, it usually ends up in Clearfield’s hands. If Tyrone wants to win on Friday at home, they will need to bring their own intensity and challenge Clearfield to match it.

“I just hope that we can bring our best game this week. We haven’t played even close to our full potential in a while. Hopefully we can show it,” senior PG Shane Geis said.

Geis is right, the Golden Eagles cannot afford to take this week lightly. Hopefully they can pull these out so they can clinch the title next week.