After ending the regular season with a record of 20-2, the Eagles continued their reign over Central and the Mountain League in the first round of the D6 playoffs.  Despite trailing for most of the game, the Eagles were able to pull off a thrilling 48-46 comeback win led by the hot hand of sophomore Courtland Rhoades.

Rhoades was a menace to Central from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter.  He helped bring Tyrone back from a nine-point deficit early in the quarter. Tyrone made ten 3-pointers throughout the game with six of the ten being made in the fourth quarter. 

“In the first quarter, I wasn’t hitting, but in the second half, I was just feeling good,” said Rhoades.

The first quarter for both teams started off slow. Neither team could find any offensive rhythm and the quarter ended with Central leading 6-5.

In the second quarter, Central began to pull away, scoring 11 points to Tyrone’s six.

Central went into the half leading by a score of 17- 11.

Tyrone Head Coach George Gripp made some adjustments at the half and things started to improve for the Eagles offense.

“We told them to play with confidence, especially on the offensive end,” said Gripp, “We started running a lot of offensive sets that started higher and had more movement.”

But Tyrone could only close the gap by two points in the third, scoring 17 to Cental’s 15 points.

But in the fourth, it was Rhoades hot hand from outside that made the difference for the Eagles.

Rhoades led the Eagles with a game and season-high 21 points, hitting six 3-pointers including the game-winning shot that got them this playoff win.

Rhoades had six of Tyrone’s ten three-point shots on the night. 

Tyrone will face Huntingdon at Mount Aloysius College on Saturday at 5:30.

The Eagles and Bearcats split the regular season, and the Mountain Leauge title, with both teams winning at home.

“We have to rebound the ball better, and have a better balance in our shot selection,” said Gripp about the Eagles must improve against Huntingdon. “We [need to] have a good mix between drives and outside shots.”

BOX SCORE

CENTRAL (46): Eberlin 2 0-0 5, Kitt 8 1-5 17, Boyles 2 1-2 5, Klotz 4 0-0 10, Kling 1 1-1 3, Lingenfelter 2 2-2 6, Liebal 0 0-0 0, Ferry 0 0-0 0, Hoenstine 0 0-0 0. Totals — 19 5-10 46.

TYRONE (48): Rhoades 7 1-1 21, DeHaas 2 2-2 7, Gripp 4 2-4 13, Lucas 0 4-7 4, Hoover 1 1-1 3, Lang 0 0-0 0, Johnson 0 0-0 0. Totals — 14 10-15 48.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Central 6 11 15 14 — 46

Tyrone 5 6 17 20 — 48

3-point goals: Central 3 (Klotz 2, Eberlin); Tyrone 10 (Rhoades 6, Gripp 3, DeHaas).

Records: Central (14-9); Tyrone (21-2).