Sports
February 13-19, 2014
Page 19
Intense battle
BEA bests Tyrone in a Mountain League clash on the hardwood By PAT ROTHDEUTSCH sports@centrecountygazette.com
WINGATE — The top of the Mountain League basketball standings got a bit more crowded on Friday night. In a game that was as tense — and intense — as any playoff clash, Bald Eagle Area outlasted Tyrone, 70-59, on Senior Night and climbed into a three-way tie atop the league standings with Tyrone and Penns Valley. It was BEA’s fourth consecutive victory, accomplished despite a serious height disadvantage and the presence of Tyrone point guard Brandon Gripp, who is one of the best players in the region. Guards Bryce and Bryan Greene and Brandon Gettig again led the Eagles, who carved out a tenuous six-point halftime lead and then held off Gripp and Tyrone’s relentless offensive rebounders until the final minutes of the game to secure the win. Bryan Greene scored 18 points, Getting got 18, and Bryce Greene added eight, but it may have been the Eagles’ combination defense that gave them the edge. BEA played a variation of a box-and-one, with either Ryan Dyke, Bryce Greene, Bryan Greene or Jeff Bennett assigned to play Gripp man-to-man wherever he went. Gripp did get points, 15 for the game, but that was still 10 points below his average, and he never seemed to get comfortable against the aggressive Eagles. “Well, our game plan was to man up on him (Gripp),” Bryce Greene said. “We did a good job on him over at Tyrone (a doubleovertime loss for BEA), and what did we hold him to, 15 points? We were going to give him 25 points because that’s what he was averaging. We kept him to 15. That was a great job. The box worked very well.” The game throughout was a classic matchup of contrasting styles. BEA relied on its fast breaks and aggressive defense to strike quickly and in bunches, while Tyrone played mostly half court, looking to penetrate and dump off to its three big men — Anthony Politza (9 points), Jordan Miller (18), and Erik Wagner (8). And even if the Golden Eagles did miss, Miller, et. al., were there for the rebound, sometimes getting three and even four chances at put-backs. “We didn’t do very well (against their size),” BEA coach Bill Butterworth said.
TIM WEIGHT/For The Gazette
BALD EAGLE AREA’S Bryan Greene (10) heads up the court while Tyrone’s Brandon Gripp (3) and Nate Soellner (10) defend on the play. BEA picked up a big Mountain League victory, 70-59. “We did comeback there and do a little better in the third and fourth quarter, but I told them that if we would have rebounded in the first half, we would have won by 20. “We still had a tough time with their size. We’ll work on our boxing out at practice on Monday.” BEA countered with its speed. After being down by two after the first period, the Eagles put together a 23-point second quarter that put them in the lead 35-29 at the half. Center Jason Jones scored eight points in the quarter, and Trey Butterworth added six, but Gettig came through with the big strike. Ahead by three with 19 seconds to play in the half, BEA held for one shot. Get-
tig took the ball with six seconds to go, far out on the perimeter, and calmly nailed a huge three-pointer as time expired. “I realized I had a mismatch on them,” Gettig said about the shot, “and Jason (Jones) came over and set a screen, so I just stepped back and shot.” BEA went up by 10 after a Bryan Greene jumper early in the third quarter, and then by 12 after another Bryan Greene score, this time a drive and a layup. Tyrone fought back to within eight, 5244, going into the final frame and then to within six after a Miller put-back. But Gettig sandwiched eight straight points around baskets by Wagner and Miller, and the Eagles were back up by 10.
From there, Tyrone came no closer than nine points as a combination of BEA’s defense and free throws by Dyke and both Greenes iced the game for the Eagles. “Tonight was a really big win,” Bryan Greene said. “Like Coach (Butterworth) said, it would be nice to be co-champs with Tyrone and Penns Valley. But first we have to get past Bellefonte, which will be a very tough game at Bellefonte. “It was great playing with these seniors. We’ve been together all of our time here.” BEA, 16-4 overall and 10-3 in the league, now awaits word of its playoff position and will complete its league play at Bellefonte before hosting AAAA Holidaysburg in a non-league matchup on Saturday.
State High players help Northeast Conference to win By JOE SAGER Special to The Gazette
CORAOPOLIS — State College’s Brendan Horgas and Jared Karas were expecting some offensive fireworks at the PIHL’s Class AAA all-star game. Instead, the contest turned into a defensive battle. Nevertheless, the two helped the Northeast Conference squad pull out a 3-2 overtime win over the Southwest all-stars on Sunday at the Robert Morris University Island Sports Center. “You get a little scared when you look at the rosters because it’s the South Hills vs. us,” said Northeast coach Mike Guentner, who is Butler High School’s head coach. “Even though most of those guys don’t play together on the same high school team, they played together in amateurs, or at least they did at one point. They have chemistry and talent, which is always a scary combination. I hate to steal a word from Butler, but I think we had a very ‘gritty’ performance. We had a bunch of kids who don’t really know each other quite as well as the other team came together, outworked them and got the win. It was fun.” The game was scoreless through the first two periods. Horgas, a sophomore defenseman, helped set up the Northeast’s first goal. His pass found Pittsburgh Central Catholic’s Jesse Yeckel, who tallied 1:23 into the third period. “That was great,” Horgas said. “I didn’t come in expecting (to get any points) because there are a lot of older guys here. It was just nice.” Horgas has been a key contributor for the Little Lions, who were 7-8-1 through their first 16 games. As a freshman, he had 11 points in 21 games. This season, he had nine through 16. “I think I have been doing fine. Defensively is where I
have been focusing this year. I feel like I have been sound defensively,” he said. “It’s definitely an honor to be named an all-star. I don’t know if you expect it as a sophomore, but it’s definitely an honor.” Likewise, Karas has been a force for State College. He did not record any points Sunday, but the senior leads the Little Lions with 12 assists and 22 points. He serves as the team’s captain as well. “I definitely take it as my own responsibility how the team is performing. If we’re playing bad or playing good, I like to look in the mirror and see what it is I am doing that’s helping,” he said. “I like to think that the younger guys look up to me. We have a lot of young, inexperienced players, so I try to set the best example I can.” Both Karas and Horgas may have to help replace to the offense lost when Andrew Moscone, the team’s secondleading scorer, suffered a broken arm in the team’s 3-1 loss to Pittsburgh Central Catholic on Feb. 3. “Personally, I’d like to score a little more now that one of our top scorers is out with a broken arm,” Karas said. “I am just hoping to keep working hard. I don’t put too many expectations on myself because that leads to a lot of pressure you put on yourself. I try to work as hard as I can. The goals and the assists and everything will come with hard work.” Last year, State College reached the Penguins Cup Class AAA semifinals. Peters Township posted a 3-0 win to advance to the championship game. However, the Little Lions are poised to get back into the postseason to take another shot at reaching Consol Energy Center. Their 15 points put them in the middle of the Class AAA pack. “We’ve been up and down this year. We beat Bethel Park, which is the No. 1 team, and that was great. We are a little inconsistent. When we play well, we’re really good,” Horgas said.
Gazette file photo
STATE COLLEGE Area High School’s Brendan Horgas was one of two Little Lions to play for the Northeast Conference All-Stars on Sunday at Robert Morris University’s Island Sports Center. “I definitely think we could get hot. We have a couple injuries, but I think we can bounce back.” Karas just hopes his team can string together some wins in the final few games of the regular season to improve the squad’s playoff seeding. “We graduated, I think, seven or eight, including both of our goalies and two of our forwards that are very skilled. We definitely lost a lot of talent coming into this year. We’re definitely doing the best we can with what we have,” he said. “I have had a lot of talks with my coach, Brett Wilson, about finding what works with us before the games and during the games. We’re struggling to find our consistency. Finding what works for us is what we’re trying to do. We’re looking to get on a roll here and make a run at a high playoff seed. “Anything can happen once you get in the playoffs.”