After a close win down in Philipsburg, Tyrone has been on the ropes most of the season, and the road just became a little more narrow for playoffs as the Eagles took on top-seeded Westmont Hilltop in non-conference action.
Tyrone came into the game on a two-game win streak, but the Hilltoppers were about to end that. Westmont struggled early on in the game, but slammed the door in the second half on Tyrone, winning by eight and dominating the second half, 67-59.
Westmont had trouble early defending Byron Kost, who nailed four of his five treys in the first quarter. Tyrone trailed just 22-20 after one quarter and 35-34 at the break.
Tyrone started the game on an 8-2 run as Leonard Wilson chipped in six of the first eight points. Westmont answered right back going on an 11-3 run after Tyrone had led 17-11. The end of the first quarter changed the game for Westmont as they found out Kost was a shooter and began to pressure every pass and dropped out of the 2-3 zone.
Joey Balog was unstoppable for the Hilltoppers who scored 10 of his game-high 21 points in the first half. The basket was open all night for him and Tyrone just didn’t have that extra desire to jump out on him.
After a rough first half, the game was just one-point and Tyrone had the Hilltoppers on their heels, proving that they can contend with the best in the district.
The second half was completely dominated by Westmont as they continued to out-rebound Tyrone in the second half. Nick Khuri picked up 15 points, mostly from open shots in the key and put-backs. Tyrone struggled covering him in the second half as he knocked in 10 points and blocked three shots at the defensive end as well.
The third quarter problems occurred again for Tyrone as they were “blanked” for the last 4:55 of the quarter as Westmont ran out the last seven giving them a 46-41 lead. It was a struggle to the finish, as Tyrone had to come from behind once again.
Tyrone just couldn’t pull it together in the fourth quarter, getting as close as 59-55 with 2:01 remaining, but after a 5-0 run, Tyrone found themselves down 64-55 with less than a minute to go.
Tyrone has lost the last seven out of nine games, two of those wins were against Philipsburg and Huntingdon. With the loss, Tyrone falls to 8-13 and a playoff seed looks unpleasant for the Eagles this season.
Despite the loss, Kost, Steve Catich and Wilson combined for 45 of Tyrone’s 59 points. Kost knocked down five treys, four in the first half.
Westmont improves to 17-5 as Balog led all scorers with 21 along with five treys as well. Khuri added 15 as the Hilltoppers prepare for their top seed in playoffs.
Westmont-Hilltop 67 Tyrone 59
Westmont – Thompson 2 4-6 9, Balog 8 0-1 21, DeMarco 2 0-0 4, Khuri 5 5-8 15, Rossi 2 1-2 5, Watson 3 1-3 7, Trotz 3 0-0 6. Totals 25 11-20 67.
Tyrone – Wilson 2 10-13 14, Corle 1 2-2 5, Clark 1 0-0 2, Catich 6 2-4 14, Kost 6 0-0 17, Barr 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 15-23 59.
Score by Quarters
Westmont 22 13 11 21 – 67
Tyrone 20 14 7 18 – 59
Three-point goals: Westmont-6 (Balog-5, Thompson)
Tyrone-6 (Kost-5, Corle)
Tyrone J.V. can not finish
Tyrone struggled the entire game scoring, leaving everyone in single figures. Tyrone picked up eight from Doug Morrow and Jamie Levinson, but it wasn’t enough to outlast the 16 points from Dave Young of Westmont.
The Hilltoppers’ pressure dominated Tyrone throughout the game and frustrated the Eagles. Tyrone went on to lose 42-35.
