Bellefonte senior guard Andy Gaebel went over the 1,000 point plateau when the Red Raiders defeated Tyrone earlier this season.
Last night, Gaebel wasn’t Tyrone’s downfall, free throw shooting was as the Golden Eagles dropped a 66-61 decision to Bellefonte. In a hard fought game, Tyrone came out of the first eight minutes with a 17-16 lead. Bellefonte got rolling in the second quarter and led by as many as eight, before the Golden Eagles fought back to cut the lead to 36-33 at the half.
“The intensity was there tonight,” said Tyrone coach Mike Harris. “Our kids played their guts out tonight. There is no way I can fault their effort.”
Bellefont held their three point lead through three quarters, and the lead grew to eight again early in the fourth quarter, but there was no giving up from the Golden Eagles. Tyrone fought back and Nick Cushion banked in a three-pointer to cut the lead down to three again with 14 seconds left in the game, but Bellefonte held on for a 66-61 win.
Kevin Hershberger led Tyrone with 13 points, Tad Chamberlain chipped in a dozen and Nick Cushion scored 11 points for the Eagles.
“It was a hard fought game,” said Harris. “If we go 20-26 from the foul line, we win the game by three points. We went 12-26 and it cost us. Our guys shoot foul shots everyday at the end of practice when they are tired. We’re working on the foul shooting everyday and it will pay off.”
The Golden Eagles drop to 5-11 on the season while Bellefonte improves to 10-6.
“You would never be able to tell by the effort of our kids that we are having a tough season,” said Harris. “They have a great attitude and they are working hard. It showed when we fought back from eight point defecits, but not being able to make foul shots cost us the game. It definately isn’t effort that is costing us ballgames.”
The Golden Eagles host Bishop Guilfoyle on Friday night.
“We’re expecting a tough game on Friday,” said Harris. “It’s always a war when we play Guilfoyle. We beat them at their place and they are going to want to come here and return the favor. It will be a very physical game on Friday night and that is the type of game we want to play.”
Bellefonte 66, Tyrone 61
Individual scoring
BELLEFONTE – Settle 2 0-0 4, Olson 5 12-13 24, Gaebel 3 0-0 8, Daughenbaugh 4 0-2 8, Klinefelter 3 0-0 6, Smith 3 1-2 8, Williams 2 2-2 6, James 0 2-2 2. Totals: 22 17-21 66.
TYRONE – Crabtree 2 3-7 7, Wilson 0 5-10 5, Hershberger 6 1-3 13, Chamberlain 6 0-0 12, Cushion 4 0-0 11, Hoover 0 1-2 1, Clark 2 2-4 7, Corle 2 0-0 5. Totals: 22 12-26 61.
Score by quarters
Bellefonte – 16 20 17 13 – 66
Tyrone – 17 16 17 11 – 61
Three point goals: Bellefonte 5 (Olson 2, Gaebel 2, Smith 1).
Tyrone 5 (Cushion 3, Clark 1, Corle 1).
