CENTRE COUNTY — In local high school boys’ basketball action, State College had an up-and-down week with a big win over Altoona followed by two close losses over the weekend.
In Boalsburg, St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy bounced back from a loss to Susquenita with a win at Greenwood, while Penns Valley is now 10-4 after a win over Central Cambria.
Philipsburg-Osceola, Bellefonte and Bald Eagle Area all faced top-tier LHAC teams.
Here’s a closer look at what’s happening:
Little Lions finish 1-2
The State College Little Lions used a big second half to pull away from Mid-Penn foe Altoona at home on Jan. 12, but a travel-heavy weekend took its toll with losses to Harrisburg and Exeter Township.
Against Altoona, Chase Rhoades, Micah James and Nick Carr led a second-half charge that carried the Lions to a 71-55 Mid-Penn victory over the Mountain Lions.
Tied at 30-30 at halftime, SC took control of the game with a 25-point third quarter, and then closed it out with a 16-12 run down the stretch.
Rhoades scored 21 points in the game, with James getting 17 and Carr 16 as the Little Lions came through with their eighth win of the season against six losses.
James also handed out six assists and had two steals while shooting 8-for-12 from the field.
Then on Friday night, the Lions traveled to 8-4 Harrisburg where an ice cold first half spelled doom in a 71-48 loss to HHS.
It was close after one period — 22-17 — but Harrisburg held SC to just eight second-quarter points as it built a comfortable 42-26 halftime lead.
The Lions held their own through three-plus quarters, but Harrisburg was able to hold on with a strong finish down the stretch.
James scored 12 in the game, and Carr added 11, but SC shot just 19-for-51 overall in the game that included a 2-for-26 mark from behind the arc.
The loss dropped the Lions to 5-4 in the Mid-Penn Commonwealth, 4th place, with two conference games coming up this week.
After a late return from Harrisburg, State College was on the road early on Saturday for an afternoon game at 10-6 Exeter Township.
The Lions again had a quiet second quarter with another eight points and Exeter took advantage with a close, 61-53 victory.
Behind 28-21 at halftime, the Lions did fight back to within three points midway through the second half, but Exeter got it back together in the fourth to take the non-conference win.
James led State College with 13 points and Parker Thurley added 11. Rhoades scored nine points and handed out 11 assists, while James led with 9 rebounds.
The Little Lions are now 8-7 overall for the season with a game at CD East coming up on Jan. 21 and a home game against Carlisle on the 23rd.
Penns Valley 71, Central Cambria 63
Penns Valley wasted little time at Central Cambria on Friday night.
Playing against the Red Devils in Ebensburg, PV raced out to an early 22-14 lead that turned into a 14–point, 38-24 margin by halftime.
The Rams continued into the second half trading baskets and finally closed out the 71-63 win on the line down the stretch.
Penns Valley put four players in double figures on the night with Julian Battaglia leading the way with 22 points. Spencer Althouse scored 14, and both Noah Patel and Dylan Dashem added 10.
The win was the second in a row for PV after the Rams beat Central at home on Jan. 14, 61-40.
Battaglia led the way again with 17 points with Patel getting 16 and Austin Fetterolf scoring 11.
The Rams are now 10-4 for the season with Huntingdon away and Bishop Guilfoyle at home coming up on the schedule.
St. Joe’s 50, Greenwood 47
St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy boys’ basketball team was cold as ice in an 85-55 loss to Susquenita at home on Jan. 15, but the WolfPack bounced back nicely three days later at Greenwood.
The ‘Pack did start slowly at Greenwood, though, and was down 14-9 after one quarter.
But SJCA tied it by halftime and then set off for the win with a 15-2 run in the third quarter that gave it a 39-26 lead.
Greenwood wasn’t done, however, and the Wildcats got almost all of that back in the fourth quarter, but led by Ethan Bowen and Isaiah Crispin, SJCA held it together enough to take the 50-47 victory.
The win put the WolfPack’s record at 9-7 overall with a conference record now of 7-2.
Coming up, SJCA will see Juniata at home on Jan. 23, Neumann Regional away on Jan. 26, and Newport at home on Jan. 29.
Bishop Carroll 64, Bald Eagle 33
Bishop Carroll Catholic is one of the best LHAC teams and it showed against Bald Eagle Area on Friday night in Ebensburg.
The Huskies raced out to big 24-3 and 50-11 leads over the Bald Eagles that eventually turned into a 64-33 victory.
BEA kept playing in the second half, scoring 22 points, but the Eagles nonetheless fell to their tenth loss in 13 games.
Jackson Millward (6), Chase Cane (6), James Cowan (4) and Wyatt Klinefelter (4) were the high scorers for the Eagles.
BEA now has home games against Huntingdon on Jan. 23 and Central Cambria on Jan. 24 coming up.
Penn Cambria 80, Philipsburg-Osceola 39
The P-O Mounties traveled to play LHAC foe Penn Cambria at St. Francis University on Friday night only to be met with a 53-point first-half onslaught by the Panthers.
PC piled up 28 points in the first quarter, added 25 more in the second quarter, and played it out to a 80-39 victory over the Mounties.
Center Zach Meyers was the high scorer for P-O with 14 points, but the loss was the fourth in a row for the team and the 11th in 15 games.
P-O will see Hollidaysburg at home on Jan. 23 and BEA at home on the Jan. 28.
Clearfield 73, Bellefonte 52
The Clearfield Bison won their 12th consecutive game with a 73-52 win over Bellefonte on Jan. 12 in Bellefonte.
The Raiders fell behind early, 20-10, but hung tough through three periods before the Bison were able to close out the win.
Down 54-40 going into the final period, Bellefonte saw Clearfield add another 19 points down the stretch to take win No. 12 without a loss.
Bellefonte is now 2-10 for the season with games against Forest Hills and Bishop Guilfoyle at home coming up.
