CENTRE COUNTY — Centre County high school basketball teams are all back in action after the holidays, and Philipsburg-Osceola, State College, Penns Valley and St. Joseph Catholic Academy all registered wins in their first games of the new year.
Everyone was on the court, and here is a closer look at how each team fared:
Philipsburg-Osceola gets past Bellefonte
Philipsburg-Osceola Mounties had a size advantage in their LHAC contest against Bellefonte on Monday night at home and they immediately took advantage of it.
Center Zach Meyers scored all eight of P-O’s points in the first quarter and finished the game with 27 as the Mounties steadily pulled away for a 57-43 victory over the Raiders.
Forward Nick DeSimone added 15 points in the second half as P-O countered the Raiders’ quick defense by taking it into the paint.
John Servant, who led Bellefonte on the night with 17 points, nailed two 3-pointers in the first quarter as the Raiders took an early 11-8 lead.
P-O, however, began to assert itself in the second quarter as Myers stuck in another seven points and his team took a 23-21 lead into halftime.
The Mounties extended their lead in a wild third quarter to five points, 42-37, with Myers and DeSimone combining for 16 points as the game headed into the final eight minutes.
Down the stretch, P-O held Bellefonte to just six points in the fourth quarter, and DeSimone went 5-for-5 from the line, as the Mounties closed out their 13-point victory.
The win for the Mounties was their fourth of the season and first since taking second place in the Philipsburg Holiday Tournament.
The team will now entertain Tyrone at home on Jan. 8 and then travel to Huntingdon on Jan. 12.
For Bellefonte, the loss was its seventh of the season against one win over Somerset, 61-53, at home on Dec.19 in an LHAC game.
Over the break, the Raiders fell to Loyalsock and Selinsgrove in the Loyalsock Holiday Tournament.
Next up, the Raiders will see Penns Valley away on Jan. 8 before taking on Shikellamy at home on Jan. 12.
State College captures silver at Holiday Tournament.
State College Little Lions began the new year in style with a hard-fought 62-46 victory in Williamsport on Saturday and a two-point conference win over Chambersburg on Friday.
The Little Lions, coming off a second-place finish in the State College Holiday Tournament, used a big fourth quarter to finally settle the matter against Williamsport as the Lions entered the quarter with just a slim, 43-38 lead.
Led by junior Nick Carr’s 23 points, SC went on a 19-8 run down the stretch to take its seventh win of the season against three losses.
Micah James and Chase Rhoades each added 10 points for the Lions in the win and Rhoades handed out four assists and made two steals as well.
The win followed the home win over Chambersburg in which SC again used a big second half to escape with the two-point victory.
Down 26-18 at halftime, the Lions rallied to take the lead in the third quarter with a 21-10 run and then just held off Chambersburg in the fourth quarter for the victory.
James led the Lions with 16 points, while Carr tallied 13 and Rhoades 9 with 3 assists and a steal.
State College will now take on Central Dauphin and Altoona at home on the 9th and 12th.
St. Joe’s earns wins over Meadville and Upper Dauphin.
St. Joe’s boys basketball team finished 2025 with a 53-40 win over Meadville in the State College Holiday Tournament and then began the new year with 55-43 conference win over Upper Dauphin on Saturday.
Against Meadville on Dec. 30, the WolfPack pulled away in the middle quarters and glided out to the 13-point win to take third place in the tournament.
Ahead 11-10 after one quarter, SJCA turned to its defense and outscored Meadville 30-13 in the second and third quarters.
Isaiah Crispin led the charge for the WolfPack with 20 points, and Adam Leskowicz scored 16 as the ‘Pack took its fifth win of the season.
Then on Saturday at home against conference foe Upper Dauphin, the WolfPack used a 16-3 run after halftime to pull away from UDAHS in a 55-43 win.
SJCA led 24-20 at halftime in the game, but led by Zach Cadman and Crispin, the team turned it on in the second half to take win No. 6.
Cadman scored 19 points and pulled down 7 rebounds in the win, while Crispin scored 11 and also took 7 rebounds.
The WolfPack is now 6-5 for the season with away games at Halifax and DuBois Central Catholic coming up.
Bald Eagle Area falls to Clearfield
The undefeated Clearfield Bison began to assert themselves in the second quarter at Bald Eagle Area on Monday night in Wingate and ultimately rolled to a 69-43 win over the Eagles.
Clearfield was ahead of the hustling Bald Eagles by just four points, 18-14, heading into the second quarter, but the Bison were about to get hot.
They went on a 22-7 run to take a 40-21 lead going into halftime and never looked back in what was their ninth win of the season without a loss.
BEA kept battling and scored 22 points in the second half, but it was not enough to keep up with the high-octane offense of Clearfield.
Luke Hosband scored 9 points for BEA as did Kane Wolf and James Cowan, and the Eagles are now 3-6 for the season.
Next up for BEA will be away games at Central and Bishop Guilfoyle.
Penns Valley wins over Central Mountain
Penns Valley Rams lead early against Central Mountain at home on Dec. 29, and they were able to hold onto it in a tough, 78-68 win over the Wildcats.
Going into the locker rooms at halftime, PV held a 38-30 lead that the Rams were able to expand to 58-43 in the third quarter.
But CM fought back and was able to get to within single digits going down the stretch.
Led by Julian Battaglia, Noah Patel, Spencer Althouse and Fletcher Ironside, however, the Rams steadied the ship and held on for the victory.
Battaglia finished the game for PV with 22 points with Patel getting 13 and Althouse and Ironside each scoring 11.
The win, paired with their 80-61 win over P-O on Dec. 22, lifted Penns Valley to 7-3 for the year.
Next up for PV will be LHAC contests against Bellefonte at home, Tyrone away and Central at home.
