CENTRE COUNTY — State College rolled to two big Mid-Penn victories, and Penns Valley followed suit with LHAC wins over Bald Eagle Area and Bellwood.
Philipsburg-Osceola lost in a girl-boy double header at Central Cambria on Saturday, and SJCA took two close losses.
Here’s a closer look at all of the local teams:
State College 2-0 in the Mid-Penn
The State College Little Lions boys’ basketball team took on arch-rival Harrisburg on Friday night coming off a blowout win over Altoona and looking to start the season 2-0 in the Mid-Penn Commonwealth.
The Little Lions showed off a tough defense and a potent offense in their 73-29 win over Altoona on Dec. 10, and they brought both again in the contest against the Cougars.
Holding Harrisburg to just 11 points in the first quarter, SC jumped out to an 11-point lead that it would not relinquish in a 77-62 victory.
At halftime it was 43-30, and although Harrisburg cut the lead down to eight points in the third quarter, the Little Lions got it back together down the stretch to take the win.
Nick Carr led State College with 22 points in the game, while Micah James added 17 with 7 rebounds. Sophomore guard Chase Rhoades kept the offense moving for SC with 14 assists and 12 points.
The win put State College at 3-1 for the season overall and 2-0 in the Mid-Penn.
Coming up, the Lions will take on conference foe Carlisle away on Dec. 19.
Penns Valley swept to big wins
The Penns Valley Rams moved to 4-1 for the season overall after a solid, 67-37 victory over Bellwood-Antis on Saturday at home.
The game was tight in the first half with the Rams eking out a 26-20 lead, but a strong second half told the story.
PV outscored the Blue Devils 41-17 in the second half, including a 20-11 fourth-quarter run that sealed the game for the Rams.
Julian Battaglia and Fletcher Ironside both scored 13 points for PV, and Noah Patel added 11 as the team took its fourth win in five games.
On Dec. 11, the Rams took their third win in a 58-28 win over BEA in Wingate.
The Rams were in control here the entire night and led 26-19 at halftime with Battaglia again leading the scoring with 18 points. Ironside and Patel both scored 10.
BEA was led by James Cowan with 14 points, and Kane Wolf scored 8.
BEA is now 0-4 for the season and will now see Bellefonte and Central Cambria at home and Moshannon Valley away.
Penns Valley will play Mount Union away and return home to face Forest Hills on December 19.
Cold start dooms P-O in loss
The Philipsburg-Osceola Mounties were ice-cold in the beginning of their game at Central Cambria on Saturday and paid for it in a 71-48 loss.
P-O fell behind 20-8 after the first quarter and could never make up the difference in what became their second loss of the season in four games.
Playing in a girl-boy double header, the Mounties were led by Zach Myers who scored 25 points and Nick DeSimone with 13.
The Mounties were coming off a win at West Branch on December 8 and a loss at local rival Clearfield on Dec. 11.
The team is now 2-2 overall with home games against Marion Center, Bishop Carroll and Penns Valley coming up.
St. Joes takes two close losses
St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy boys’ basketball team couldn’t get a break this week with two tough losses to both Juniata and Williamsburg.
At Juniata on Dec. 11, the WolfPack took a 36-34 lead into the fourth quarter but couldn’t hold on through a Juniata rally.
Juniata went on a 19-14 run to end the game and take a 53-50 victory.
Isaiah Crispin led the ‘Pack in scoring with 16 points and he was followed by Ethan Bowen with 11 and Chase Luckovich with 9.
Juniata, behind 50-47 with 30 seconds to play, scored the final 6 points in what was its third win in four games.
Then on Saturday in Williamsburg, the opposite scenario played out.
SJCA was down by 10 points heading into the last quarter, 39-29, but staged a rally that ultimately fell short and Williamsburg held on, 52-48.
SJCA, with less than a minute to play, pulled to within 49-48 on a 3-pointer by Zach Cadman. But two WHS foul shots, a missed shot by the WolfPack, and another foul shot gave the win to Williamsburg.
Luckovich was the high scorer for St. Joseph’s with 14 points while Bowen scored 13 and Cadman 11.
The loss put SJCA at 2-3 for the season with games against Newport and East Juniata coming up.
Bellwood-Antis over Bellefonte
The Bellefonte Raiders, searching for their first win, played Bellwood-Antis even-up for the first half of their game on Friday night at home, but they could not keep it going.
Bellwood outscored the Raiders 32-22 in the second half to take a 50-39 LHAC victory.
The score at the half was 18-17 in favor of B-A, but high-scorer Jackson Dorminy led an 18-11 run in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
Bellefonte’s Jon Servant was the team’s high scorer with 12 points, and Grayson Coons scored 9.
The Raiders are now 0-4 with Somerset and Selinsgrove coming up on the schedule.
