CENTRE COUNTY — The St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy and the State College boys basketball teams are both off to strong starts in the new season.
It has been a fast liftoff to the 2024-25 season with all of our local teams already playing games, and here is a brief look at each team’s progress so far:
STATE COLLEGE WINS THE SKIP COLEMAN TIP-OFF TOURNAMENT WITH TWO SOLID VICTORIES
The State College Little Lions took the championship of the Skip Coleman Tip-Off Tournament with a going-away, 56-23 victory over Dock Mennonite on Saturday, Dec. 7, in the North Gym.
The game started even-up with both teams scoring 11 points in the first quarter, but then the Little Lions turned up the defense.
Dock managed just one point in the second quarter and did not break into double figures for the rest of the night.
SC took a 20-11 halftime lead and then pulled away in the third quarter with an 18-5 run that put the lead at 38-17.
The fourth quarter was more of the same with the Little Lions eventually topping out with the 33-point win.
Senior Reed Melvin paced the Lions with 19 points with Brady Wagner scoring 15 and Charlie Yartz adding 11.
The win followed the Lions’ opening night 58-49 win over District 1’s Bishop Shanahan.
Shanahan made this a game throughout with State College finally being able to prevail with a 20-point fourth quarter. State College was behind by a point at halftime, but the Little Lions made that up in the third quarter and then were able to hold on for their first win.
Yartz led the charge in this one with 18 points and he was followed closely by Melvin with 17.
For the season so far, Melvin is averaging 18 points per game with Yartz at 14.5.
Next up for the Little Lions will be a Mid-Penn clash with arch-rival Harrisburg in Harrisburg on Friday, Dec. 13, with a trip to CD East to follow on Tuesday, Dec. 17.
ST. JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC ACADEMY IS AVERAGING 86 POINTS PER GAME IN TWO WINS
The WolfPack so far in the young season has been filling it up with an 89-76 home win over Juniata Valley followed by an 83-53 victory over Bucktail, also at home.
Against the Hornets on Monday, Dec. 2, Jayden Stamm poured in 38 points as SJCA piled up 51 points by halftime and took a comfortable 19-point lead.
The Hornets did not stop playing, however, with 44 points in the second half, but the WolfPack lead with too much to overcome.
Stamm’s 38 points included a 16-for-32 night from the field with five three-pointers, three assists and five steals.
Then on Friday, Dec. 6, against Bucktail, it was more of the same as the Pack started fast and piled up 83 points in the 30-point victory over Bucktail.
Stamm again led the charge with 23 points (he’s now averaging 30 points per game), with Ethan Bowen scoring 22 and Braeden Miller adding 13.
Stamm and Bowen were a combined 17-for-29 from the field on the night while the team was 52% from the field overall.
Next up for the WolfPack will be a home game against conference foe Juniata on Friday, Dec. 13, and then another conference game, this one away, against East Juniata in McAlisterville.
PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA IS 0-3 AFTER LHAC LOSSES TO BISHOP GUILFOYLE AND RICHLAND
The Philipsburg-Osceola Mounties so far have seen a good sample of the top teams in the LHAC.
The team has seen Huntingdon, Richland and Bishop Guilfoyle so far, and each game ended in double-digit losses.
Against the Bearcats in the opening game of the season, it was a 97-68 Cats’ win at Huntingdon, and that was followed by a 63-36 loss at Richland on Friday, Dec. 6.
Then on Monday, Dec. 9, the Mounties fell to perennial front-runner Bishop-Guilfoyle at home by the score of 82-37.
Even with the rough start, P-O’s Zack Meyers and Lucas Peterson have been high points with Peterson scoring 15 against Richland and Meyers pouring in 20 against Guilfoyle.
Next up for the Mounties will be an away game tonight at Bellwood-Antis followed by a home game against Hollidaysburg on Monday, Dec. 16.
OTHER SCORES AND SCHEDULES:
Bald Eagle Area (0-2)
Dec. 6, Bedford 60, BEA 55
- BEA led at halftime, but Bedford rallied in the second half.
- For BEA, Kane Wolf had 16 points, James Cowan 13 and Wyatt Spackman had 11.
Dec. 9, Tyrone 75, BEA 32
- Cowan scored 9 points and Jackson Millward had 9.
Upcoming Games:
- Dec. 16, Huntingdon, H
- Dec. 17, Guilfoyle A
Bellefonte (0-1)
Dec. 9, Clearfield 61, Bellefonte 51
Upcoming Games:
- Dec. 16, Central H
- Dec. 20, Huntingdon A
Penns Valley (0-4)
Dec. 3, Tyrone 69, PV 41
Dec. 4, West Branch 71, PV 63
Dec. 6, Westmont-Hilltop 72, PV 42
Dec. 9, Central 67, PV 42
- PV led by Carter Ironside with 12 points and Spencer Althouse with 12 points.
- Close first half, but Central outscored PV by 36-15 in the second half.
Upcoming Schedule:
- Dec. 12, Huntingdon A
- Dec. 16, Bishop Guilfoyle H
