yler Consolidated lost in overtime to the 7 Ranked Cameron Dragons in boys basketball action on January 23 in Cameron. The game was close all night with Tyler holding a 15-14 lead after the first quarter. Cameron would rally to take a three point lead at halftime 27-24. The third quarter saw the Dragons increase the lead to six heading to the fourth quarter. It was the Silver Knights turn to rally in the fourth as they battled to tie the score 46-46 and force overtime. Cameron held a 57-56 lead with 12 seconds to play in the extra period and added a free throw to pull out the victory by the score of 58-56. Lance Hartley would finish with a game high 25 points and 14 rebounds for the 9-3 Dragons.

The Silver Knights were led by Zade Billings with 21 points including four from behind the arc followed by teammate Brady Strode with 14. Also scoring for the Knights was Brody Giovinazzo with eight points, Bo Tallman with five and Zayden Hardbarger with four. Tristen Tuttle and Garrett Bordenkircher would each add two points for the Knights.

Coach Mark Winters gave me his insights after the game. “I thought overall, despite the loss, it might have been our best performance of the year. Zade Billings really stepped up for us scoring 21 points.” Defensively Coach Winters felt they were very solid in the half court and being in position to help. “I think we were probably too aggressive as coaches with the press which gave up a few easy buckets. Their big man gave us fits on the glass, so boxing out and rebounding will continue to be a focus of ours in practice moving forward,” shared the coach.

Coach Winters also stated that Cameron, who is ranked #7 in the state, is an excellent team that has two talented seniors. For the Silver Knights to take them into overtime at their place, with several chances to win, the game ultimately gave the Knights a real boost of confidence.

The Silver Knights will now participate in the New Martinsville Rotary Basketball Challenge on January 27 in new Martinsville.

Silver Knights Defeat Valley in Rotary Challenge

The Tyler Consolidated Boys Basketball team participated in the New Martinsville Rotary Basketball Challenge on Saturday January 27 and came away with a win over the Valley Lumberjacks by the score of 66-48. Valley led the Silver Knights after one quarter 14-12 but the Knights came back in the second quarter and led at halftime 30-26. The offense came alive after the break and outscored the Lumberjacks 21-6 which proved to be the difference in the game.

Tyler was led by Brady Strode with 22 points. He was followed by Brody Giovinazzo with 14 and Bo Tallman chipped in with 12. Valley’s Gavin Derby led the Lumberjacks with 20 points and Ayden Morgan added 11 points.

Tyler will be on the road on Tuesday, January 30 when they travel to West Union to take on the Bulldogs. Valley will also be on the road when they travel to Calhoun County on February 2.