12/03/24 Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski / Bellwood-Antis' Martin Fatzinger looks to the net by Hollidaysburg's Ben Zimmerman.

By Ron Musselman

For The Mirror

HOLLIDAYSBURG — Hollidaysburg’s Brad Lear was coaching with a heavy heart Tuesday night after his mother passed away the previous day.

His Golden Tigers responded in a big way on their home court, rolling to a 57-25 victory over Bellwood-Antis in their Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference opener.

Afterward, Lear spoke with great admiration about his mom, Janet, who was 78. He lost his father, Bob, five years ago, also during basketball season.

“I am a very emotional guy and it was really tough for me to be out there, but that’s what my mom would have wanted,” he said. “My kids all gave me a big hug right before the game. My players all gave me a big hug. It was emotional for them, too, because they’re used to seeing my mom here. My wife brought that single rose to sit where my mom would usually sit.

“My mom was the most gracious woman I will ever meet. So many people reached out today and said there was no one like my mom. I agree. She always put herself before everyone else. It’s just been cry for five minutes, laugh for 10. It’s been off and on.”

Senior Brady Steiner, who led all scorers with a game-high 18 points, thanks to six 3-pointers, said the Tigers were thankful they could deliver a win for Lear, who has no returning starters in his 11th season.

“It was great for him,” Steiner said. “He really needed this, and we were all here for him. This is the way we wanted it to go. We really appreciate having him here coaching us in such a tough time, and this was a really good win for him.”

Hollidaysburg raced to a 15-2 lead six minutes into the first quarter and never looked back. Steiner missed his first 3-point attempt but then hit four in a row in the second quarter as the Tigers increased their lead to 38-12 at halftime.

Back-to-back 3s by Steiner in the third quarter increased the margin again, and that lead swelled to as much as 35 points in the final quarter while triggering a running clock.

“Steiner shot lights out, give him credit,” Bellwood-Antis coach Tyler Mertiff said. “He was shooting deep ones — he wasn’t just hugging the line.”

Steiner finished 6 of 7 from behind the arc. Junior Kasen Metzger added 13 points, and contributed two of the Tigers’ 10 3-pointers.

“I was hitting shots and I was open and they were getting the ball to me,” Steiner said. “It felt good every time I was shooting the ball.”

Lear was happy to see his team shoot well from long range.

“That’s the nature of our offense,” he said. “If you’re going to play us in a zone, we’re going to shoot the lights outs.”

Bellwood-Antis had one returning starter, but senior Holden Schreier was in a walking boot. Junior Martin Fatzinger had 10 points to lead the Blue Devils, who didn’t score more than seven points in a quarter.

“We’re a young team,” Mertiff said. “We just have to keep working hard and improving. My condolences go out to coach Lear. I was telling him I lost my mom six months ago.

“It’s a credit to him to go out there tonight. That’s a tough thing to do. But I’m sure winning the game helped him. They played well.”

Bellwood-Antis travels to Somerset Friday, while Hollidaysburg is at Chestnut Ridge.

BELLWOOD-ANTIS (25): Simmons 0 0-0 0, Gibbons 2 0-1 4, Fatzinger 5 0-0 10, D. Eckenrode 0 0-0 0, Mayes 2 2-2 6, Dorminy 1 0-0 3, Shedlock 0 2-4 2, McClellan 0 0-2 0, Shanafelt 0 0-0 0, Leeper 0 0-0 0, Worthing 0 0-0 0. Totals — 10 4-9 25.

HOLLIDAYSBURG (57): Wolfe 4 0-0 9, Delerme 3 0-0 6, J. Albarano 1 0-0 2, Stultz 1 0-0 3, Steiner 6 0-1 18, Bell 1 0-0 2, McDade 0 0-0 0, V. Albarano 0 0-0 0, Figard 0 0-0 0, T. Steiner 0 0-0 0, Anderson 0 0-0 0, Metzger 4 3-3 13, Zimmerman 1 0-0 2, Joseph 0 0-0 0, Kirsch 1 0-0 2. Totals — 23 3-4 57.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Bellwood-Antis 7 5 6 7 — 25

Hollidaysburg 18 20 15 4 — 57

3-point goals: Bellwood-Antis 1 (Dorminy); Hollidaysburg 10 (Steiner 6, Metzger 2, Wolfe, Stultz).

Records: Bellwood-Antis (0-1); Hollidaysburg (1-0).

JV: Hollidaysburg, 49-18. High scorer-McDade, H, 15.

Officials: Sarah Fye, Dave Reimer, Kevin Laird.