PHOTO GALLERIES Greater Johnstown's Collins earns boys MVP, Central Pa. splits in Mirror Classic

Apr. 1—ALTOONA — Nyerre Collins hadn't played a basketball game in three weeks, but the Greater Johnstown High School standout didn't miss a step on Friday night at Stephen A. Adler Sports Complex on Penn State Altoona's campus.

Collins scored 22 points, grabbed eight rebounds and drove to create opportunities on the Central Pa. boys team in the 16th annual Altoona Mirror Basketball Classic.

The Trojans senior earned his Central Pa. team's Most Valuable Player honor in a 86-78 loss to the Blair County all-star squad.

The Central Pa. girls made history — becoming the first girls squad to score 100 points in the Classic in a 102-71 victory over Blair County.

"That was one of my pre-game picks," Central Pa. coach Jim Ronan, of Penn Cambria, said of Collins' effort. "He's a special talent. When the ball is in his hands, when he can do some things where maybe typically in games you don't try, it's special to watch.

"It's fun to watch that playground style and the skill set that comes out with it."

Central Pa. led 44-42 at halftime and 73-58 through three quarters, but Blair County used a 36-26 scoring advantage in the final 10-minute quarter to pull away.

That didn't diminish the effort by Collins and his Central Pa. teammates.

"It feels good to do this," Collins said, holding the MVP trophy. "I'm surprised. I haven't played in a month."

District 6 Class 4A champion Greater Johnstown closed its season in the first round of the PIAA playoffs, a 81-67 loss to visiting Highlands on March 10.

"It's hard to get back," Collins said. "It's hard."

Cambria Heights' Carter Lamb provided 16 points for Central Pa., including three fourth-quarter 3-pointers from deep range.

"Once I make one and I feel comfortable, I'm going to keep shooting," Lamb said. "It doesn't matter how far or if I'm open or contested. If I feel it, I'm going to keep shooting it."

Central Mountain's Hayden Pardo netted 10 points for Central Pa.. Portage's Mason Kargo dished out four assists.

Altoona's Ashton Neely earned Blair County MVP honors with 23 points, including 10 in the second half.

Altoona's Jalen Triplin scored 19 second-half points, with 14 of those coming during Blair County's fourth-quarter surge.

The Mountain Lions' 6-foot-5 Zhaad White had 12 rebounds.

"I think guys started hitting shots," Neely said. "Jalen really stepped up a lot. I don't think he scored in the first half. He had (19) in the second half.

"It was just the overall unit, we were like, 'We've got to step up and do something,' " Neely said.

The Central Pa. girls beat the Blair County squad 102-71 in the opener, posting a 58-29 second-half scoring advantage to break open a game they led 44-42 at the half.

Central Pa. reached the 100-point mark when team MVP Macy Sardone of state runner-up Homer-Center hit a 3-pointer in the closing seconds.

"I haven't been in a game on a team that scored 100 points," said Bishop McCort Catholic's Bria Bair, who had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Central Pa.

"With four minutes left, we said that was our goal. We tried for 100."

Chestnut Ridge's Belle Bosch, a Pitt-Johnstown signee, totaled 15 points and 10 rebounds for Central Pa. Penn Cambria's Emily Hite and Shade's Jenna Muha each tallied 10 points for the winning team.

"It was definitely an awesome experience. There was a lot of team ball," said Muha, the all-time leading scorer both in Somerset County and District 5 girls play with 2,349 career points. "Our goal at the beginning of the fourth quarter was to hit 100. We're all chipping in, trying to work for it. It just felt good to play against some of the girls I played travel with. I had so much fun."

The starting unit of Bair, Muha, Bosch, Sardone and Mifflin County's Marissa Gingrich clicked in the second half.

Gingrich finished with a Classic game-record nine assists.

Bair hit 13 of her 14 points in the second half.

"My shots just weren't falling the first half. It happened my last game," said Bair, who surpassed 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her Crimson Crushers career. "I just had to remember to stay calm and don't get worked up. My shot will come. I just stayed relaxed and that's what happened."

Muha had eight of her 10 in the final two quarters while Bosch tallied nine of her 15 in the second half. Sardone hit 12 of her 15 points in the opening half, giving the unit balance.

"Us playing together more as the game went along definitely helped us," Muha said. "As the game went along, we just all started to click. We had that chemistry and we got it done."

Blair County's Sydney Lear, of Hollidaysburg, earned her team's MVP honors with 16 points. Her Golden Tigers teammate Allison Hatajik had 14 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots. Bellwood- Antis' Lydia Worthing totaled 10 points and eight rebounds for Blair County.

Altoona's Taylor Lane, a member of the Blair County team who suffered a season-ending knee injury early in the season, was on the floor for the opening tip-off. She took a pass and scored the game's first two points before play was stopped to allow her to leave the court to cheers from the crowd.

Mike Mastovich is a sports reporter and columnist for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 814-532-5083. Follow him on Twitter @Masty81.