Tulpehocken wins key early battle in Berks IV

When you play basketball at Tulpehocken and start to do things Charlie Copp did, you know you’re doing pretty well.

David Bednarczyk had a big second half to lead the Trojans back from an early defict in a 62-51 win at Oley Valley Friday night in the the Berks Conference Division IV opener for both teams.

The win pushed Tulpehocken’s record to 4-0, its best start in 23 seasons. The Trojans opened the 1998-99 season, Copp’s junior year, with six straight wins. They went on to finish 15-9.

Bednarczyk finished with a game-high 25 points, 18 during a hot second half that saw him hit 11 straight free throws.

The Lynx (0-1, 3-1) led 17-8 after one quarter as Ty Yerger hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored eight points. He finished with a team-high 16 points; that’s also his career-high. (He had 13 last year against Hamburg.)

The Trojans (1-0, 4-0) trailed by a point at halftime before outscoring Oley Valley 17-8 in the third quartr and 24-19 in the fourth.

Bryce Mellen finished with 15 points for Tulpehocken. Bradyn Erb had a career-high 10.

Mellen is averaging a team-best 21.3 points, tops in the Berks Conference; Bednarczyk is averaging 20.3.

Danny Turchi scored 15 for the Lynx.

The Trojans were last 3-0 in 2019-20, when they finished 11-10.

Tulpehocken’s four-game winning streak is its longest since winning nine straight in 2014-15.

Copp is Tulpehocken’s all-time leading scorer. He finished his career 2,440, second-most in Berks history. The Trojans won 65 games over his four seasons, from 1996-99.