PMBoysGo 3-0 For Week
Blues Outlast WC, Rout Bath and Craig
TheParryMcCluerHighSchoolboysbasketballteamwon all three of its games last week, defeating William Campbell at home before earning Pioneer District road wins over Bath County and Craig County.
In nondistrict action against William Campbell (2-7), the Fighting Blues (9-3) captured a 62-56 win on Monday of last week in Buena Vista. Due to weather postponements, the Blues were playing for the first time in nine days.
The Generals opened the game with a 7-4 run. PM struggled to score early, missing its leading scorer, sophomore guard Langston Cook, who suffered an ankle injury during the Blues’ 48-43 home win over Rockbridge County on Jan. 4. Near the end of the first quarter, PM’s Parker Snider scored after stealing the ball, then stole it again to find Sam Griffin down the court for another basket. Ellis Hill scored at the end of the quarter to give PM a 10-9 lead.
The Blues wouldn’t lose their lead again for the rest of the game. Braedyn Houck made a 3-pointer, followed by a pair of free throws. to keep PM in the lead, 18-15. Houck hit back-toback 3-pointers and then his fourth before the half ended to give the Blues a 26-19 lead at the break. “There in the first half, our senior Braedyn Houck really stepped up for us,” said PM head coach Tyler Kerr. “He was nailing the shots.”
The Blues got contributions from Peyton Montgomery, Jamier Jordan, Brayden Holdren and Griffin in the third quarter to continue building their lead. Despite outscoring the Blues 1614 in the quarter, thanks to a pair of three-point plays in the last minute, the Generals trailed 40-35 at the end of the quarte.r PM quickly raced out to a 48-39 lead to start the fourth quarter, and Rosser’s second 3-pointer extended the Blues’lead to 51-39. With PM leading 55-45,WC’s Jaylen Williams and Savareay Charlton hit back-to-back 3-pointers to trim PM’s lead, andAmont’e Bradley made a layup to cut the Blues’lead to 55-53. The Blues held off the Generals by making all of their free throws at the end of the game.
Houck led the Blues with 16 points, Rosser scored 12 points, and Jordan added nine.
Reflecting on the win, Kerr said, “Everyone scoring is huge. We have an absence of a guy [Cook] who is scoring 16, 20 points a game. We really stepped it up on defense for some runs, it just took all hands on deck.”
PM 71, BC 43
The Blues cruised to a 71-43 road win over Bath County on Tuesday of last week, scoring more than 70 points for the second time this season. PM would end the week at 3-0 in the Pioneer District, while Bath County fell to 2-8 overall and 0-3 in the district, Jordan had a breakout game, scoring 22 points, pulling down four rebounds, dishing out six assists and making nine steals. Houck scored 13 points, and Montgomery added 10 points and led PM with nine rebounds.
PM 67, CC 41
The Blues picked up their fourth consecutive win by coasting to a 67-41 win over Craig County (0-10, 0-4) on Thursday in New Castle.
Houck led PM with 26 points and six rebounds, while Montgomery and Rosser each scored eight points.
Reviewing the week and the importance of the district wins, Kerr said, “Getting these two early wins is important. It doesn’t matter who it’s against. The guys know that these district wins determine your seeding, so getting out to this early run in district play really helps.”
Kerr praised the defensive efforts of his team in the last two games of the week. “Maybe it was prompted by me, but the team took it upon themselves to really step up the defensive effort in practice,” he said. “It was much better these last two games we had.”
Commending his players for stepping up in Cook’s absence, Kerr said, “With Langston out, we’ve gotten so much contribution in his absence. Houck has really stepped up, and we’re getting points from everyone.”
The Blues were scheduled to play at Highland County last night and will have a rematch at William Campbell on Thursday, starting with junior varsity action at 5:30 p.m. On Saturday morning, they’ll face Gretna in the Rock the Ribbon Roundball Shootout at 10 a.m. at Rockbridge County High School. The Blues will return to district action when they play at Eastern Montgomery next Wednesday, Jan. 29, starting with JVaction at 5:30 p.m.
FIGHTING BLUE junior guard Sam Griffin takes the ball toward the basket as William Campbell’s Savareay Charlton tries to catch up with him. (Ronnie Coffey photo)
