In the Region 1C basketball quarterfinals, the Parry McCluer High School boys coasted to a 71-36 home win over Grayson County, while the PM girls concluded their season with a 36-20 loss to Galax on Tuesday night in Buena Vista.
The PM boys (19-4), the top seed from the Pioneer District, used a balanced scoring effort and strong defense to take down the Blue Devils (6-18), the fourth seed from the Mountain Empire District, for their eighth consecutive win.
Langston Cook and Braedyn Houck led PM with 19 points each, with Houck draining five 3-pointers and Cook going 5-of-5 from the free throw line. Jamier Jordan scored 16 points for the Blues, sinking four treys, and Nathan Glass chipped in eight points.
With the victory, the Fighting Blues advanced to the Region 1C semifinals on Friday at 6 p.m. at Northside High School in Roanoke, where they’ll take on Auburn (16-9), the second seed from the Mountain Empire District. The Blues and Eagles last met on Dec. 13 at Auburn, with the Blues winning 63-54. The winner will advance to the regional championship game, scheduled for Saturday at 8 p.m. at Northside, and will clinch a spot in the Class 1 state tournament.
In the regional quarterfinals, the Blues got out to a fast start, taking a 16-5 lead after the first quarter. PM allowed just three points in the second quarter, taking a 36-8 lead into halftime.
The Blues continued to pull away in the third quarter, knocking down five 3-pointers, and took a 62-24 lead into the fourth quarter. With the large advantage, the Blues’ reserves played the final few minutes of the game.
GC’s only double-digit scorer was Maverick Goad with 18 points, while Mac Goad added eight points, and Makray Goad chipped in five.
PM knocked down 10 3-pointers in the game, while GC hit three.
The Blues committed just four turnovers while forcing 12.
Prior to the boys’ game, the PM girls (17-6), the second seed from the Pioneer District, had a tough time scoring against the Maroon Tide (19-3), the third seed from the Mountain Empire District.
Both teams played strong defense in the first half, with Galax leading 9-8 at halftime, but Jenna Sawyers then got going for the Maroon Tide, fueling a 12-0 run by Galax in the first few minutes of the second half to give the visitors a 21-8 lead. The Blues would cut the deficit to 26-18 by the end of the third quarter, but Galax held PM to two points in the fourth quarter and pulled away.
Sawyer led all players with 13 points, while Kayla Young and Jayden Leonard each scored nine points for Galax.
Hamilton paced the Blues with eight points, Natalie Mohler scored six points, Peira Conner added four, and Kayleigh Ramsey chipped in two.
PM committed 17 turnovers while forcing 12.
Galax advanced to the Region 1C semifinals on Thursday at Northside, with a matchup against George Wythe.
The Blues will miss their four seniors: Conner, Hamilton, Mohler and Kyleigh Ramsey.
For the full stories and photos from the regional tournaments, with a season wrap-up for the PM girls, please see our March 5 newspaper. Coverage of the Pioneer District tournaments will be in our Feb. 26 newspaper.
