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Tuesday, Jan. 3 – With a strong finish, the Parry McCluer High School boys basketball team earned a 52-46 home win over Pioneer District rival Highland County on Tuesday night in Buena Vista.
John Snider led the Fighting Blues (5-5 overall, 2-1) to their third consecutive victory, scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds before fouling out with 2:19 left. Also stepping up for PM were Evan Cook with nine points Braedyn Houck with nine points, six rebounds and four steals. Landon Catlett chipped in seven points. PM hit four 3-pointers while holding Highland to one.
Jacob Phillips led the athletic Rams (1-4, 0-4) with 14 points, while Ethan Moore scored 12 points before fouling out with about three minutes left in the game. Colton Williams added eight points for Highland, and Eli Moore chipped in seven.
The Blues started the game well, jumping out to a 16-4 lead after the first quarter. The Rams chipped into the lead in the second quarter, cutting it to 24-15 by halftime.
In the third quarter, Highland made several defensive stops and hit shots and free throws, going on a 6-0 run to trim PM’s lead to 26-23. Snider then made an inside shot to stop the run and converted a pair of free throws, putting PM up by six. Highland continued to battle, with Ethan Moore converting from the free throw line and scoring on a putback.
In the final minute of the third quarter, Phillips made a turnaround jump shot to tie the game 33-33. Highland outscored PM 18-9 in the quarter.
PM went back up by four points after two inside shots from Snider early in the fourth quarter, and the momentum stayed with the Blues, who built up a 44-35 lead. Highland would cut it to seven with just over two minutes left. After Snider fouled out, Nathan Glass made a layup to extend PM’s lead to 48-39. The Rams chipped into the lead, cutting it to 51-46 on a 3-pointer from Michael Campbell in the closing seconds. Cook then made a free throw, and Glass rebounded the miss on the second free throw to seal the win.
PM a good job taking care of the ball, committing 10 turnovers, while Highland had 12. Each team grabbed 27 rebounds.
The Blues will continue district action on Friday when they play host to Eastern Montgomery, starting with junior varsity action at 5:30 p.m.
For the full stories and photos from this week’s action, please see our Jan. 11 newspaper. The story on the Blues’ two wins over Riverheads last week, with photos, will be in this Wednesday’s newspaper.
