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The Parry McCluer High School boys basketball team suffered a 54-52 home loss to Narrows in the Pioneer District opener on Tuesday of last week, but the Fighting Blues bounced back with convincing wins over Eastern Montgomery on Thursday and against Goochland on Saturday.
Against Narrows, which beat the Blues (4-3 overall, 1-1 district) for the Pioneer District championship last winter, PM kept the game close the whole way. With the game tied 52-52, the Green Wave’s Elijah Knoetz made a layup to earn Narrows the win. The Green Wave ended the week with an overall record of 6-0, improving to 2-0 in the district with an 82-54 win over Craig County on Thursday.
Last Tuesday, Levi Smith opened the scorebook for the Green Wave on the night with 3-pointer. With the score tied 6-6, Narrows star guard Kolier Pruett made a 3-pointer to put Narrows up 9-6, and the Green Wave took a 17-9 lead into the second quarter.
JJ Jones made a layup for the Blues to start the second quarter to cut the Narrows lead to 11-17, but the Green Wave extended the lead to 23-11. In the final minute of the first half, with Narrows up 27-16, the Blues cut into the lead with a 6-0 run, including a 3-pointer by Caden Henson. Narrows led 27-22 at halftime.
In the third quarter, points from Jones, Braedyn Houck, Landon Catlett and Langston Cook helped PM take a 36-34 lead. The third quarter ended tied, 38-38, after Evan Cook made a last-second shot.
The fourth quarter was full of lead changes. Carter Holmes of Narrows hit backto- back 3-pointers to give Narrows a 48-42 lead midway through the final quarter.
Jones and Evan Cook led PM with 11 points each, while Cook led PM with six assists. Langston Cook scored eight points, grabbed eight rebounds and had two blocks, while Landon Catlett added 10 points and six rebounds.
Reviewing the showdown, PM head coach Tyler Kerr said, “That was the top two teams in the district just trading blows. We showed the heart of a champion to get back into that game. Nobody is gonna pull away in a game like that.”
“We missed a couple of timely shots and had some poorly timed turnovers, but it came from us being aggressive and attacking the basket like I wanted,” added Kerr. “I didn’t want to hang back. If we were going to lose, I wanted to lose being strong. I’m proud of our effort tonight,.”
PM 59, EM 27
The Blues bounced back by cruising to a 59-27 home win over district rival Eastern Montgomery (2-6, 1-1) on Thursday.
The Blues were up 29-18 at halftime after starting the game down 7-0 in the first quarter.
Langston Cook led the Blues with 14 points, three steals and six rebounds. Jones added eight points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. Houck contributed 12 points and a steal, and Nathan Glass chipped in seven points. EM’s total was the second-lowest point total the Blues had allowed in the season, after only allowing 15 against James River in a 50-15 home win on Nov. 29.
PM 75, GHS 47
In the Bob Johnson Classic at Lord Botetourt High School on Saturday in Daleville, the Blues had their highest point total of the season, defeating Goochland 75-47.
The event honored Bob Johnson, the winningest basketball coach at Emory & Henry College. Statistics were not available for this game.
The Blues were scheduled to play host to Wilson Memorial yesterday. After Christmas, they’ll play at play rival Rockbridge County next Wednesday, Dec. 27, at 5:30 p.m., following the 4 p.m. girls’ varsity game between the two schools and the junior varsity games that start with the girls’ JV game at 1 p.m.
