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The Parry McCluer High School boys basketball team started the new year with a 55-32 home win over Pioneer district rival Highland County on Friday night in Buena Vista. With the victory, the Fighting Blues (8-3 overall, 2-1 district) extended their winning streak to six games.
The Blues faced an early 4-0 deficit to the Rams (3-4, 2-1). “I didn’t think our energy was great early in the first quarter,” said PM head Tyler Kerr, “But I think for the rest of the game we played with energy and enthusiasm.”
A combination of points from Braedyn Houck, Nathan Glass and Garrett Burton put PM up 8-5, and the Blues would keep the lead for the rest of the game. At the end of the first quarter, the Blues led 17-5.
In the second quarter, with PM leading 19-11, Evan Cook made a 3-pointer for PM, and Burton added to the lead late in the half with his own 3-pointer, extending PM’s lead to 31-17. Glass and Houck both made baskets, helping the Blues take a 35-17 lead into halftime.
The Blues picked up their intensity in the second half. “We were getting good looks in the first half, and we just couldn’t finish,” said Kerr. “We started to have our run in the second half and started to finish at the basket.” The Blues outscored Highland 12-9 in the third quarter At the start of the final quarter, Burton hit his second 3-pointer to extend PM’s lead to 50-26. After another pair of Burton points, PM’s Ellis Hill made a 3-pointer to make the score 55-29. Before the final buzzer sounded, Highland’s Patton Hull made a 3-pointer.
JJ Jones led PM with 13 points, 10 rebounds and five steals, while Glass added 11 points. Burton contributed eight points, while Evan Cook added seven points, five assists and four rebounds. Houck chipped in six points, Landon Catlett had five points, and Langston Cook led PM with seven assists while making four steals to go along with two points.
PM 74, NC 69
Prior to the new year, the Blues earned a 74-69 road win in nondistrict action against Nelson County on Dec. 29 in Lovingston. It was the fourth consecutive game for the Blues to score more than 70 points.
“It was one of our best games offensively,” said Kerr. “We shared the ball well and got a lot of points on the board.”
Evan Cook led PM with 20 points and dished out five assists while pulling down four rebounds, while Langston Cook scored 17 points and had a team-high seven assists, four boards and four steals. Jones added 16 points and led the Blues with 10 rebounds and five steals, while Landon Catlett added nine points and two steals.
The Blues were scheduled to play host to Nelson County, which improved to 4-5 last week, for a rematch on Monday before returning to district action at Bath County last night. PM will continue district action at Bath County on Friday, starting with junior varsity action at 5:30 p.m.
On Saturday, in games rescheduled due to inclement weather last Saturday, the Blues will play host to county rival Rockbridge County. The varsity boys’ game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., following the 1 p.m. junior varsity girls’ game, the 2:30 p.m. JV boys’ game and the 4 p.m. varsity girls’ game.
