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The Parry McCluer High School boys basketball team won a backand- forth battle against Gretna 69-65 in the 10th annual Rock the Ribbon Roundball Shootout on Saturday afternoon at Rockbridge County High School.
The nondistrict win was the 13th consecutive victory for the Fighting Blues (14-3), who had cruised to victories over Pioneer District rivals Eastern Montgomery and Highland County earlier last week. Gretna fell to 7-9.
PM’s JJ Jones led all players with 20 points and pulled down seven rebounds, and the Blues had three other doubledigit scorers. Langston Cook scored 14 points and was named to the all-tournament team, Nathan Glass added 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds, and Landon Catlett scored 10 points. Also stepping up for the Blues were Evan Cook with nine points, five rebounds, four as-
PM SENIOR guard Payton Emore drives toward the basket. Emore led all players with 21 points. (Ronnie Coffey photo) sists and three steals. Braedyn Houck chipped in five points and two steals.
With just under 30 seconds left in Saturday’s game, with PM leading 63-62, the Blues got a huge play from Glass, who was knocked down and made a basket before converting a free throw for a three-point play.
“That was a big play, and Nathan has that ability to get up on that rim,” said PM head coach Tyler Kerr. “[Braedyn] Houck’s a little bit more of an offensive threat, but when we made that substitution [Glass for Houck], we let Nathan know, you’ve got to get in there and rebound, and he did. First possession, he grabs a board, and we get out and run in transition.”
After Glass’s big play, Evan Cook hit two free throws to extend the Blues’ lead to 67-62, and teammate Catlett made a pair of free throws to allow PM to put the game away, leaving the Blues and their fans to celebrate.
The game was close the whole way, with the Blues leading 23-22 after the first quarter and taking a 37-34 lead into halftime. At the end of the third quarter, the Blues were up 55-49.
Leading Gretna were Ryder Brooks and K’Mari Chatten with 14 points each, while Rayshaun Logan, Amare Gunn and Ryder Brooks scored 11 points each. Logan was named to the all-tournament team.
Kerr said the Hawks “came ready to play. They shot the ball well. They got up on the rim, and they had good athletes that made athletic plays, but our guys rose to the occasion. We made plays when we needed to.”
