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Friday, Dec. 27 -- The Parry McCluer High School boys basketball team secured a hard-fought 72-68 victory over homestanding Rockbridge County in the first of two meetings between the in-county rivals.
Langston Cook racked up 35 points, 11 rebounds and five assists as the Fighting Blues prevailed in a tight battle. Braedyn Houck added 20 points and four rebounds for PM.
Bradi Ziegler totaled 17 points and six rebounds for the Wildcats. Noah Hamm had 15 points for RC, while Clay Irvine added 12 points and five rebounds.
PM started the game on a 17-4 run, and the Blues still led 41-29 at halftime. But RC came sprinting out of the gates after the intermission, opening the third quarter on a 15-2 spurt and assuming a 44-43 lead on a bucket from Luke Eversole with 3:34 left in the period.
The teams went back and forth down the stretch, and a Ziegler 3-pointer gave RC a 64-63 edge with 4:46 remaining in the game. But a three-point play from Cook at the 2:51 mark put the Blues ahead for good at 66-64.
Foul shooting helped PM ice the victory late on. RC went 1-of-4 at the line in the final 45 seconds, while the Blues hit 3-of-4 attempts during the same span -- including a pair of big makes from Jamier Jordan that made it 72-66 with 20.2 seconds to go.
Jordan and Quentin Rosser notched six points apiece for PM, and Brayden Holdren pulled down five rebounds. Sam Ballstaedt registered eight points and five boards for the Wildcats, while Brady Edwards added seven points and eight boards, and Eversole finished with six markers.
PM will play host to North Cross on Thursday, beginning with the junior varsity tip-off at 3 p.m., while RC welcomes in Valley District rival Harrisonburg at 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 3. The Blues and 'Cats are slated to lock horns again in Buena Vista on Saturday, Jan. 4, with approximate tip time set for 5:30 p.m.
