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The Parry McCluer High School boys basketball team started the new year with a 76-48 home loss to North Cross on Thursday afternoon in Buena Vista.
With the loss, the Blues fell to 5-3. North Cross, which competes in the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association instead of the Virginia High School League, improved to 8-2.
The Blues found themselves in an early 8-3 deficit, with their only points having come from a 3-pointer by Braedyn Houck. With the Raiders leading 12-6, Quentin Rosser made a 3-pointer for the Blues. On the back end of the first quarter, North Cross’s Jesiah Hines made back-to-back layups to push the NC lead to 2113.
After trading points to start the second quarter, the Raiders went on a 10-0 run to extend their lead to 37-15. Langston Cook scored the only six points for the Blues in the quarter, and PM trailed 44-19 at halftime.
NC’s Jaziel Hart made a 3-pointer and a layup to start the third quarter, as the Raiders extended their lead to 49-19. After the scoring drought, the Blues had their best run of the night with two layups from Cook and another from Parker Snider. Rosser then hit his second 3-pointer cut NC’s lead to 49-28, completing a 9-0 run for the Blues.
Praising his team’s mentality, PM head coach Tyler Kerr said, “The challenge at halftime was to start zero-zero, wipe your mind, and just go compete. I thought we were more assertive, and that was a challenge. It’s difficult when the score is like that, but I’m proud the team was able to have a good mindset.”
Cook hit a 3-pointer near the end of the third quarter, but NC was able to build its lead to 57-33 heading into the fourth quarter.
Despite having their highest-scoring quarter in the game with 15 points in the fourth quarter, the Blues were not be able to keep pace with the Raiders and the game ended at 76-48. “When we watched them on tape, we knew how athletic they were,” said Kerr of the Raiders. “They are a good ball club, and I’ll tip the hat to them.”
“These games can only make you better, and we have a mature team,” said Kerr.
Cook led the Blues with 27 points, Houck scored seven points, and Rosser chipped in six and was followed by Houck and Rosser with seven and six, respectively.
The leading scorers for NC were Hines with 21 points, Tristan Lange with 20, and Hart with 19.
The Blues will have home games against William Campbell tonight, Wednesday, and against Auburn on Friday, before returning to Pioneer District action at Bath County on Tuesday. All three nights are scheduled to start with junior varsity action at 5:30 p.m.
