PM Boys Repeat In Pioneer

Blues Overcome Narrows For Second Time In Eight Days

The Parry McCluer High School boys basketball team won its second consecutive Pioneer District regular-season championship by earning two home wins last week, cruising to a 67-34 victory over Eastern Montgomery last Monday night before defeating Narrows 69-56 on Saturday afternoon.

The Fighting Blues went undefeated in the district at 9-0 and improved to 16-4 overall. Saturday’s win came eight days after the Blues earned a 77-69 road win over the Narrows (14-8, 7-3).

In the rematch, the Green Wave took an early lead, but a 3-pointer from PM’s Braedyn Houck and a three-point play by Langston Cook tied the game 10-10. The contest was deadlocked at the end of the first quarter, 12-12.

With a physical start to the second quarter, each team was limited to a basket apiece in the first half of it. With PM up 18-16, Carter Holmes hit a 3-pointer to give Narrows a one-point lead. The teams traded points, but Brayden Holdren scored on a putback to give PM a 24-23 halftime lead.

The tight matchup was exactly what PM head coach Tyler Kerr had expected. “It’s a district rivalry game,” said Kerr. “Neither team is gonna lie down for [the other]. I thought our guys really dug in when we needed to for this.”

After a scoreless first minute in the third quarter, Nathan Glass made a free throw and a 3-pointer to give PM its biggest lead of the game to that point, 28-23. Points from Cook and a three-point play by Glass put the Blues up 3528. With the clock winding down on the third quarter, the Green Wave’s Cooper Helvey sank a 3-pointer to tie the game, 42-42.

Sam McGlothlin and Elijah Knoetze made a pair of free throws for Narrows, then a 3-pointer from Hunter Owens put Narrows up 48-46 at the start of the fourth quarter. The lead was short-lived, and Cook tied the game with support from Glass and Jamier Jordan. Narrows briefly got a spark after another 3-pointer from Holmes, cutting PM’s lead to 59-53, but two more buckets from Cook sealed the win. Narrows was forced to foul late in the game with time ticking away, and the Blues went 7-of-9 at the free throw line to end the game.

Cook led the Blues with 29 points, while Glass added 16 points, and Houck chipped in 11.

Before the game, the Blues honored their four seniors: Houck, Holdren, Ellis Hill and Peyton Montgomery. Grateful for his seniors, Kerr said, “For a group of teenagers to just come into this gym and grind every day for the team is just selfless. I’m so proud of them and the attitude they’ve had.”

PM 67, EM 34

On Monday of last week, the Blues cruised to a 67-45 home win over Eastern Mont- gomery.

The Blues, who beat the Mustangs 89-75 on Jan. 29 in Elliston, grabbed an early lead, one they wouldn’t surrender for the rest of the game. Cook, Holdren and Montgomery all contributed to give PM a 16-10 lead by the end of the first quarter.

Jordan scored the opening basket of the second quarter, sparking an 11-0 run by the Blues. The Mustangs (12-8, 6-4) would only catch a short break, as the Blues went on a 9-0 run shortly after that, starting with a 3-pointer from Jordan. Houck made a three-point play just before halftime to extend the Blues’ lead to 35-16.

In the third quarter, PM’s lead continued to grow, while EM scored only six points. At the end of the quarter, PM led 51-22. “We’ve just gotten back to the basics,” said Kerr of his team’s defensive effort. “We practiced so much on five playing as one, protecting the basket, and team defense first.”

Behind scoring from Montgomery and Cook and a three-point play from Glass, the Blues extended their lead to 40 points. After they were up 65-25, the Blues primarily played their reserves, and the Mustangs got some scoring at the end of the game.

Cook led PM with 21 points, Holdren scored 16 points and Glass chipped in 11.

Kerr said Holdren “was big tonight. He came in and gave us a lot of energy to start the game. He just gave us a spark, rebounded, and as a senior he can come in and give us some juice.”

PM was scheduled to play host to Craig County last Thursday, but that game was canceled due to a power outage in Craig County following last week’s winter storm.

The Blues entered the Pioneer District tournament as the top seed and were scheduled to play host for a semifinal game last night. It wasn’t certain that the district tournament would happen, with the forecast of snow for today. For weatherrelated schedule changes, visit www.thenewsgazette. com.