The Pilot Point Bearcats and Tioga Bulldogs varsity boys basketball teams met for a nondistrict matchup Nov. 25, with the Bearcats taking the win 60-40.
The contest was closely contested in the first half, but the Bearcats took control in the second quarter and pulled away with a 2110 run in the fourth to take the win.
“We had one practice and two games back-toback, so there was some fatigue, but I thought the guys did a really good job of competing and making enough plays to win the ball game,” said Jeff Price, Pilot Point head boys basketball coach.
The two teams traded buckets in the opening period, with Pilot Point taking a slim lead, 10-9, at the end of the first quarter.
The Bearcats found their rhythm in the second quarter, going on an 18-9 run, taking a 28-17 lead into the half.
The Bulldogs came out swinging in the third quarter, outscoring Pilot Point 13-11 in the period and cutting the lead to single digits as the contest entered the fourth quarter.
Pilot Point responded to Tioga’s comeback ef- forts by closing the game with a 21-10 scoring run in the game’s final quarter, taking the 60-40 victory.
“We tried to put some pressure on them throughout the game, trying to keep them out of sync a little bit and uncomfortable, and at times we did that,” Price said. “There were [moments] where they scored the ball on us, but overall, I thought we did a good job defensively.”
Senior point guard Hunter Newman led the Bearcats with 21 points, making four three-pointers in the win.
The Bearcats hit the hardwood running after football, starting the season with back-toback games, and Price said he’s excited that the team finally has time to focus on basketball.
“We’re very vanilla in what we’re doing right now, and I’d like to be able to put some more stuff on their plates,” he said. We’ve had defensive lapses in both games, and that’s part of the game, but there are times we’re having defensive [miscues] just because we haven’t practiced things. You’re always thinking about district, no matter who you’re playing, so we have to continue to get better.”
Tioga has also dealt with the challenges of a shortened preparation period at the start of the season, but Stephen Fewell, Tioga head boys basketball coach, said he expects the team to improve with more time on the court.
“We’re playing with energy, but we still have to get in the basketball mode,” he said. “Most of these kids are multi-sport athletes that play football, so getting them to see the court faster is just going to take a little time. We did some great things defensively, blocking out and rebounding, against just a very athletic Pilot Point team that has a lot of size, but our offense is struggling right now because we’ve only been shooting for about two weeks, and we know that’s going to come with time and getting shots up in practice.”
Junior point guard Ramsey Washington led the Bulldogs with 18 points, followed by junior guard Justin Arrington, who finished with 14 points.
The Bulldogs suffered backto- back losses to start the season, but Fewell believes the adversity the team faces now will pay off when the team begins the district portion of their season.
“It’s a long season, and we want to play good opponents to prepare us for a tough district,” he said. “We did some very good things in the first two games and are working hard to clean up the negatives. This team and staff are working hard to continue improving.”
Tioga was scheduled to participate in the Bruceville-Eddy Tournament held Thursday through Saturday.
