The Pilot Point Bearcats varsity basketball team competed at the 2025 For the Love of the Game Tournament hosted at S&S Consolidated High School, going 3-2 over the three-day event in Sherman on Dec. 4-6.
The Bearcats opened the tournament with a 26-point win over the S&S Consolidated Rams on Dec. 4, before going 2-2 over the next two days of competition.
“Right now, we just want to be getting better for the district,” said Jeff Price, Pilot Point head boys basketball coach. “… We were able to see a bunch of different things, which was good for us to get to see some game situations and play in some really close games. That allowed us to work on endof- the-game situations like taking care of the ball, so it was a really good tournament for us.”
Pilot Point hit the floor clicking in their first matchup against S&S Consolidated, where they raced out to a 34-13 lead in the first half of play.
The Bearcats continued to control their opening matchup, outscoring the Rams 21-16 in the second half and taking the win 55-29.
Pilot Point went 2-2 over the remainder of the tournament, with wins over Lindsay and Wolfe City and losses against Nocona and Collinsville.
Lindsay kept things close in the first half of the contest, with Pilot Point leading 28-23 at the end of the first half.
The Bearcats’ offense exploded in the second half, going on a 27-9 run in the third quarter and smothering the Knights to take the win, 64-45.
Pilot Point dominated Wolfe City, building a 12-point lead over the first two quarters and going into the half up 32-20.
The Wolves closed the scoring gap to 16-14 in the third quarter, but the Bearcats’ defense put the clamps on them in the fourth quarter, holding them to eight points and taking the win 61-42.
Pilot Point’s first loss came against Nocona, where Nocona overcame Pilot Point’s twopoint first quarter with a 15-4 run in the second quarter, taking a 24-15 lead at the half.
Pilot Point battled back in the second half, outscoring Nocona 22-15, but was unable to complete the comeback, and Nocona escaped with the two-point win, 39-37.
Pilot Point closed the tournament with a high-scoring matchup against the Collinsville Pirates, with the Pirates holding a slim 33-29 lead at the end of the first half.
The two squads continued to pile up the points in the second half, where both teams put in 33 points each, allowing the Pirates to hold onto their fourpoint lead and take the close win.
Price spoke highly of his team’s performance in the tournament.
“We’re really starting to fine-tune how we’re playing, so, hopefully, we have a really good week this week and next week— district will be here before we know it,” he said. “… Our district is extremely tough, and they know that, so getting down early in one of the games, but the kids fought back. We ended up losing a couple close games, but that was good for us to be down, fight back and make adjustments— we’re just trying to get better every day.”
Pilot Point is scheduled to return to the court at the Denton Calvary Tournament on Thursday-Saturday.
Bearcats guard Michael Marsh swings the rock around the perimeter of the Rams’ defense to teammate Hunter Newman. Martin Edwards/ The Post-Signal
