Hurricanes sink Pirate's season

MOUNT VERNON–After advancing to the second round following a home-court win over Muckleshoot Tribal School, the Pomeroy Pirates dropped from State 1B Tournament play with a lopsided loss at Mount Vernon Christian on Saturday, finishing the 2022-23 boys' hoops season 16-8.

The Pirates suffered a rough start against Mt. Vernon Christian last Saturday in Mt. Vernon, and struggled again in the third quarter, falling 65-40 after earlier advancing by parlaying a 14-4 first-quarter advantage into a 69-62 win over Muckleshoot Tribal School in Pomeroy, Tuesday, Feb. 21.

"This was a really fun team to coach and this group of seniors will be missed," said Head Coach Chris Wolf following the Mt. Vernon Christian loss. "They have been the foundation for the program turning it around. They worked hard and were very dedicated and improved every year. I think the future is bright even though we lose these seniors.

"We will have three starters back and a group of kids that swung between JV and Varsity that have a lot of potential," Wolf said. "Our JV had a great year going 18-1 this season. They play well together and are fun to watch."

The Hurricanes pummeled the Pirates in the first quarter, lashing them with a 20-9 difference before the Buccaneers got untracked and recovered. "After a rough start in the first quarter," Wolf said, "we clawed our way back into the game at halftime (26-21).

"We had a hard time guarding them in our man-to-man defense and switched to a 2-3 zone in the second quarter that led to several stops, and we were able to get going offensively," Wolf said.

"When we were able to score, we got into our press and were able to speed them up and they took shots early in the shot clock that they were missing," he said.

But the Pirates didn't take full advantage of the Hurricane's missed shots, Wolf added, due to a high number of Pirate turnovers. "We had 10 first-half turnovers and played a little sloppy," Wolf said.

Mount Vernon Christian defenders had a height advantage, Wolf conceded, and their defensive depth was something the Pirates had trouble overcoming.

"The third quarter was where the game got away from us," Wolf said. "We had a few more turnovers to start the second half and they took advantage of them. We were playing our defense in the key to stop their big guys and against us they hit shots." Mt. Vernon Christian made five of six from the three-point arc in the second half and this wasn't something the Pirates could have happen, he said.

"In our scout of them, they didn't appear to shoot the ball very well on the season from three, but today they shot fifty percent," Wolf said. "Offensively we struggled to get the ball inside and when we did, we struggled to get any shots up.

"We were at our best this season when we got the ball inside and scored and we ended up taking 32 threes in this game," Wolf said.

The coach said scoring leaders were senior Trevin Kimble and Jett Slusser, sophomore guard, with nine points each, and Trace Roberts, a 6-0 junior forward, played a good game going three of three from the field and finishing with eight points and seven rebounds.

The First-Round game, a loser-out contest against the Muckleshoot Tribal School Kings Feb. 21 in front of the hometown fans in Pomeroy, showed the Pirates control the pace the first three quarters, then hang on for the 69-62 win as the Kings racked up 24 fourth-quarter points.

"This was a game that we were in control for the first three quarters," Wolf said. "In the fourth quarter, we let Muckleshoot speed us up and we played their style of basketball instead of what got us a 20-point lead in the third quarter.

Wolf's hope was for a learning experience to show the squad "that teams at state will play all 32 minutes and play with desperation when their season is on the line."

"In the first three quarters, we did a great job of handling their pressure and slowing down to run our offense, he said. "We did a good job of getting the ball inside and cutting without the ball that led to great looks for us that we took advantage of.

"Defensively we were solid until the fourth quarter," Wolf noted. "We allowed too much dribble penetration that led to easy baskets and kick outs for wide-open threes."

Pirate rebounding efforts garnered Wolf's praise, cleaning the glass with 43 rebounds, including 10 offensive rebounds.

Kimble paced all scorers with 27 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, and Severs added 16 points and 12 rebounds. Roberts had 15 points and 14 rebounds.

"Jett Slusser had seven points and five assists, and did a good job of handling the ball against their pressure," Wolf added, "and Jayden Slusser gave us great minutes off the bench. He played well defensively and added three rebounds while giving Trace and Ollie some rest."

Pomeroy 40, Mount Vernon Christian 65 (2-25)

Pom 9 12 5 14-40

MVC 20 6 22 17-65

Pomeroy (40) Severs 2 1-2 5, Bott 1 0-0 3, Jett Slusser 3 0-0 9, Kimble 3 2-2 9, Magill 1 0-0 3, Ledgerwood 1 0-0 3, Roberts 3 2-4 8. Totals 14 5-8 40.

Mount Vernon Christian (65) Silver 0 2-4 2, Faber 1 3-4 6, Rozema 3 0-0 6, Brunc 2 0-0 5, Bieghler 1 0-0 2, Lucas Millenaar 2 0-0 6, Votipka 1 0-1 3, DeJong 7 5-6 22, Wyatt 1 0-0 2, Landrum 1 1-2 3, Liam Millenaar 4 0-0 8. Totals 23 11-17 65.

3-point goals: Pomeroy-7. Bott, Jett Slusser 3, Kimble, Magill, Ledgerwood. MVC-8. Faber, Brunc, Lucas Millenaar 2, Votipka, DeJong 3.

Muckleshoot Tribal 62, Pomeroy 69 (2-21)

Pom 14 18 21 16-69

MTS 4 18 16 24-62

Muckleshoot Tribal (62) Tristan Thompson 5 0-0 10, Anderson 2 1-4 5, Reyes 6 2-2 18, James 1 0-0 3, Korndorfer 3 3-5 11, Brown 6 1-3 15. Totals 23 7-14 62

Pomeroy (69) Severs 6 3-4 16, Jett Slusser 1 5-6 7, Kimble 7 10-17 27, Magill 2 0-0 4, Roberts 6 2-4 15. Totals 22 20-31 69

3-point goals: Muckleshoot Tribal 9, Reyes 4, James, Korndorfer 2, Brown 2. Pomeroy 5: Severs, Kimble 3, Roberts.