PBHS boys finish 7th at Centre
Staff writer
Two losses and one win for Peabody-Burns High School boys gave the Warriors a seventh-place finish in the Centre Invitational Tournament. The team lost to Centre, 47-29, in round one on Jan. 18. In Friday action, PBHS was defeated by Solomon, 40-35. The Warriors came up with a win in the third round on Saturday, beating Wakefield, 64-39. The team will play Friday at White City, a game that was postponed because of inclement weather.
Centre
Centre opened a huge lead with the first 14 points of the contest. Matt Hiebert got the Warriors on the board with a free throw. Seth Topham added a 2-point basket, but Centre ended the first with a 2 at the buzzer. PBHS trailed, 16-3, at the end of the quarter.
PBHS outscored the Cougars, 12-8, in the second but the gap still favored Centre at the half, 24-15. Jacob Gillet and Topham each had 4 points in the period. Derek Price and Hiebert each had 2.
The Cougars added 13 in the third. PBHS offense had a trey from Hunter Pickens and a 2 from Topham. The Warriors were down, 37-20, at the end of three quarters.
Centre added 10 in the final period, and PBHS added 9. Storm Pickens got on the board with a trey and Price and a basket and a free throw. Brody Kyle also added a basket and a free throw. PBHS lost in round one to Centre, 47-29.
Scoring
Topham, 8; Price, 5; Gillet, 4; Storm Pickens, 3; Hiebert, 3; Hunter Pickens, 3; Kyle, 3.
Solomon
Storm Pickens had the first 2 points of the contest and Gillet followed with a 2. Solomon scored a basket, but Hiebert came back with a trey. The Gorillas finished the first with a 2. PBHS led, 7-4, with 6:18 on the clock. Price scored a trey but Solomon came back with 2 baskets. Hiebert added 2 from the line and PBHS led, 12-8, with 4 minutes on the clock. The Gorillas scored 5 and took a 13-12 lead with 2:14 on the clock. A basket by Topham put the Warriors back on top, 14-13. PBHS took the 1-point lead at the end of one quarter.
Solomon scored the first 7 points in the second and PBHS trailed, 20-14, with 5:09 on the clock. Pickens added two more baskets in the period, but the Gorillas added 6 and maintained the lead, 26-18, at the end of the quarter.
PBHS defense held Solomon scoreless in the third quarter and Warrior offense added 7. Austin Savage had a trey and a 2-point basket and Kyle added a basket. The Warriors cut the Gorilla lead to 1, 26-25.
A 2 by Hiebert briefly put the PBHS squad on top but Solomon came back to score the next 6 points and regain the lead, 32-27. Savage added a 2 with 5:00 left in the contest, but the Gorillas answered with a trey. Hunter Pickens scored 1 from the line. Topham added a 2 that put the Warriors within 3, 32-35, with two minutes left in the final quarter. The Gorillas added three free throws late in the contest. With 10 seconds left on the clock, Storm Pickens scored a trey and again PBHS was down by 3, 38-35. The Gorillas took the game with the addition of 2 more points. PBHS lost a close one, 40-35.
Storm Pickens, 9; Hiebert, 7; Savage, 7; Topham, 4; Price, 3; Gillet, 2; Kyle, 2; Hunter Pickens, 1.
Wakefield
Wakefield had the first basket in the contest. Hiebert scored a trey and PBHS led early, 3-2. The Bombers again claimed the lead, 6-3, with two baskets, but Hiebert cut the lead to 1, 6-5, with a score. Wakefield added a free throw and a basket and led, 9-5, with 3:25 on the clock. Kyle cut the lead to 2 with a basket. A trey by Savage with 1:20 on the clock secured the lead, 10-9.
Hiebert had a free throw to open the second. The Bombers tied the game at, 11-11, with 7:05 on the clock. Eight combined points from Price, Hiebert, and Gillet gave the Warriors their largest lead in the contest, 19-11, with 5 minutes left in the half. Wakefield added 1 but Savage added a 2 and a trey and PBHS led, 24-12, with 4:10 on the clock. The Bombers came up with 5, but Kyle added a 2 and Hiebert added a basket and a free throw. The Bombers scored one more free throw in the half, but Kyle, Gillet and Topham combined for the last 7 points of the quarter.
The Warriors had a 36-18 advantage at the half.
PBHS continued to score well in the final half of the contest. The Warriors added 28 points and the Bombers added 21. Gillet had 6 in the second half. Savage and Price scored 5 and Topham added 4. Storm Pickens and Hiebert each had 3 and Hunter Pickens added a basket.
Scoring
Hiebert, 14; Savage, 13; Gillet, 10; Price, 9; Topham, 7; Kyle, 6; Storm Pickens, 3; Hunter Pickens, 2.