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Wildcats senior center Austin Kirsch, goes up for two of his 19 points in the team's victory over Bishop Brossart on December 20. Photos taken by Sam McClanahan. -
Senior Hunter Jack fires a three pointer from the corner. Photos taken by Sam McClanahan.
By: Sam McClanahan
The resurrection of the Pendleton County Wildcats boys basketball program is in full effect following a 72-58 win over Bishop Brossart on December 20. The team now has six wins in its first 10 games, matching their total already from last season. The last time the Wildcats started this well was during the 2018-19 season.
In their lone game last week, the Wildcats hosted Bishop Brossart and was looking to end a six-game losing streak to the Mustangs. Pendleton County's last win in the series came in February of 2018. The first quarter saw a frantic, up-tempo pace that saw both teams get transition baskets and wide-open shots from three-point range. The Wildcats would produce one of their best starts to a game this season as they led 24-16 after the first eight minute with the senior trio of Alex Beyst, Hunter Cox, and Austin Kirsch.
Brossart would begin the second quarter with a mini flurry that would allow them to pull within three points of the Wildcats, however, the home team responded with nine unanswered points to take a 33-21 lead. Pendleton County would head into halftime with a nine-point lead as Beyst and Cox reached double-figures in scoring.
During the third quarter, Brossart once again opened with a strong start and was able to cut the deficit to three points with the Wildcats leading 38-36 with 5:30 remaining in the quarter. Then, the pivotal sequence of the game would unfold as the Wildcats delivered an 11-0 run over the next two and a half minutes to go up by 13 points. A three-pointer from junior Luke Gregg and layups from Beyst and junior Aden Merrill highlighted the scoring for the Wildcats. Pendleton County would take a 53-44 lead into the start of the fourth quarter. In the final eight minutes, the Wildcats maintained control of the game as their lead would balloon to as much as a 17-point advantage over the Mustangs en route to the victory.
Beyst finished with a team-best 23 points while Kirsch added 19 and Cox delivered 16 in the win. Following the game, team head coach Mason Monroe shared his thoughts on his squad.
"I'm extremely proud of the effort and fight we showed in this win. I told the player's that it is this type of performance that we will need every night if we want to reach our goals," he said.
"We did a great job in rebounding the ball and had big games from our senior leaders. This is our best win of the season so far," Monroe added.
Pendleton County now sits at 6-4 and will look to gain more positive momentum when they travel to Gatlinburg, TN to compete in the Smokey Mountain Winter Classic from December 27-29. This will mark the first time in eight years that the team has ventured out of the state to partake in an event.
"We're looking forward to having a great time and hopefully adding some more wins," Coach Monroe said. "This will be a great team bonding experience for our players."