NEW MARKET — Good shooting leads to good wins; however, the Mounties found themselves on a not-so-good shooting night walk out of the Tandy Gymnasium with a 58-54 Sagamore Athletic Conference win to stay undefeated in a tough conference.
The Mounties found themselves down 11-10 after one and up 21-20 at halftime. The game stayed close with the biggest Mountie lead being 50-43 with 2:42 to go in the game. Coach Michael Byrum liked to see his team’s composure after a quiet shooting night.
“This was night where we didn’t shoot the ball well from anywhere, from the free throw line to the three-point line,” Byrum said. “We were just kind of off offensively. That is something we have been preparing for all season long. We knew there would be a night where we weren’t going to score like we had been.”
The three-point shot finally started to fall in the fourth quarter for the Mounties after Caden Miller hit two and Dean McGaughey and Evan Watson each hit one. Those shots gave the Mounties just enough of the lead to get the victory over the Stars.
“I thought the boys did a really good job of giving the championship effort tonight,” Byrum said. “Our goal is to win conference in our last year of the Sagamore Athletic Conference, but we don’t look past anyone and take each game as we get to it. We are pleased, but we still have a lot more work to do.”
The Mounties were led in scoring by senior Watson with 17 and sophomore Austin Foley with 12. McGaughey and Aaron McMasters each had seven.
The Mounties improve to 6-1 on the season and are 3-0 in the Sagamore Athletic Conference. The Mounties are off until the Sugar Creek Classic that begins on Jan. 10. The Stars fall to 1-6 on the season and 0-3 in the Sagamore Athletic Conference.
