Pirates open with barn-burner win over Panthers

ASOTIN–After growing a 20-19 half-time lead to a ten-point margin, the Pirates had to rebuff a fourth-quarter Panther attack to eke out a 43-41 non-league win here Wednesday, November 30, in the first game of the 2022-23 boys basketball season.

The Buccaneers set sail to St. John for the opening league matchup this Friday against St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse, then return to port for the season's first home game of the campaign against Oakesdale.

The Pirates edged ahead of Asotin 8-6 after the first eight minutes and maintained the lead, going into the half time break ahead 20-19.

Pomeroy's adjustments and chilly scoring by the Asotin spelled a big third quarter for the Bucs, who had a comfortable but precarious 34-24 lead heading into the fourth period.

"We were solid with our post defense against a much taller team and rebounded fairly well," said Head Coach Chris Wolf. "We did a great job of contesting the threes until the last couple minutes of the game.

"We had a few turnovers that let them back into the game and gave up a few threes late to really close the gap," he said.

"This was a close game throughout," Wolf said. "We built a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter and had to hang on late."

Wolf said the team made him proud because of their effort and defensive intensity in the game.

The offensive effort was positive, the coach noted, indicating it was "solid" for the first game of the season. "I think we will be fine as the season goes on," Wolf said. "We moved the ball well and got good looks but missed some easy attempts. These are things you expect in a first game, but the defense and effort were great."

Pomeroy 43, Asotin 41 (11-30)

Aso 6 13 5 17-41

Pom 8 12 14 9-43

Pomeroy (43) Braedon Fruh 0 0-2 0, Ollie Severs 4 5-7 14, Brady Bott 0 0-0 0, Jett Slusser 3 3-4 11, Trevin Kimble 4 6-8 15, Boone Schmidt 0 0-0 0, Jayden Slusser 0 0-0 0, Trace Roberts 0 3-6 3, Totals 11 17-27 43.

Asotin (41) Gavin Ells 2 2-4 8, Cody Ells 0 0-0 0, Sawyer Biery 1 0-0 3, Cooper Biery 2 0-0 4, Brady Moore 3 2-4 9, Rueben Eggleston 2 0-0 6, Dylan Finney 0 1-2 1, Kamea Kauhi 2 0-2 4, Justin Boyea 0 0-0 0, AJ Olerich 3 0-1 6, Totals 15 5-13 41

3-point goals: Asotin: 6 Gavin Ells 2, Sawyer Biery, Moore, Eggleston 2. Pomeroy: 4, Severs, Jett Slusser 2, Kimble.