Pirates look to SJEL, T-R

POMEROY––The second half of the basketball season is underway and the Pirates are 3-1 in SE 1B play and 4-5 overall following a 62-27 win over Genesee.

The Pirates face Waitsburg this week, host SJEL on Friday and visit Tekoa-Rosalia Saturday that will leave eight games remaining in the regular season.

Kyzer Herres paced the Bucs with 18 points and Braxton McKeirnan popped in 17 in the Genesee win. Adjustments after half time ballooned the lead as Pomeroy outscored Genesee 21-1 in the third.

"The first half tonight was a good game," said Head Coach Chris Wolf. "We started to pull away about halfway through the second quarter and came out and dominated the third quarter.

"We were able to create turnovers and got out in transition and got some easy baskets," he said. "In our half-court offense, we had our best ball movement of the season, and it led to great shots tonight.

Besides Herres's 18 points, he had 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals. "Kyzer played the best all-around game he has played this year," Wolf said.

Braxton McKeirnan, with 17, shot efficiently, Wolf added.

"Our bench gave us a big lift tonight and contributed in a variety of ways," Wolf said. We have been waiting for this to happen and will need more of it going forward."

Liberty Christian jumped to a 14-7 first-quarter lead and finished strong with a 49-35 win over Pomeroy

"We were never able to get any rhythm offensively," Wolf said. "We got good shots in the first half and kept ourselves in the game with our defense. In the second half we didn't take as good of shots and lacked patience.

"We depend on ball movement to crate offense and we didn't do a great job of moving the ball," he said. "We played a little intimidated against their interior defense. We have to be more willing to attack to score. We settled for the easy shot instead of getting the good shot.

Jett Slusser had 17 points and 14 rebounds. Herres had 8 points and 8 rebounds and played well against their physicality, Wolf said.

Pomeroy 62, Genesee 27 (1-4)

Pom 16 15 21 10-62

Gen 12 8 1 6-27

Pomeroy (62) Jacob Reisinger 0 0-0 0, Reggie Ott 1 1-2 3, Braxton McKeirnan 8 1-1 17, Jett Slusser 0 0-0 0, Kyzer Herres 7 4-4 18, Cesar Morfin 3 0-0 7, Rory McKeirnan 2 2-2 6, Boone Schmidt 2 0-0 5, Grayson Slaybaugh 0 0-0 0, Robby Van Vogt 2 0-0 4, Conrad Nelson 1 0-0 2, Vinnie Vecchio 0 0-0 0, Totals 25 8-9 62

Genesee (27) Poxleitner 0 0-2 0, Crowley 3 1-2 7, Bollman 1 0-0 3, Uhlenkott 0 0-0 0, Smith 0 0-0 0, Banks 4 1-2 13, Hubbard 1 0-0 3, Cass 0 0-0 0, Recter 0 0-0 0, Chapman 0 0-0 0, Ketcheson 0 1-2 1, Totals 9 3-8 27

3-point goals- Genesee 6, Bollman, Banks 4, Hubbard. Pomeroy 2, Morfin, Schmidt

Liberty Christian 49, Pomeroy 35 (12-30)

Pom 7 9 8 11-35

LC 14 9 10 16-49

Pomeroy (35) Reisinger 2 0-0 5, McKeirnan 1 0-1 2, Slusser 4 5-6 17, Herres 2 4-6 8, Morfin 0 0-0 0, Schmidt 0 0-0 0, Slaybaugh 0 1-2 1, VanVogt 1 0-0 2 Totals 10 10-15 35

Liberty Christian (49) Idler 1 0-0 2, Hoey 2 0-0 6, Haak 0 0-0 0, Williamson 2 0-1 4, Cowan 1 0-0 2, Hogaboam 0 0-0 0, Grover 7 3-6 19, Cole 5 6-9 16, Totals 18 9-16 49

3-point goals- Pomeroy 5, Reisinger Slusser 4, Liberty Christian 4, Hoey 2, Grover 2.