Pirates in third with two weekends to go

POMEROY–With a steady diet of five league games to play in the 2024-25 SE 1B Wheat Division season, the Pirates are firmly in third-with 9-2 Oakesdale as one of the tougher teams in the remaining line up. Over the weekend, Pomeroy blasted the Bulldogs 50-11 then gave the Vikings of Gar-Pal a run for their money with a second-half burst, but it wasn't enough in the 47-42 loss.

The Pirates are 7-2 in league, 8-7 overall.

Gar-Pal had their hands full here last Saturday. They led 10-8 after eight minutes but a chilly second quarter for Pomeroy sent the teams to the lockers 22-13. After three quarters, it was 34-30 in favor of the Vikings, but the battle finished with Gar-Pal counting a 13-12 fourth period and the five-point margin of victory.

"We got down in the second quarter and were not able to completely overcome it," said Head Coach Chris Wolf. "We just didn't make enough shots in the second quarter. We had some great looks but just weren't able to convert.

"In the second half we battled back and played hard," he said. "We cut the lead to 1 and had it at 2 several times. Credit to Gar-Pal for hitting some big shots that we contested."

Cesar Morfin with 14 points. Jett Slusser had 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists. Kyzer Herres had 11 points and 6 rebounds.

"Cesar hit three big threes in the third quarter that really closed the deficit," Wolf said. "This was Cesar's best game of the season, and we really needed it. We were down two players tonight with injury and our rotation wasn't as deep."

Wolf praised the team against Dayton. "We jumped out to a 17-3 first quarter lead and continued to add on throughout the game," he said. "We defended well and had 39 rebounds in the game.

"We were able to get Braxton McKeirnan open shots from the high post," Wolf said. "Braxton led the way with 16 points. Kyzer Herres had 6 rebounds and 5 assists, and Jett Slusser had 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 6 steals."

Against Asotin, the Pirate had a rough start, Wolf said, and didn't match Asotin's intensity nor physicality.

"About halfway through the third quarter," he said, "we started to play harder and started attacking and found some offensive rhythm. We matched their intensity and hustle and outplayed them the last 12 minutes but dug ourselves way too deep of a hole."

Jett Slusser led the way with 16 points and added eight rebounds. Braxton McKeirnan added 11 points and 12 rebounds. Pomeroy had 16 offensive boards.

Gar-Pal 47, Pomeroy 42 (1-18)

Pom 8 5 17 12-42

GP 10 12 12 13-47

Pomeroy (42). Reisinger 0 3-5 3, Jett Slusser 3 3-5 11, Herres 5 0-0 11, Morfin 5 0-0 14, Schmidt 1 0-0 3. Totals 14 6-10 42.

Gar-Pal (47) Collier 8 1-4 19, Rarden 1 0-0 2, Cook 3 3-8 9, B. Snekvik 1 0-0 2, K. Snekvik 5 0-0 12, Orr 1 0-0 3. Totals 19 4-12 47.

3-point goals - Gar-Pal 5, Collier 2, K. Snekvik 2, Orr. Pomeroy 8, Slusser 2, Herres, Morfin 4, Schmidt.

Pomeroy 50, Dayton 11 (1-17)

Pom 17 14 11 8-50

Day 3 1 2 5-11

Pomeroy (50) Reisinger 2 0-0 5, Ott 1 1-2 3, B. McKeirnan 7 2-4 16, Slusser 2 0-0 6, Herres 2 0-0 4, Morfin 3 0-0 9, R. McKeirnan 0 0-2 0, Schmidt 2 0-0 5, Nelson 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 3-8 50.

Dayton (11) Czapka 1 0-2 2, McCowen 2 1-2 6, Yost 1 0-0 3. Totals 4 1-4 11.

3-point goals - Dayton 2, McCowen, Yost. Pomeroy 7, Reisinger, Slusser 2, Morfin 3, Schmidt.

Asotin 51, Pomeroy 39 (1-14)

Pom 5 9 12 13-39

Aso 18 12 9 12-51

Pomeroy (39) Reisinger 1 0-0 2, B. McKeirnan 5 1-2 11, Slusser 6 0-0 16, Herres 4 0-0 8, Morfin 1 0-0 2, , Totals 17 1-2 39

Asotin (51) Anderson 1 0-0 2, Ells 5 0-2 11, Biery 2 1-2 7, Ausman 1 0-0 3, Eggleston 2 2-2 6, Conklin 3 0-0 9, Walling 1 0-0 2, Olerich 5 1-4 11, Totals 20 4-10 51.

3-point goals- Pomeroy 4, Slusser 4, Asotin 7, Ells, Biery 2, Ausman, Conklin 3.