KNOX, Pa. (EYT/D9) – A season unraveling. A historic scoring rut. A huge deficit.
The Keystone boys basketball team was staring at all three in the first two quarters at home against Moniteau Friday night.
(Above, Bret Wingard was the Hager Paving Incorporated Player of the Game)
The Panthers’ shooting woes had hit epic proportions. Going back to the second game of the season, Keystone had scored just 30 points in eight quarters. Going back to Tuesday’s loss at Karns City, the Panthers had put up a mere 18 points in the last four frames.
At the half, they trailed Moniteau 26-13.
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Then something happened. Shots started falling. Confidence swelled. Keystone outscored Moniteau 20-2 in the fourth quarter on the way to a 47-43 win.
It could be a season-saver for the Panthers.
“We knew playing these games and struggling that we do have a lot of talent on this team,” said senior Bret Wingard. “We just needed to unlock it. Tonight was the first step in going in that direction.
“I believe it is a big turning point in our season,” he added. “It could be a big thing for us to build upon and keep going forward.”
Keystone coach Greg Heath agrees. He said he knew his team was better than the numbers they were putting up over the past two-plus games.
“This is certainly a game you can build on, for sure,” Heath said. “They know now they are certainly capable. This is going to put a little bit of wind back in their sails.”
Wingard got hot in the second half. The senior, who was held scoreless against Karns City Tuesday, scored 19 of his game-high 26 points in the final two quarters.
“He was pretty determined tonight, especially after the first half,” Heath said of Wingard. “I think he just wanted to put the team on his shoulders and carry us. He had a great game.”
For Wingard, as well as the rest of the team, the key was believing in himself.
“It was just being confident and switching some things up and making them guess,” Wingard said. “We were able to get some easy looks and we were able to move the ball really well.”
Zander McHenry, who scored eight points, also came up big in the second half on defense. The senior guard was everywhere.
He used some of the instincts that has made him an all-state safety on the football team to get into passing lanes and disrupt Moniteau’s offense.
“He’s such good athlete and such a good teammate,” Wingard said for McHenry. “He’s playing safety on defense. He has insane instincts that no one else has and he’s able to utilize them.”
It was the kind of spark Keystone desperately needed after the last two forgettable games. Already, it looked like the season was slipping away.
Until the Panthers (2-2) snatched it from the precipice.
“Zander really came up big for us,” Heath said. “He really, really sparked that comeback with some steals. Tyler Alright, too, did a terrific job on Kyle Pry because Pry is a heck of a player. Tyler, I thought, did a sensational job on him.”
It looked like Moniteau (0-2) was well on the way to a big road win.
The Warriors led 26-9 at one point and held a 42-27 lead after three quarters.
Moniteau was red hot from the perimeter in the first 24 minutes. Chasen Rugg banged home three 3-pointers in the first half as the Warriors hit six total in the first 16 minutes.
Then Pry got hot, draining four 3-pointers in the third quarter for his team-high 12 points.
Things cooled off quickly for the Warriors in the fourth, opening the door for Keystone’s prodigious comeback.
Jewart also scored nine points for Moniteau.
Now Wingard and Keystone can perhaps breathe a little easier after an interesting first week.
“We had some young guys coming off the bench making huge defensive plays and making some big shots,” Wingard said. “It was a relief. Coach Heath was not very happy with us at halftime. We knew what we needed to do and we got that confidence and ran with it.”
Redbank Valley, Keystone, and Union/A-C Valley sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Heeter Lumber.
