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Branson Eyer leads the way as Muncy defeats Montgomery in boys basketball

By Chris Masse 5 min read

MUNCY — Branson Eyer provides Muncy a strong leader. And he need not say a word.

When Muncy was struggling in the first half Wednesday against Montgomery, Eyer’s actions spoke loudest. He consistently made the hustle plays which made the difference as Muncy built a five-point halftime lead. During that time he grabbed four offensive rebounds and his hustling save of a ball headed out of bounds went to Gio Persun for a key basket after Montgomery had trimmed a nine-point deficit to one.

Eyer led the way and when all parts of the Muncy machine came together in the second half, the Indians looked unstoppable.

Eyer scored 20 points, collected 10 rebounds and added three steals as Muncy dominated the second half and defeated Montgomery, 64-32 in its Mid-Penn opener. Six players scored during a 24-4 third-quarter run, Ross Eyer produced his third straight double-double and Eli Weikle added 10 points off the bench as the flames Branson Eyer flamed throughout the first half produced a second-half inferno.

“Those are big moments, especially when you’re down a couple of points or in a close game,” Branson Eyer said. “It gets a good push going.”

“He leads by example. He’s not the vocal leader that you would get out of Ross or Loudon (Boring) or Gio (Persun),” Muncy coach Jason Gresh said. “Branson isn’t going to go out and yell and scream. He’s just going to go out and show you how it’s done.”

He did just that and Eyer’s strong first half may have saved Muncy on a night when Montgomery relentlessly came after it and seemed poised for a potential upset. Eyer had 11 points, seven rebounds and two assists by halftime and his strong all-around play helped Muncy thwart off Montgomery’s furious second-quarter run and build a 29-24 halftime lead. Everything then came together in that third quarter and the points started flowing like the Niagara Falls. Muncy scored the quarter’s first 10 points and, in what felt like the blink of an eye, it soon led 47-26. Ross Eyer scored eight third-quarter points and finished with 16 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and four steals.

“It’s just about working as a team,” Branson Eyer said. “We’re a good team and it’s all about us working together.”

That is exactly what Muncy did throughout the second half and it outscored Montgomery, 35-8 while dominating all facets. After going 9 for 11 from 3-point range in the first half, Muncy suddenly could not miss from behind the arc and four players made 3-pointers. A Mike Fry 3-pointer followed by a Ross Eyer steal and layup and another Eyer steal and Steph Curry-like deep 3-pointer produced eight points in 20 seconds as Muncy went up 47-26 midway through the third quarter.

Branson Eyer knocked on victory’s door throughout the first half and in the final two quarters all the Indians forcefully kicked it down.

“That’s the one thing we have. Everybody comes out and is focused on Ross and Branson drops 20. Eli scores 10 off the bench,” Gresh said. “We have a lot of pieces and when one of them is not there, another one is going to step up.”

That included Boring who did all the little things which do not show up in the boxscore but help produce wins. Boring was a calming influence throughout a choppy first half and also was a crucial part of the defense’s success. Branson Eyer played a huge role there as well and again did an excellent job defending Montgomery’s dynamic point guard Logan Almeida.

While Almeida played another quality game and scored 14 points, Eyer rarely let him get the ball or receive quality shots. Most of Almeida’s points came in transition or via his determination on second-chance opportunities. With Eyer and Boring tightening the grip, Muncy’s defense started squeezing the life out of Montgomery and surrendered just four second-half field goals.

Montgomery (2-3) suffered some self-inflicted wounds and missed eight point-blank range shots and layups during the second half. A lot of that, however, was Muncy’s defense taking its toll.

“I love playing defense,” Eyer said. “I feel like my role is mostly playing defense, scoring some layups and handling the ball.”

Montgomery started the game strong and led 12-9 late in the second quarter. Ross Eyer, though, made consecutive steals in the last few seconds, finding Weikle and Branson Eyer for layups with Branson’s beating the buzzer and giving Muncy a 13-12 lead. That advantage ballooned to nine early in the second quarter but Gavin Moore (11 points) provided a lift off the bench and hit two 3-pointers, his second closing the deficit to 25-24.

Muncy scored the half’s final four points. The snowball started rolling there and in the third-quarter’s opening minutes it developed into an avalanche.

“At halftime we didn’t really make any adjustments. We just said let’s go out and refocus and do what we need to do defensively and that’s what it looks like when we do that,” Gresh said. “We talk about how defensive intensity will lead the way. That never leaves.”

MONTGOMERY (32)

Logan Almeida 6 2-2 14, Coltin Hans 1 1-2 3, Austin Kuhn 0 0-0 0, Jacob Utter 2 0-0 4, Rayne Parrish 0 0-0 0, Noah Gearhart 0 0-0 0, Gavin Moore 4 0-2 11, Braiden Beachel 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 3-6 32.

MUNCY (64)

Ross Eyer 7 1-2 16, Branson Eyer 9 2-4 20, Gio Persun 2 2-2 7, Loudon Boring 1 2-3 4, Mike Fry 2 0-0 5, Eli Weikle 4 0-0 10, Eli Slamka 1 0-0 2. Totals 26 7-11 64.

Montgomery 12 12 4 4ä30

Muncy 13 16 24 11ä64

3-pointers: Montgomery 3 (Moore 3); Muncy 5 (Weikle 2, R. Eyer, Persun, Fry).

Records: Muncy 2-2, 1-0 Mid-Penn. Montgomery 2-3, 1-2.

Starting at /week.