TIM WEIGHT/Special to the Sun-Gazette Central Mountain's Owen Persun shoots over Montoursville during Tuesday's game at Mill Hall.

MILL HALL — As two key players watched from the sideline Tuesday, Central Mountain left the court following the third quarter staggered. Montoursville cut a 16-point first-quarter deficit to one at that point and possessed all the momentum.

Then the Wildcats came thundering back. And senior Cayde McCloskey led the way.

McCloskey repeatedly made big plays throughout the second half, especially in the fourth quarter. Everything he means to the team came shining through and all his teammates followed the example. Central Mountain dominated those final eight minutes and defeated the determined Warriors, 66-53. McCloskey scored 16 of his career-high 20 points in the second half and the Wildcats improved to 2-0 in the HAC-I despite playing without 2021 leading scorer Jack Hanna and exciting newcomer Essex Taylor.

“That’s what we need from senior leaders. For him to be a three-year letterman and his fourth year playing varsity, we need him to step up, especially now, where he kind of has to be that guy in those moments,” Central Mountain coach Tyler Bardo said. “He’s a settling factor. He’s that decision-making piece. He makes good decisions on the floor, and he’s that calming factor who guys really trust in those situations. I’m happy for him that he stepped up for us and helped put us over the top.”

McCloskey set off a key sequence early in the fourth quarter. After Montoursville (0-4, 0-3) missed four shots that could have tied the game or given it the lead, McCloskey scored inside and made it a four-point contest. Two seconds later, Hayden Pardoe made a steal under the basket and converted a layup. In the blink of an eye, Central Mountain pushed the lead to six and started taking over, closing the game on a 22-10 run.

McCloskey had an answer nearly every time Montoursville was on the verge of taking a second-half lead. His nine third-quarter points kept Central Mountain in front, but he did a lot more than just score. The senior guard also grabbed six rebounds, dealt five assists and gave Central Mountain seemingly whatever needed in big situations.

“Jack is a big facilitator, not just a scorer and that’s the way I try to be,” McCloskey said. “I think one of my best attributes is my passing. I like passing and trying to get things going that way.”

McCloskey did that well and had plenty of help. Pardoe continued his breakout season, scoring 17 points. Ashton Probst scored five fourth-quarter points and grabbed seven rebounds. Brett Gerlach was big off the bench, Ryan Pentz forced some key turnovers and Hunter Hoy made four straight clutch free throws in the final two minutes that helped clinch the win.

Sophomores Brady Myers and Connor Foltz provided a spark as did Levi Schlesinger and Owen Persun who combined for nine rebounds. With Montoursville furiously competing, Central Mountain needed contributions from everyone and received them. Central Mountain (2-3) lost consecutive games against DuBois and Altoona when it was playing without four and three players, respectively. As more return, the team is rounding into form and Tuesday’s win could provide a springboard moving forward.

“It does a lot for us,” McCloskey said. “Our confidence was down after our loss to DuBois and Altoona. To bounce back like that is all we can do. It’s a good start.”

“I think that’s the big thing. The coaches and I talked to the players about finding a way to win without Jack. We haven’t won a game without Jack in two years, so tonight was a big stepping stone,” Bardo said. “We want to make sure we’re using this opportunity without him to strengthen our team, so when we he gets back he’s an easy fit. He’s only going to make us stronger, so the stronger w we get now the better.”

Central Mountain looked mighty strong when it built a 21-5 second-quarter lead. The Wildcats bridged the first and second quarters with a 19-2 run and held Montoursville scoreless for 9 minutes, 15 seconds during that time. The Warriors were getting good shots but missed 20 of their first 22.

All that did, though, was stoke Montoursville’s collective competitive fire. The Warriors came roaring back, scoring 17 points over the second-quarter’s final 3:41 and closed within 27-22 by halftime. Every time Central Mountain started to extend that lead in the third quarter, Montoursville came fighting back, ultimately pulling within 44-43 when John Schneider drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.

Like it did in each of its first three games, all close losses against strong Wellsboro, Mifflinburg and Shikellamy teams, Montoursville fought hard. The Warriors just could not get over the top.

“We always play hard. Our challenge is not playing hard, our challenge is playing a little smarter and more composed,” Montoursville coach Mark Mussina said. “We’ve got gamers. We have guys that want to go scrap. Playing offensive isn’t about scrapping, though. Playing offense is about precision and decision-making and skill. Right now we’re much better defensively than we are offensively.”

Montoursville opened the fourth quarter with another dry spell and missed its first eight shots. Still, it hung in and Jared Matlack’s free throws made it 56-50 with 90 seconds remaining. McCloskey answered with another basket inside and Central Mountain excelled at the line, putting the game away there and making 22 of 27 foul shots.

The Warriors are one of the area’s youngest teams and have just two players with significant varsity experience back. Schneider, though, is emerging as quite a weapon and was a force at times, scoring 15 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and making three steals. His relentless work on the boards helped fuel Montoursville’s comeback and he produced a double-double by early in the third quarter. That’s pretty impressive for a player battling through shin splints.

“Schneider has been great. Schneider has clearly been our best player and he’s a kid who seized the moment. He essentially got no varsity time because he got log jammed behind a good team and now that this is his time he’s been great,” Mussina said. “He’s been our best player on both ends of the floor. He’s playing banged up a little bit but he’s been fantastic.”

Sophomore Quinn Ranck also is making the most of his playing time and scored 15 points, while draining four 3-pointers. Fellow sophomore Bryce Eberhart was terrific during the third quarter and finished with 12 points, five steals and three assists. Nolan Kutney added five rebounds and two steals and his coast-to-coast layup beat the buzzer, capping the late first-half surge.

In a recurring theme, however, Central Mountain responded in impressive fashion. McCloskey drained a 3-pointer on Central Mountain’s first third-quarter possession, assisted Pardoe on his 3-pointer and the Wildcats quickly went up, 33-22.

“When you are missing some good players and you still win, that’s big for the confidence,” McCloskey said. “I you come together like a team the way we did and we get everyone back, we’ll be in a good place.”

MONTOURSVILLE (53)

John Schneider 7 0-0 15, Nolan Kutney 2 0-2 4, Isaiah Fenner 0 0-0 0, Bryce Eberhart 4 3-4 12, Jared Matlack 1 2-2 5, Quinn Ranck 5 1-2 15, Brayden Brown 0 0-0 0, Tanner Menne 1 0-0 2, Noah Shaffer 0 0-0 0, Ian Labatch 0 0-0 0, Ionut Reynolds 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 6-10 53.

CENTRAL MOUNTAIN (66)

Hayden Pardoe 6 3-4 17, Cayde McCloskey 7 5-7 20, Ashton Probst 1 3-4 5, Owen Persun 1 3-4 5, Ryan Pentz 1 0-0 2, Brady Myers 1 3-4 5, Connor Foltz 1 0-0 3, Brett Gerlach 2 2-2 6, Hunter Hoy 0 4-4 4, Levi Schlesinger 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 22-27 66.

Montoursville 5 17 21 10 — 53

C. Mountain 16 11 17 22 — 66

3-point goals: Montoursville 7 (Ranck 4, Schneider, Eberhart, Matlack); Central Mountain 4 (Pardoe 2, McCloskey, Foltz).

JV score: Montoursville 58-56, OT

Records: Central Mountain (2-2, 2-0 HAC-I), Montoursville (0-4, 0-3).