Rubber Band Man: Fry turns offseason goal into strong performance as Muncy defeats South

MUNCY–Others noticed just a rubber band ball resting upon Jason Gresh’s desk last year. Muncy basketball player Mike Fry saw a prize. So, he made Gresh an offer.

If Fry attended every Muncy open gym and summer session, Muncy’s coach would give him the ball. Fry never missed anything and, as a result, both he and Muncy won. Fry collected the coveted rubber band ball.

Muncy added another weapon.

All that work Fry put in last summer came bursting out Tuesday against visiting South Williamsport. The senior guard played his best high school game, scoring a career-high 24 points and making five 3-pointers while helping Muncy defeat the Mounties, 59-48 in a key early-season Mid-Penn game. Fry also made a series of key plays during the game’s closing minutes, helping the Indians hold off South’s comeback attempt and win the season opener.

“We saw it all summer and this was just the continuation of what we saw this summer,” Gresh said. “Mikey walked away from the first summer game and said, ‘That might be the most fun basketball I ever played in my life,’ and it’s just built from there.”

Fry and his teammates had a lot of fun Tuesday in a showdown between potential league and District 4 Class AA title contenders. South’s goal was slowing first team all-stater Ross Eyer, as well as his cousin, Branson. It’s hard to blame South (1-2) or any other team in that regard since both are decorated four-year starters.

But time after time, Muncy (1-0) made that strategy backfire and Fry was the ringleader. He went 5 of 7 from behind the arc and repeatedly hit shots at crucial times. Fry scored 11 first half points, helping Muncy take a 26-24 lead. He then helped it start pulling away when he drained a 3-pointer, made a steal and went coast-to-cast in a 15-second span as Muncy pushed its lead to nine early in the third.

“Teams are going to key on Ross and Branson. They’ve been starting for four years now, so a lot of times I think we’re going to like the matchup we’re going to get,” Fry said. “It felt good to go out and shoot well. When they (the Eyers’) go in the paint everyone collapses on them because they know what they can do around the hoop. They do a great job finding me and they’ll definitely continue to do that.”

Validating that point, the Eyers’ combined for 10 assists. It was a reciprocal relationship, too. They Eyers’, as well as Noah Confer, Eli Weikle and Brady Ryder, found Fry and Fry converesly spread the court. Then his teammates received more scoring opportunities, and everything came together as Muncy built a 51-35 lead with 5 minutes, 42 seconds remaining when Fry made the last of his five 3-pointers.

Fry made all but two of his 3-point attempts, but he is more than just a shooter. He repeatedly showed that in the second half, starting with his steal and drive. After South pulled within 10 with 1:45 remaining, Fry made a super backdoor pass to Branson Eyer for a layup. He then sank both ends of a 1-and-1 to make it 57-46 and capped his stellar performance by grabbing an offensive rebound off a missed free throw as Muncy dribbled out the clock.

“I always want to do more than just shoot. Shooting always has been my strength, but I just want to try and contribute any way I can,” Fry said. “If it’s a loose ball, I’m going to dive for it and things like that. Whatever it takes to help us win, I’m going to try and do it.”

That mentality permeates throughout the Muncy roster and lays a strong foundation for a team which reached last year’s district final and state tournament. It showed against South, too, as Muncy unselfishly moved the basketball, played tenacious defense and ran the court well. Every player did his part and Muncy never trailed after late in the first half.

Ross Eyer stuffed the stat sheet again, scoring 15 points, grabbing 15 rebounds, dealing six assists and producing his 26th straight double-double. Branson finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists and Confer played a terrific game, sparking the defense while adding four assists. Weikle made three steals and Ryder provided strong minutes off the bench.

“I was nervous because South is a really good team and had two games under its belt,” Gresh said. “It was a good start. I really have nothing really but positive things to say.”

South has found a positive in Marquan Harris. The versatile forward is playing his first season there and providing a quality post presence. He scored a career-high 18 points and added nine rebounds Tuesday, showing some nice touch as well.

Harris was key to South surging ahead 24-23 late in the first half following an Aaron Akers putback. Seconds later, though, Muncy regained the lead and never relinquished it.

“Marquan is a nice addition to us. Obviously, any time you get a 6-foot-6 guy that has some skills, it’s always a plus,” South coach Joe Simon said. “He has a good post game to him, and we’re going to continue to work around that.”

South opened its season with an impressive comeback win against Hughesville, scoring the game’s final 25 points after trailing by as many as 14. The Mounties have lost two straight since but feature a lot of upside, especially once three-year starting point guard Ben Manning returns from injury. And South did some things well against Muncy, but also missed several close-range shots which may have changed the game’s complexion.

Harris scored six straight Mountie third quarter points and his last two cut the deficit to 35-30. Muncy, however, responded with a 7-0 run and led by eight or more the rest of the way. Alex Neidig played well in defeat, scoring 10 points, dishing four assists and adding four rebounds. Lee Habalar had eight rebounds and six assists and Caden Harris swarmed defensively off the bench.

“This was a good test. We just need to be a little more prepared and ready to go on the defensive side,” Simon said. “It’s early, so it kind of gives us a snapshot of what we need to focus on moving forward. We have a lot of games left, a lot of big games, so we’ll keep trying to get better and, hopefully, be better down the stretch.”

SOUTH (48)

Lee Habalar 2 2-2 7, Sequan Roberts 2 0-0 5, Marquan Harris 9 0-0 18, Aaron Akers 1 0-0 2, Alex Neidig 4 0-0 10, Caden Harris 2 1-2 6. Totals 20 3-4 48.

MUNCY (59)

Ross Eyer 4 5-6 15, Branson Eyer 6 2-2 14, Noah Confer 1 1-3 3, Eli Weikle 1 1-2 3, Mike Fry 8 3-4 24, Brady Ryder 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 12-17 59.

South 14 10 11 13-48

Muncy 16 10 18 15-59

3-pointers: South 5 (Neidig 2, Habalar, Roberts, C. Harris); Muncy 7 (Fry 5, R. Eyer 2).

Records: Muncy 1-0, 1-0 Mid-Penn. South 1-2, 0-1.