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Montoursville falls to Warrior Run as Defenders remain unbeaten in boys basketball

By CHASE BOWER 4 min read

Montoursville welcomed undefeated Warrior Run and fought tirelessly, but the game turned in Warrior Run's favor on Monday at Montoursville as the Defenders held on to win, 52-45, handing the Warriors their second loss (5-2).

The game started with a tempo set by Montoursville's starter Cam Cintron. Montoursville made a concerted effort to stick to a man-to-man defense.

"We've been playing man-to-man all year," Montoursville coach Mike Mussina said, "and our guys are pretty good at it so we wanted to stick with what we were good at. We had to double (Aiden) McKee once in a while, but we didn't go overboard with it."

The first quarter was defined by tight close-quarters play, leading to a few fouls, primarily on Montoursville. This aggression earned them a modest lead of 10-7.

Entering the second quarter, Warrior Run quickly closed the gap and pushed Montoursville into trading layups, a skill Mussina noted.

"They have a very talented team. They have size. They want to get up and down the floor," Mussina said. "They're undefeated for a reason, so we were trying to work hard on defense. We had to box out and rebound."

The second quarter continued, as did Warrior Run's aggression through starters Aiden McKee and Landon Polcyn. Against strong full court pressure, Montoursville gave up the lead, 25-20.

"They got on a run in the second quarter and got the lead on us," Mussina said. "We fought back after that, and they fought back again. That's just kind of how it works. At the end of the day, we ended up in the short end."

The game's top shooter was Warrior Run's Ethan Balzer with 18 points, followed by his teammate Landon Polcyn with 16, which included three 3-poiners.

Kingston Fisher led the Warriors with 14 points while Shea Ulmer scored 11. Cam Cintron scored nine. Warrior Run also saw McKee add 10.

Following halftime, Montoursville clearly felt the fire under them and scraped for the lead. Both times fought for minutes, trading possession, while the offensive power of Fisher allowed the point gap to close.

"They have a well-rounded team, and we hung on for a while, but some things didn't go our way and we missed some shots," Mussina said.

The third quarter was neck-and-neck, both teams playing a mix of great offense and defense into a series of ties, with Warrior Run finishing a bit stronger by the end with a narrow 37-34 edge. After a lightning-fast fourth quarter that continued a steady tied climb, the score was 46-45 and stayed there for minutes.

The tension was increased by a heated verbal exchange that gave Warrior Run the free throws they needed to tighten the lead. Montoursville's 45th point would be their last, and following a series of fouls from Montoursville, Warrior Run ended the game with their largest lead of seven points, 52-45.

Mussina reflected on Montoursville's shining players in Monday's loss.

"Kingston Fisher played really well in the post. Cam played really good at the point, and everyone pitched in for a great defense," Mussina said. "This was Erlandson's first start, and he contributed really well. Everybody who played tonight contributed really well, and did a lot out there."

"You can do all the other stuff really well, but you still have to be able to put the ball in the basket," Mussina continued. "That's why it didn't work out tonight."

Warrior Run will carry their undefeated 7-0 record back home to Turbotville to maintain it against Carver High School of Engineering & Science on Friday, while Montoursville's next game will be at Loyalsock on Saturday.

"We've got a lot to improve on," Mussina said. " It's only the seventh game of the year, and we're going to improve our defense, improve our communication, improve our offensive action."

Warrior Run 49, Montoursville 56

WARRIOR RUN (52)

C. Sheesley 0 2-2 2, J. Keifer 1 1-2 3, C. McCormick 1 1-2 3, A. McKee 5 0-0 10, L. Polcyn 3 1-2 16, E. Balzer 7 4-7 18

MONTOURSVILLE (45)

C. Cintron 3 0-0 9, J. Houseknecht 1 0-0 2, I. Erlandson 2 0-0 4, S. Ulmer 4 0-0 11, B. Imbro 1 0-0 2, 0 0-0 3, K. Fisher 7 0-2 14

Warrior Run 7 18 12 15-52

Montoursville 10 10 14 11-45

3-point goals: Warrior Run 3 (Polcyn 3), Montoursville 3 (Cintron 1, Ulmer 1, Eck 1)

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