Some might say that it was a different Pontiac team taking the floor Friday night from the one that played the night before. The reality is, the team PTHS was facing was different. Unlike on opening night of the 93rd Pontiac Holiday Tournament, the host school was taking on a Lockport club that was not up to the level of defending state champion DePaul Prep.
Unfortunately for the PTHS faithful, the Porters were still a tough opponent as the 71-61 final would indicate. The win moved Lockport into the consolation semifinals. The loss sent the Tribe home.
“Our effort was much better than last night, and we played with more confidence,” PTHS head coach Matt Starker said. “We had a great start. We let them get back in, but our guys had fight in them and didn’t quit.”
Pontiac led 11-4 at one point in the first quarter. But like against DePaul, there was a period where the opponent found a groove. Lockport reeled off 18 unanswered points over the final 2½ minutes of the first quarter and first four minutes of the second frame. The game was tied at 11 at the end of the first and the Porters lead reached 11 before an Aden Brummel basket snapped the scoreless string for the Indians.
Trailing 33-27 at the break, PTHS cut the margin to 33-31 quickly, but fell behind by 14 later in the third. And yet, PTHS tallied eight points over the final 1:09 of the period to trail 49-46.
Starker pointed out that his team is still looking to really find its identity, but as more players get back into the fold, and the rotation stabilizes, things should start running forward.
“I told them that, hopefully, they learned they can play with some teams they may not expect to play with going in,” Starker said of the second half of the season. “Hopefully, we built a little confidence.
“We’re still learning to play with different guys, especially the younger guys with the older guys and becoming cohesive.”
The game against DePaul was one of those experiences similar to Pontiac teams of the past who got to open against those strong Simeon or Curie teams. It’s understanding that those teams are simply that much better. DePaul was the same way.
But Starker feels his team showed some mettle and will use this experience down the road. He said he’s already seen some good things.
“You can kind of see it the last six games or so, the guys on the floor are going to go hard and play to the end,” Starker said.
Cayden Masching led Pontiac (4-8) with 18 points and 7 rebounds. Cam Fenton tossed in 17 points while Jake Dewald and Conrad Pfaff each scored 8 points.
Collin Miller’s 19 points paced Lockport (7-6). Nathan Munson added 17 points, Izeyah Pruitt chipped in 12 points and Ranzy Barbarawi finished with 10 points.
