Pierce County’s Bears posted their first winning streak of the season beating Region 3-AA foe Appling County and Class A DII fifth-ranked Clinch County.
The Bears (5-11 overall, 1-3 region), who had lost three in a row and seven of their last nine games, set a season-high in points scored with a 72-56 victory Friday, January 17 over the Pirates (6-11, 1-2) in Baxley. The win was PCHS’s sixth straight against the Pirates evening the series at 16-all since 2005-06.
Pierce County followed with a 62-51 upset Saturday, January 18 of the Panthers (12-2), who entered on a seven-game winning streak, and a split of the season series. Clinch County prevailed 56-50 at home December 16. The win gave PCHS a 4-3 edge in the series dating back to 2016-17.
PCHS was scheduled to host Brantley County Friday, January 24. Tuesday’s game with Appling was postponed due to weather.
Bears......................72 Appling Co. ............56 BAXLEY — Joe Drew, Nigel Brown and Gabe Varnadore combined for 56 points matching the Pirates’ total in leading PCHS to the win.
Drew scored a gamehigh 25 points connecting on two of Pierce County’s eight treys. Brown (trey) added 19 points while Varnadore (two threes) contributed 12 points.
The Bears jetted out to a 23-15 lead in a fast-paced opening eight minutes. Appling County chipped two points off the margin in the second period outscoring PCHS 16-14 cutting the deficit to 37-31 at intermission.
The Pirates sliced two more points off the margin in the third stanza using a 19-17 scoring advantage to pull to within 54-50. Pierce County shut the door using an 18-6 margin in the final quarter to get the victory.
Dylan Johnson (two threes) was next in the scoring column with six points. Brandon Williams and Marshon Stanford (trey) added five points and four points respectively. Chez Armstrong netted a free throw.
Appling County was paced by Aldarrius Howell’s 24 points. Nate Davis added 13 points.
Bears .....................62 No. 5 Clinch Co. ......51 BEARVILLE — Pierce County grabbed a first quarter lead it would not relinquish in turning back the Panthers.
After trading baskets and the lead through the first four minutes, PCHS closed the first period on a 11-3 run to grab a 19-12 advantage. The margin reached double digits by intermission with the Bears outscoring Clinch County 11-8 for a 30-20 lead.
The Panthers cut the margin in half by the end of third quarter outpointing Pierce County 17-12 to trail 42-37. PCHS responded to the challenge using a 20-14 scoring advantage in the final eight minutes to record the win.
Drew (two treys) scored 19 of his game-high 28 points over the final two periods with 11 coming in the fourth quarter. Varnadore (two treys) bagged 12 points.
Ahmad Arnold (trey) followed with seven points. Jikeyse McGauley (trey) and Brown finished with five points and four points respectively. Williams and Stanford added two points each.
