About the only way the Portsmouth West squad could stop Peebles Camron Gordley (44) was to try and grab one arm and just hang on. Gordley, though, got the last word as he fired in 26 points to lead the Indians to a convincing 76-31 win over the visiting Senators.

Gordley’s 26 helps fuel Peebles to non-conference victory –

Story and photos by Mark Carpenter –

On a Saturday night when two outstanding girls’ basketball teams were honored, it was a boys’ team from Peebles that put on a show as the varsity Indians hosted the Senators from Portsmouth West High School.  After knocking off Eastern Brown on Friday night in Southern Hills Athletic Conference play, the Indians made it a weekend sweep as they dominated from start to finish in polishing off the visiting Senators by a final score of 76-31.
“This was the first time all season that we really put four quarters together where we came out strong and continued with it throughout the game,” said Peebles head coach Josh Arey.  “That part is pleasing because we have been waiting for that the whole year.”
“We got some big runs tonight, mainly because of our ball movement.  We got out and ran like we want to. And that sometimes cost us some defensive rebounds when we got ready to run a  little too quickly. We still have things to work on but I think with last night and tonight we are taking a step in the right direction.”
The Senators only led once in the game and that came very early after a three-point goal by Ryan Caudill put them on top 3-2.  That lead vanished quickly as the home team went on a 9-2 run, capped by a perfectly executed lob play from Tanner Arey to Camron Gordley for an 11-5 Peebles lead.  After a basket by West’s Jordan Frasure, the Indians took off again, this time to the tune of a 9-0 spurt, with Weston Browning getting the old-fashioned three-point play, and then later two buckets by Gordley, the last coming on a nice turnaround jumper at the buzzer that gave Peebles a 20-7 advantage after one quarter of play.

Peebles’ Bostin Robinson goes airborne to attempt to block a shot by Portsmouth West’s Jordan Frasure during action from the Indians’ 76-31 win on Saturday night. Robinson was one of three Indians in double figures, tallying 13 points in the game.

The young men in red and white did not take the foot off the gas as the second period began, scoring the first 10 points, getting three-point baskets from Gordley and Arey to take an impressive 30-7 lead.  The Senators showed a small spark of life, getting a pair of long distance shots from Frasure and Caudill to close the gap to 32-15, but that just ignited another Peebles rally as the Indians scored the final seven points of the first half to coast into the break leading the Senators 39-15.
Portsmouth West opened the scoring in the third quarter with a three-pointer from L.T. Maynard, but that only opened the flood gates again for the Indians.  West could only muster one more basket the entire third quarter, while Peebles followed the Maynard trey with a huge 25-2 run, getting buckets from inside from an unstoppable Camron Gordley, and outside from the dangerous guard duo of Arey and Bostin Robinson.  Toss in a stick back score from Browning and by the time the end of the third period had rolled around, the Indians were rolling the Senators right out of the gym, leading now by a score of 63-20.
Maynard began the fourth stanza just as he had the third for the Senators, hitting a three-pointer, but the Indians again had the quick response, two Browning free throws, a bucket by Gordley, and an Arey trey to lead 70-23.  Maynard hit another three to say hot for West, and a later long one from Gabe Skaggs turned out to be the final point of the evening for the visiting side.  Peebles closed out the big evening with baskets by Blake Hawes and Blake Smalley to complete their perfect weekend and hand the Senators a convincing 76-31 defeat.
It was a big night for Peebles senior Camron Gordley as he controlled the paint on both ends, scoring at will on the offensive side and playing the role of intimidator in the paint on the defensive, and leading all scorers in the game with 26 points.  A pair of teammates hit double figures as Tanner Arey scored 16 and Bostin Robinson 13 for the winners.  Freshman Weston Browning almost reached the double figure plateau, but finished with 9.
“Camron was a force defensively,blocking shots from the weak side which is what we want,” said Coach Arey.  “Offensively he just took the ball hard to the basket and when he does that we feel pretty good about our chances of scoring.”

Peebles freshman Weston Browning battles for a loose ball with Portsmouth West’s L.T. Maynard in action from last Saturday night at PHS. Browning narrowly missed hitting double figures in the contest, scoring 9 points to contribute his part to a 76-31 win for the home team, who improved to 8-3 on the season.

The Senators were paced by 9 points from L.T. Maynard, with Ryan Caudill adding 8 and Jordan Frasure 7.  Oddly enough, Portsmouth West did not shoot a single free throw in the entire game.
The Indians now stand at 8-3 on the season, winners of five of their last six outings and will be back in conference play on Friday, Jan. 20 when they travel to Ripley to face the Blue Jays, a team they knocked off 78-65 in their season opener on Dec. 6.  On Saturday, Peebles will be part of the Coach Young Classic at North Adams, facing off with Sciotoville East in a scheduled 11:45 a.m. tip off.
Before Saturday night’s contest, the Peebles Athletic Department had the first of two Hall of Fame ceremonies scheduled for the 2016-17 season.  On Saturday, two of the most memorable girls’ squads in school history, the 1987 and 1998 Lady Indians were inducted into the school’s Athletic hall of Fame.  Look for coverage of the Hall of Fame ceremonies in the upcoming Jan. 22 edition of The People’s Defender.

Portsmouth West
7  8  5  11  –31
Peebles
20  19  24  13  –76

P. West (31): Frasure 3 0-0 7, Bradford 1 0-0 2, Maynard 3 0-0 9, Caudill 3 0-0 8, Berry 1 0-0 2, Skaggs 1 0-0 3, Team 12 0-0 31.
Peebles (76):  Arey 5 3-4 16, Robinson 5 3-4 13, Parrett 3 0-1 6, Hawes 1 0-0 2, W. Browning 2 5-7 9, L.Gordley 1 0-0 2, C. Gordley 11 3-4 26, Smalley 1 0-0 2, Team 29 14-20 76.
Three-Point Goals:
P. West (7): Frasure 1, Maynard 3, Caudill 2, Skaggs 1
Peebles (4): Arey 3, C. Gordley 1