Peebles’ Alex Camp goes up over New Boston’s Kyle Sexton for this shot attempt in action from Saturday night at PHS. Camp and the Indians handed New Boston their first loss of the seson, 52-46. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)

 

By Mark Carpenter-

The New Boston varsity boys basketball squad came to Peebles on Saturday, Jan. 4 riding high, unbeaten with a perfect 9-0 record. They didn’t leave that way. In what many believe could be a preview of a possible Division IV match up in the district tournament, the host Indians built a big lead than had to hang on late to stave off a New Boston rally and hand the Tigers their first loss of the season by a final score of 52-46.
Peebles held a 14-point lead after a Hunter Ruckel three-pointer early in the third quarter, but the Tigers, who were ranked #3 in Division IV the first released AP poll. are too good a team not to fight back and they clawed back to within one point with three minutes left in the game, but the Indians held down the fort, scoring seven of the game’s final nine points to claim the very important tournament seeding win.
“This was a huge win for us, like a district tournament game and atmosphere,” said Peebles head coach Josh Arey. “We kept our composure down the stretch, after we got a little passive in the third quarter and we knew they’re too good of a team and too well-coached not to come out and make a run. We were back on our heels a little bit, but they were never able to come all the way back.”
It was the Indians who came out with the flaming arrows as Saturday night’s contest began, scoring 12 of the game’s first 15 points, a run that included two buckets from Ruckel and two from point guard Weston Browning. When Ruckel drilled a three with two seconds left in the first quarter, the home team took a 15-5 advantage into the second stanza.
The Tigers opened the second quarter with scores on their first two possessions, including a three-pointer from Marcus Saunders, but the Indians answered with a Dawson Mills triple and another from Oakley Burba that stretched their lead out to 23-12. The lead continued to grow with a 9-0 run, fueled by a Ruckel “and one” plus two free throws when New Boston coach Adam Cox was whistled for a technical foul. The freebies continued to rain down on the home side of the scoreboard, four more combined from Ruckel and Browning.all adding up to a 36-20 Peebles lead at the half.
When a Ruckel trey made it 39-25 with 5:52 left in the third quarter, it looked like the home was sitting comfortable, but the Tigers had other ideas, and paced by leading scorer Kyle Sexton, began their comeback. Sexton, who was held to just two points in the first half, went on his own personal 10-0 run in the third quarter, pulling his team back to within just 39-35. The Indians went scoreless for over five minutes as the game’s momentum shifted to the visitors. Again, Ruckel scored in the final seconds to give the Indians a 43-37 lead as the two teams moved to the final eight minutes.
The Tigers got a three-pointer from Chase Clark on their initial possession of the final period to slice the Peebles lead in half, and the Indians answered with a basket by Gage Crothers, but again the home team hit a scoring drought, blanked for nearly four minutes. In that span, however, the Tigers could only muster a pair of baskets and a steal and score by Jerome McKinley pulled the guests within 45-44 with 3:11 to play, but the Indians got huge buckets from Kyle Lightner and Easton Wesley and two free throws from Alex Camp to cap a 6-0 run that sealed the deal on the thrilling six-point victory.
“I thought our kids just stayed super composed down the stretch,” said Coach Arey. “We had a tough third quarter where I thought we took some bad shots and that’s something we have to do better.
In the win, the Indians (7-2) placed two players in double figures, led by Hunter Ruckel’s 19 points, with Weston Browning adding 11. The Tigers were paced by Kyle Sexton’s 12 points with Grady Jackson adding 11.

New Boston
5 15 17 9 —46
Peebles
15 21 7 9 —52

New Boston (46): Jackson 4 2-4 11, Voiers 1 0-0 2, Sexton 5 2-3 12, Jones 0 2-2 2, Saunders 2 2-2 7, McKinley 4 0-0 9, Clark 1 0-0 3, Team 17 8-11 46.
Peebles (52): Mills 1 0-0 3, Burba 3 0-1 7, Ruckel 6 5-5 19, Camp 1 2-2 4, Lightner 2 0-1 4, Crothers 1 0-0 2, Browning 3 5-7 11, Team 18 12-16 52.

Three-Point Goals:
New Boston (4)- Jackson 1, Saunders 1, McKinley 1, Clark 1
Peebles (4)- Mills 1, Burba 1, Ruckel 2

Peebles’ Oakley Burba comes to the jump stop on his way to the basket in action from the Indians’ 52- 46 win over New Boston on Jan. 4. Burba scored 10 points in the Peebles victory. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)