By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
It had to seem like an eternity for the many loyal fans of Peebles boys basketball. The Peebles basketball tradition is enriched with winning championships, but the Peebles boys hadn’t won a district title since 2020, a long drought in Indian land. But that all came to an end last Sunday afternoon at The Convo in Athens.
After falling short in last year’s district championship, the 19-3 Tribe was back in the Division VI district title game on Sunday after knocking off Waterford in the semifinals, set to face off with the 17-7 Eastern Pike Eagles, defending district champions, with a coveted berth in the Sweet 16 at stake.
If the fans for both sides wanted to see a thriller at The Convo, they got exactly what they paid for. After the Indians rode the hot hand of Josh McClary to a 10-point halftime advantage only to see the Eagles battle back in the third quarter and eventually take a three-point lead with just over a minute left in the game. But the Indians weren’t quite ready to see their season end and a 6-0 run in the final minute was enough to propel them to a heart-pounding 56-54 victory and a date in the Sweet 16.
“I thought for the most part that we stayed with our game plan and did what we wanted to,” said Peebles head coach Josh Arey in the locker room after the win. “We’re not a team that you expect to score only 56 points but this is March and I’m proud of the way our kids handled it, especially the last three minutes of the game.”
Doing what we are supposed to do when you are supposed to be doing it and doing it right, and we executed down the stretch. If we don’t execute down the stretch, they we don’t win this game.”
“It’s a good feeling to be district champions again,” Coach Arey continued. “It’s special every time and you can never take for granted coming up here and playing a game.
The Sunday afternoon battle was a game of runs and the first belonged to the Eagles, a 5-0 spurt in the first quarter that gave them a 9-6 advantage. Off the bench, McClary was the spark for the Tribe with 15 first-half point, the first of those a three-pointer that tied the game at 9, followed by a Bo Johnson bucket that gave Peebles the lead. After a score by Eastern’s 6.7” Eric Manley put his team back in front, the Indians closed the opening frame on a 5-0 run, all from McClary as Peebles lead 16-13 after one.
The Eagles drew within one on their first possession of the second quarter but the Indians answered with a 7-0 run, taking a 23-15 lead with a Colyn Sims free throw, a run out bucket by Paxton Ryan and two scores in the paint from freshman Keegan Puckett. Later with the Indians up by six, another McClary triple pushed the lead to 28-19 and began a McClary personal 7-3 run to send Peebles to the intermission with all the momentum and a double digit lead at 32-22.
The Indians went into the locker room with all the momentum but the Eagles came out with it, starting the second half with an 8-0 run and the Peebles lead shrunk down to a single score. Finally, at the 4:35 mark of the third quarter, the Tribe got back on the board with a baseline drive and score from Grady Knechtly as the 1-3-1 zone from Eastern kept the Indians potent offense at bay.
When they regained their bearings, the Indians put together a 6-2 spurt that include consecutive putback buckets inside from Puckett, over the Eagles’ 6’7” big man. That run made it 40-34 but Eastern responded in a big way, reeling off seven straight, including a three-ball from Aiden Werner, yo reclaim the lead but Peebles got a basket from Puckett on a lob out-of-bounds play to retake the advantage 42-41 as the third quarter closed.
“We didn’t execute real well and we don’t get zoned a lot,” said coach Arey. “We knew they would do it and we had some uncharacteristic turnovers and got back on our heels a little bit and that’s a credit to Eastern.”
Any fans who were actually still in their seats as the fourth quarter began were definitely on the edge of their seats the rest of the way as the two teams were obviously headed down to the wire. A 6-0 Eastern run early in the final period gave the Eagles the lead at 47-44, but the game turned again as Johnson drained a three-pointer and then hit an elbow jumper to put Peebles back in front by two with three minutes to play.
Eastern tied the game at 49 on a pair of Carson Peters free throws and then took the lead back on another pair from the stripe from Boston Webb put the Eagles in front by three with 1:21 to play and the vibe just didn’t see to be going the Peebles way at a bad time. Situations can change rapidly in a basketball game and that is exactly what happened as the Indians reached down deep and pulled out one final miracle. First, Johnson drove the land and hit a floater to cut the Eastern lead to one and the Peebles full court press forced an Eastern turnover, a steal by McClary. Johnson struck again with a clutch bucket that gave Peebles a 53-52 lead with 40 seconds left on the clock.
On the next Eastern possession, the Peebles defense came up big, Connor Gross blocking a shot and the Tribe taking possession. A long pass to McClary beat the Eagles’ press and McClary was fouled and calmly sand both free tosses to put the Indians up 55-52 with 22.9 Eastern got a drive and score from Webb to pull back within one and the Indians’ Johnson was fouled with 7-9 seconds to go. The Peebles sophomore hit one of two from the line, giving the Eagles one final opportunity to tie or win but a last second three-point attempt by Werner was partially blocked, setting off a boisterous celebration on the Peebles side as the Indians were headed back to the Sweet 16 by the slimmest of margins, final score 56-54.
A 20-win season and a district championship are special to everyone involved in Peebles program, but perhaps more meaningful to the Ryan family, who have a long basketball tradition with the Indians and two of the family brothers as integral part of this year’s squad- senior Paxton on the court and his older brother Tyler on the coaching staff, a former district champion himself.
“We were her last year and din’t get the outcome we wanted and now we’re back and it all feels so surreal,” said Paxton Ryan amidst the postgame celebration. “I watched my brother and sister cut down the nets a couple of times and just being in a family raised on Peebles basketball, this means more to me than anyone else I think. Let’s don’t forget that Bo Johnson and Josh McClary just won Peebles a district championship!”
“They went on some runs but I think the stronger team came out on top, Last run wins and that is what we did.”
“Eat, sleep and breathe Peebles basketball,” said Tyler Ryan after the win. “I’m really happy for Paxton, this is something both my sister and I experienced and Paxton has always said that his was his goal and to try and outdo us. I told him, ‘I just want you to win.’ We’re going to keep going, we’re not done.”
“I was proud of the way Paxton stayed keyed into the game and was a good teammate today and winning this title as a coach might even be sweeter than winning it as a player. When you see a group of kids that I’ve worked with for years, it’s just special to see their success.”
In the win that improved them to 20-3 overall, Peebles was led by a trio of players in double figures, topped by 19 points from Josh McClary, 15 of those coming in his big first half. Bo Johnson went 7-11 from the field and scored 18 with Keegan Puckett barely missing a double double with 12 points and 9 rebounds. The Indians had a huge 19-0 advantage in bench points thanks to McClary and shot 46% from the field.
Eastern finished their season at 17-8 and were led in scoring by 20 points from junior Boston Webb. Aiden Werner hit double figures with 11 while big man Eric Manley tallied a double double effort of 11 points and 14 rebounds.
The Indians will now be back at Ohio University on Thursday, March for a Sweet 16 match up with a very strong Portsmouth West team, who won their district title with a convincing 56-27 win over Lucasville Valley. Tip off with a berth in the Division VI Elite Eight is set for 8 p.m.
BOX SCORE
Eastern Pike
13 9 19 13 —54
Peebles
16 16 10 14 —56
E. Pike (54): Peters 2 2-2 6, Webb 8 2-2 20, Werner 4 1-2 11, Manley 5 1-3 11, Leist 3 0-0 6, , Team 22 6-9 54.
Peebles (56): Sims 1 1-2 3, Knechtly 1 0-2 2, Johnson 7 3-4 18, Ryan 1 0-0 2, Puckett 6 0-0 12, McClary 7 2-2 18, Team 23 6-10.
Three-Point Goals:
E. Pike (4)- Webb 2, Werner 2
Peebles (4)- Johnson 1, McClary 3
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