by Ryan Kohlhof

Senior Night, the night where seniors play their last scheduled home games of high school, is truly a big deal for seniors and their parents. Unfortunately, last Friday, Feb. 5, the Mustang boys took the loss on Senior Night, falling to the Nevada Cubs, 63-53.
It was a rough start for PCM as Nevada took control right away, racking up an overwhelming head start. But being behind marginally didn’t dare phase the ‘Stangs, as they got it together, rallying up quick to challenge the Cubs. As the seconds ticked down and halftime was creeping up rapidly, senior Austin Brown took a 3-pointer to snag the last-second lead before the half with the Mustangs up 27-26.
The third quarter was a roughneck battle over who could score the most points in the least amount of time after the Cubs grabbed the lead early on. Each shot taken by Nevada was matched in return by PCM, leading to a high-scoring quarter ending at a 44-42 lead, Cubs.
This neck-in-neck battle carried into the fourth, with the Cubs carrying the lead for the entirety, but the ‘Stangs held their own. With two minutes left on the clock, the Cubs still boasted the lead at 57 over the Mustangs’ own 53, and Nevada held on to that lead, refusing to share the ball. The final three seconds had the Cubs showing off to the “Stangs with a “finish them off” layup, securing their 63-53 victory on the night.
“We have to start taking things more serious at practice, getting ready to go for the State tournament,” senior Logan Gilman said. “We only have a few games left, and we have to start tightening things down and get ready to go, now that it’s getting toward the end.”
Gilman led the Mustangs with 19 points and eight total rebounds, followed by junior Luke Greiner with 18 points. Freshman up-and-comer Andrew Van Ryswyk stole his own seven points and six total rebounds on the night.
“It was one of those games where you need to make baskets because they are going to,” Head Coach Fred Lorensen said. “They made some tough shots and a lot of them, so we have to make shots right back at them if you’re going to win a game like that, and we just didn’t do it enough. We missed some really easy shots early in the game, and late in the game we had some turnovers that really hurt us and some missed free throws, but hey, it was a good game. Wrong team won, but it was a good game between two good teams.”
The boys play at Greene County tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 12, with freshman and JV teams playing first and then varsity tipoff around 7:30 p.m.