KINGWOOD — At the end of the third quarter in Wednesday’s convincing 77-54 home victory over Tucker County, Preston senior swingman Austin Metheny gathered a deflected ball, squared up, and launched a buzzer-beating NBA-range 3-pointer as the crowd and the Knights bench exploded.
The wild celebration might’ve seemed a bit overzealous, considering it gave Preston a 69-34 lead in a game that was essentially over early in the second quarter.
But sometimes, things aren’t exactly as they appear. As it turns out, that triple meant an awful lot to every player on the PHS roster, and it all stemmed from a specific message that Knights coach Paul Koontz delivered in the locker room after the first half.
Up by 23 after two quarters, Koontz wanted to challenge his team to keep its collective foot on the gas and put a team away after earning that halftime bulge.
“We’ve lost three games we shouldn’t have lost because we were up at the break, but had poor, single-digit third quarters,” Koontz said. “So I told them that if we didn’t score at least 20 in the third, practice [today] would be a little bit more than a little bit rougher than usual.”
That’s what all the high fives and flying chest bumps were about- Metheny’s bomb were points 20, 21 and 22 in the quarter, which meant the Knights were officially off the hook for the next day’s potential sprint-fest, thus elevating both shot and shooter to legendary superhero status.
Preston (5-6) used a relentless full-court man pressure defense to great effectiveness, producing 25 turnovers in the first three quarters that led to several run outs and transition baskets. Offensively, crisp passing and aggressive cutting off the ball allowed Metheny and fellow senior Nathan Smith to set up for open jumpers and penetrate to the rack.
Smith went off for 22 in the first half (including a memorable sequence in the second quarter when he buried a pair of threes, then dunked on a strong drive) on his way to a game-high 28 points. Metheny hit for 17, and both he and Smith canned five 3-pointers apiece. The Knights jumped out to a 22-10 lead over the Mountain Lions (2-9) after the first quarter, extended to a 47-24 lead after the second, and cruised home in the fourth with an emptied bench.
A quite pleased Koontz clearly was enjoying the progress his team put on display against Tucker County.
“I really think we have to be the best 5-6 team in the state,” he said. “We’ve never quit and the team chemistry has been great. The bench is right there, supporting the guys on the floor. At the half, I also told the starters that it would be an honor to give the JV guys their first chance to play varsity ball this season. So when we had one freshman and four sophomores out there in the fourth, it was a special moment for all of us.
“We’re 4-1 at home, and we take pride in defending our house. We just want to keep battling our way to .500, and hope that we can be running on all cylinders come tournament time. We just want to keep getting better every game all year, and I’m really proud of the kids. They’re a really great group.”
In the JV game, the Knights outlasted the Mountain Lions, 61-48. Jacob Burns led PHS with 19, while both Gabe Snyder and Todd Fraley scored 11. Dominick Mullenax had 19 for Tucker County.
The Knights continue their three-game homestand at 7:30 p.m. Friday when they host Big 10 Conference rival, Class AA Grafton.
