By JORDAN ELLISON
for the Daily Telegraph

NARROWS, Va. — The PikeView Panthers (3-0) cruised their way to the championship in the Narrows Christmas Tournament on Saturday night as they defeated the James Monroe Mavericks (2-1) by a final score of 73-56.

The Panthers jumped out to an early 10-3 lead in the first two minutes of the game by capitalizing on forced turnovers and scoring in transition. PikeView continued their pressure throughout the quarter and enjoyed a 20-9 lead after the period.

In the second quarter it was more of the same from the Panthers as the Mavericks struggled with the multiple defensive looks the Panthers were showing them. PikeView was able to stretch its lead out to 42-19 at the half.

“We tried to change our defense up a little bit and run against something different than what they expected of us,” said PikeView head coach Colton Thompson. “Our defense is always a work in progress, especially early on in the season.”

James Monroe came out more efficiently to start the second half. The Mavericks were able to cut down on turnovers and moved the ball more efficiently to get open shots. They were able to chip away at the PikeView lead a little and entered the fourth quarter down 57-38.

The fourth quarter saw some back and forth action early on before PikeView was able to stretch out its lead to 73-46 with 2:44 to go in the game. James Monroe would then go on a 10 point run to close out the game but PikeView still claimed the championship with the 73-56 victory.

“I thought that it was a tale of two halves, PikeView came out and jumped on us and beat us in both the first and second quarters” said James Monroe Head Coach Johnathan McPherson. “We turned the ball over way too much, we haven't done that in the previous two games.”

“PikeView has some athleticism and frustrated us early on. The second half we came out and took care of the ball. We took better shots in the paint and we beat them the last two quarters. So it shows that we can play better than what we did.”

One major advantage PikeView exploited in the game was their size when it came to rebounding. “Our defensive rebounds were really big in this game, Tyler Ruble had eight defensive rebounds for us” said Thompson.

“We have been trying to emphasize that because we can force them to take a tough contested shot and then pull that defensive rebound to end that possession and get a good look at the other end.”

PikeView was led in scoring in the contest by Tyler Ruble who had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Seth Wood added 12 points and three rebounds. Seth Meadows had 11 points and five assists. Jason Weitzel had 11 points, eight assists, four rebounds, and three steals.

James Monroe was led by Caleb Spencer who had 22 points and two rebounds. Tyler Moore added 12 points and Dominic Lewis had seven.

PikeView will try to ride the momentum of the tournament win into a huge game on Tuesday night as they host Bluefield. James Monroe will next face River View next Saturday.

Earlier in the day the Narrows Green Wave took on the Giles Spartans in the consolation game of the tournament. Giles was able to defeat Narrows 70-45.

In the first quarter the two teams went back and forth early on but Giles County was able to pull out to a seven point lead at the end of the quarter. The Spartans were able to stretch out the lead in the second quarter and took a 35-21 lead into halftime.

Giles was able to win the third quarter with a strong defensive effort and took a 54-33 lead into the fourth quarter. The Green Wave played until the final whistle but it wasn't enough as the Spartans would take the 70-45 victory.

Giles was led by Trenton Ray who had 17 points and two rebounds. Dakoda Shrader had 11 points and five rebounds while Drew Harless added seven.

Kyle Hall led the Green Wave with 23 points and five rebounds. Brandon Spangler had nine points and five rebounds while Jackson Blankenship also added nine points.

Following the championship game the All-Tournament team was announced. PikeView was represented by Jason Weitzel, who was named the tournament most valuable player and by Seth Wood.

James Monroe's Caleb Spencer was named to the team as well as Trenton Ray of Giles and Kyle Hall of Narrows.

At Narrows High School

PikeView

Austin Hazelwood 7, Takota Bailey 2, Seth Wood 12, Seth Meadows 11, Hunter Hill 8, Tyler Ruble 16, Jason Weitzel 11, Wayne Brockman 6

James Monroe

Caleb Spencer 22, Lance Wilson 2, Dakota Copenhaver 1, Dominic Lewis 7, Connor Booth 4, Landon Shires 3, Tyler Moore 12, Clay Havens 5

PikeView (3-0)…………..20 22 15 16 - 73

James Monroe (2-1)…….. 9 10 19 18 - 56

Giles

Zane Williams 4, Drew Harless 7, Brian Mann 5, George Buchanan 6, Tyler Canaday 3, Connor Martin 5, Chase Journell 4, Dakoda Shrader 11, Trenton Ray 17, Hunter Epperly 2, Quinton Montgomery 6

Narrows

Jackson Blankenship 9, Kyle Hall 23, Brandon Spangler 9, Cole Blaker 1, Chase Lawson 3

Giles……………..18 17 19 16 - 70

Narrows…....…..11 10 12 12 - 45