Indians remain unbeaten after win over rival Hawks

By Erich Murphy

Bingo Magic Sports

FAIRBURY — The business approach for Pontiac head coach Matt Starker is to deal with what’s right in front of him and his team. Starker and the Indians did that Friday night by capturing a 63-42 victory over Prairie Central.

“Being it’s not a conference game with them, it’s just another chance for us to get better,” Starker said. “We tried not to let (the rivalry) affect us mentally. We tried to keep it some could keep playing our game and doing what we’ve been doing.”

Pontiac’s Amazin King tries to make a move against Prairie Central defender DaneWheeler. King scored 12 points in the Indians’ 63-42 win over the host Hawks on Dec. 19. (Erich Murphy/Bingo Magic Sports)

This was not an Illini Prairie Conference contest, that will come on Feb. 6. But it was still a key contest for both teams. For Pontiac, it was a chance to remain unbeaten and prepare for the next test. The Hawks were looking at gaining some momentum before a week-long break leading into tournament play at Williamsville.

The Indians gained the upper hand quickly by scoring the game’s first five points and held a 10-2 advantage in the first four-plus minutes.

“We tried not to let that affect us mentally,” Starker said. “We tried to keep it some could keep playing our game and doing what we’ve been doing.”

Prairie Central’s Dane Wheeler rises to take a shot against Pontiac on Dec. 19. Wheeler scored 9 points to lead the Hawks. (Erich Murphy/Bingo Magic Sports)

A pressuring defense and systematic ball control allowed Pontiac to progressively build its lead. The Indians led 15-7 after the first quarter and, after a pair of Cayden Masching 3-pointers, led 21-10 when Prairie Central head coach Trevin McCulloh called for a timeout.

The margin reached 31-12 with two minutes remaining in the first half when Evan Wolf buried a triple.

PTHS led 31-17 at the break and outscored the Hawks 13-9 in the third for a 44-26 advantage by the start of the last stanza.

Pontiac’s Cayden Maching drives to the basket. Masching scored 19 points to lead the Indians to a 62-42 victory over Prairie Central on Dec. 19. (Erich Murphy/Bingo Magic Sports)

Masching paced Pontiac (8-0) with 19 points. Amazin King added 12 points and Aden Brummel threw in 9 markers. Wolf scored 8 points while Ben Melchers, Evian Tracy and Durham Fenton chipped in 4 points apiece. Anderson Horning tallied 2 points and Henry DeYoung added 1 point.

The Tribe will have one more game before hosting the 94th annual Pontiac Holiday Tournament. The Indians will host Lincoln (7-2) on Tuesday.

“We’re in a good place heading into the tournament,” Starker said. “Tuesday is another chance to compete. Instead of taking 10 days off, we wanted to make sure we had a game.”

Prairie Central (5-5) will be looking to get back on track beginning next Friday at the Williamsville Holiday Tournament. The Hawks were balanced on Friday against Pontiac. Dane Wheeler led the way with 9 points while Bryson Gadberry, Spencer Ray and Ashton Sheldrake chipped in 8 points each. Acer Kratochvil scored 5 points and Easton Friedman and Griffin Tredennick had 2 points apiece.