Providence Spoils Mount Pisgah's Senior Night

The Stars of Providence Christian Academy spoiled Senior Night for Mount Pisgah Christian as Providence defeated the Patriots 44-36. 

"I'm at a loss for words. I think this was our worst game of the year," Mount Pisgah Head Coach Douglas Byrd said. "We had good intentions for the first three minutes of the game, but we just had the rug pulled out from us, and it seemed as if we were just running through the motions.  It's a really tough pill to swallow."

What was particularly disappointing to Byrd about his team's performance was the lack of offensive rebounding. "We had five offensive rebounds," he said.

The Patriots got off to a solid start by going up 8-0 to start the game, thanks to senior center Blake Piedrahita, one of three seniors honored on Senior Night, who scored six of his 10 points. He would lead the Patriots' offensive attack on the evening.

However, once Peter Hage scored the Stars' first basket of the game, it gave Providence the opportunity to set up their full court press, which forced turnovers by the Patriots. Providence went on a 14-0 run to end the first quarter with the Stars on top 14-8.

In the second quarter, Providence Christian maintained its control on the game as the Stars defended the perimeter,  causing the normally hot-shooting Mount Pisgah guards to go cold from the outside. Providence Christian went into the locker room at halftime up 38-29.

Mount Pisgah was able to stay in the game thanks to some easy misses by the Stars, but the defense of Providence Christian was able to carry the Stars to a 44-36 victory.

"We didn't have a good night offensively, but defensively, we played really, really well," Providence Christian Head Coach Ivan Iverson said. "I thought our defense and rebounding carried us tonight."

In addition to Piedrahita, Mount Pisgah got points from junior guard Kyle Sloter, who scored eight points. Seniors Danny Schneider and Grant Williamson scored seven and four points respectively. Junior guard Joseph Marco also scored four points in the losing effort. The Stars were led in scoring by Nate Bucher and Peter Hage, who each had 12 points. Brent Hanson chipped in eight points and Alan Skinner had six for the Stars.

"They played better defense," Marco said. "We didn't run our plays very well, but they just played good defense."

"It was a rough night tonight," Piedrahita said. "We just didn't play as well as we thought we would down the stretch. We started off hot and they just came back and took it from us."    

Mount Pisgah Christian drops to 15-8 on the season and 2-5 in the region. They will close out the regular season at Pinecrest Academy tonight at 8:30. Providence Christian improves to 17-7 over all and 4-3 in region play. They will close out their regular season today at St. Francis.  Tip off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

The Lady Patriots fared no better on Senior Night as the Lady Stars prevailed 45-27.

Mount Pisgah senior forward Sandy Almon, the lone senior on the team, scored nine points to lead the Patriots in scoring. Providence Christian was led in scoring by Stephanie Cailor's 12 points. Jessie Kowalewicz scored 10 points  and Erika Gotfredson chipped in eight for the Lady Stars.

Providence Christian improves their record to 14-11 on the season and 4-3 in the region.  They close out their regular season at St. Francis today at 4.  Mount Pisgah Christian will try to bounce back as the Lady Patriots close out their regular season tonight when they travel to Pinecrest Academy. Tip off is scheduled for 7.

(Info on team records and schedules was obtained from www.gasports.com and www.providencechristianacademy.org.)

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