CM boys take PV tourney title over Bellefonte, 59-47

SPRING MILLS, PA -The Central Mountain boys’ basketball team came back with a ton of hardware after winning the Penns Valley holiday tournament Thursday night. They took the title with a 59-47 triumph over Bellefonte.

And the rewards were plentiful: Jack Hanna the tourney MVP, Hayden Pardoe the defensive MVP and Xavier Persun and Essex Taylor named to the all-tourney team. Pardoe and Hanna again carried the offensive load with 19 and 16 points respectively. Persun had a career-high 12 points, all from four 3-pointers. Hunter Hoy and Levi Schlesinger each had 4 points, Brady Myers and Taylor with 2 each. Bellefonte fell to 2-4 with the loss; CM had defeated the Raiders 72-51 at Bellefonte in early December.

The ’Cats are now 7-0, one of the best starts in school history. Head coach Tyler Bardo said he was proud of the team’s effort but “these last two days weren’t our best basketball, but we found a way to win. We’ll enjoy this for a few hours and then back on the bus for our third game in three days.”

Central Mountain will face arguably its biggest challenge on the year to date when the Wildcats venture Friday night to Williamsport to play St. John Neumann, the Knights off to a 4-1 start.

CM   18 14 19 8 = 59

B     11 12 12 12 = 47