Yough boys roll past Mt. Pleasant for 8th consecutive victory

By: Paul Schofield
Friday, February 3, 2023 | 11:10 PM

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It might have been expected if the Yough boys basketball had suffered a letdown after a huge victory earlier this week.

But veteran coach Jim Nesser wasn’t about to let that happen Friday against Mt. Pleasant.

He made sure that his team continued to step forward, and after a sluggish start offensively, the Cougars turned it on and rolled to a 52-17 victory in a Section 4-3A game to remain in a first-place tie with Washington. Both teams are 8-2 in the section.

Yough was coming off a 45-41 victory at Washington on Tuesday.

“It was the first time since I returned that this team showed me the toughness needed to win big basketball games,” Nesser said. “I was really worried about a letdown, and we talked to them Wednesday at practice.

“But to our kids’ credit, they came out and gave a good effort. I was worried about it, no doubt about it.”

Yough used a 24-0 run over the second and third quarters to break open a close game. During that run, juniors Terek Crosby and Austin Matthews provided the scoring punch.

Crosby finished with 18 points and six assists, and Matthews added 13 points and 14 rebounds.

But it was Yough’s (13-7, 8-2) defense that bothered Mt. Pleasant all game. The Vikings had trouble getting shots off against the quick Cougars.

Yukon Daniels led the Vikings (4-15, 3-7) with eight points.

“We’ve been counting on our defense all year,” Nesser said. “Offensively, we’ve been up and down, but lately we’ve been up.”

Yough went through a tough run in late December, losing five consecutive games.

But since the beginning of January, the Cougars have been on a roll, winning at Brownsville and at Washington.

“To be honest with you, we really worked hard in the offseason as a group,” Nesser said. “The kids kept believing and trusting what we were talking about, and they came together.

“We played McGuffey here, and it all came together. Ever since then we’ve been playing like we’re capable of playing.”

Nesser wants his team to continue the push. They have a road game Tuesday at McGuffey and then host Charleroi.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Mt. Pleasant, Yough