A spirited comeback fell short at the University boys lost for the first time this season, falling 63-59 to Pendleton Heights.
University trailed 50-32 with 90 seconds remaining in the third period before starting to crawl back in to the game, but could get no closer than the final four-point margin. The visitors made just enough foul shots down the stretch to keep the Trailblazers from making it a one score game.
The Arabians never trailed in the game, using a 12-4 burst over the last two and a half minutes of the first quarter to open up a 19-10 lead. 6-6 senior Tristan Ross had nine points for Pendleton in the opening period. The visitors held a 36-23 lead at halftime, scoring eight of the last 10 points of the half.
Max Greenamoyer had 20 points to lead the Blazers while Joe Martin added 18. University struggled from beyond the 3-point arc, making just two three pointers on the night and made only 11 of 20 foul shots.
Three Arabians accounted for 58 of their 63 points. Sophomore Jamison Dunham had 21, Ross added 19 and Davrick Black 18. Ross had 11 rebounds.
University falls to 4-1 and will jump back in to action Saturday evening. The Trailblazers will play in the Champions of Character Classic at Grace College in Winona Lake. University will play Westview at 6 p.m.
Pendleton Heights improves to 3-4. The Arabians play Dec. 30 at Hamilton Southeastern.
PENDLETON HEIGHTS 63, UNIVERSITY 59
University FG FT TP PF
Sam Mervis 3 2-2 8 4
Max Greenamoyer 7 5-5 20 3
Camden Brown 4 0-1 9 1
Jacob Sager 1 2-7 4 3
Joe Martin 8 2-5 18 4
Aaron Stallings 0 0-0 0 2
Korey Ash-Simpson 0 0-0 0 0
Larry Pierce 0 0-0 0 0
Totals 23 11-20 59 17
Score by Quarters
Pendleton 19 17 16 11 – 63
University 10 13 16 20 – 59
University 3-pointers (2) Greenamoyer 1, Brown 1.