“Our kids played hard and kept fighting. I look forward to watching them continue to grow as a team as the season progresses,” said Scott Dimon, Athletic Director.

The bleachers were packed with fans cheering for their teams when the Pine Grove Area High School Boys Basketball team played a close game against Tri-Valley. The JV teams of the Cards and Dawgs took on the court first. The Dawgs claimed victory over the Cards JV team. The Varsity team of Pine Grove Area and Tri-Valley went on the floor next. After the first quarter, the score was Cards 12 and Dawgs 6. Both teams continued to score points back and forth until halftime. At the end of the first half, the score was 17-18 with Tri-Valley leading the Cards. PGA fell to Tri-Valley with a score of 35-37. The event was the first official game of the season for the team and was hosted by Pine Grove Area in the high school’s gym.

Lauren Wessner, junior, at Pine Grove Area and a cheerleader said, “It was intense, the energy was great!”

As the Cards and Dawgs came back out onto the floor after halftime, the mood became even more intense then the start of the game. The game continued to be each team scoring back and forth until the end of the 3rd quarter. At the end of the 3rd quarter, the score was 29-21 with the Cards leading the Dawgs. At the beginning of the 4th quarter, the Dawgs go on a scoring run and tie the game up. The game continues to go back and forth with the score remaining very close. At the end of the 4th, the Dawgs come out on top with the score being 37-35.

“I am proud of us, we will continue to get better.” said Garret Brandt, senior and captain, point guard.

As the first game of the season, it was a close game. Both teams played their best and Pine Grove Area set a high standard for the rest of the season. This game was the first one for Coach Jordan Lehman.

“It was exciting, watching your team play their hearts out and give themselves an opportunity to win a game, even though we weren’t shooting well.” said Jordan Lehman, Coach.