Pleasant boys basketball is finding its footing in the 2025-26 season. A win over Highland Friday kept its momentum rolling.
MARION — Pleasant's boys basketball team is rounding into form at midseason.
The Spartans won their fourth game of their last five outings, beating Highland 44-39 in the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference Friday, Jan. 9. The victory now moves them one away from being .500, which is a different state than being 1-5 to start the year.
"That’s the Pleasant athlete. Our kids don’t ever give up," Pleasant coach Ben Snively said. "This was definitely a big, big game for us as far as turning the corner. We’re still in the month of January with eight more games left and mainly all league teams, so it’s going to be a big month for us. I think a game like this can give us confidence going forward."
They had a tough start to the 2025-26 season because their schedule was front-loaded with talented opponents. Season-opening opponent Fairbanks had just one loss coming into this week, and Ontario was undefeated before losing to River Valley on Jan. 9. RV, which is alone atop the MOAC standings, beat Pleasant in the second game of the season.
"Three of the losses were to really good teams," Snively said. "There were a couple, 'woulda, shoulda, coulda,' but I’m real proud of the kids. They’re doing the things they need to do to win."
On Friday night, the Spartans (5-6, 2-5) played from ahead all night ― although they were never comfortably in front all 32 minutes. The Scots were always hanging around, but Pleasant never allowed them to take a lead.
"That was key right there, and it’s definitely progress," Snively said of playing with a lead. "I’ve been in a lot of basketball games in my career, and when you’ve been up for three quarters and they had a couple of opportunities to go up 1, that can deflate your whole team."
Pleasant led 7-5 after the first quarter and 15-13 at halftime. It was still a 2-point game with 1:45 left in the third quarter as the Spartans led 29-25 heading to the final period.
The Spartans built an 8-point lead a couple of times in the fourth, but the Scots cut it to four in the final minute and had several chances to get closer.
"We’ve had out struggles this year in scoring. Tonight, the gym’s a little darker (and) the rims are a little tighter, but it’s no excuse. We’ve got to find ways to score," Highland coach Ryan Stover said. "We’ve just got to keep fighting. We’ve been in a lot of close games this year and most of them haven’t gone our way."
Highland (5-8, 1-6) is 4-5 in games decided by single-digit margins.
"We’re a pretty close-knit team. We try to help each other out and pick each other up. Hopefully we can continue to work on it. We’ve been through the league entirely for the first time, so we know it’s not going to get any easier," Stover said. "That’s the joys of playing in the MOAC. We’re going to keep fighting and just showing up and see what happens and maybe turn it around."
Ja'Kai Wilson scored 14 points and Rhett Russell eight points for Highland. For the Spartans, Avery Hamper led with 14 as Colin Jordan added 10 and Evan Sickmiller eight.
"The game was won with defense and rebounding tonight," Snively said. "We didn’t give them second chances opportunities, so I was proud of that aspect. We had some different guys step up tonight when we needed it most."
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This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Pleasant boys basketball 'turning the corner' in 2025-26
Category: General Sports
