Moshier: Unbeaten Mustangs pass test

Tuesday night’s Center State Conference crossover between the last of the area’s unbeaten boys basketball teams, Mount Markham and Mohawk, lived up to the hype. So did Mount Markham’s Josh Pugh and Mohawk’s John LeClair.

 

Pugh scored eight of his 23 points in the final 3:18 to lead Mount Markham to a 61-55 win at Jarvis High School. LeClair, Mohawk’s all-time scoring leader, scored 32 points and raised his career total to 1,028.

 

Now, Pugh and Mount Markham’s battle-tested Mustangs will be put to the test again Thursday night, when they travel to Cooperstown for a first-place showdown between two state-ranked, CSC Division II teams.

 

The Redskins, ranked No. 9 in the state in Class C, beat Herkimer in overtime on Tuesday, raising their record to 9-1. Both Cooperstown and Mount Markham, ranked 20th in the state’s Class B poll, are unbeaten in the league.

 

“I just told them to enjoy the moment, that this is good for us, to go through some adversity in a loud gym,” said Mount Markham coach Bob Bentley after his Mustangs, who had lost a 10-point lead in the third quarter, turned back Mohawk with a late 12-1 run.

 

LeClair, determined to take the ball to the basket no matter what – “He’s good at it, too. He finds a way,” said Bentley – certainly made the Mustangs earn Tuesday’s win.

 

“John’s a great competitor, and I’m happy for the kid,” said Mohawk coach Luke Judd, who presented LeClair with the game ball when he scored his 1,000th career point. “When you look at the bigger issue, though, I’m sure if he could give that (milestone) up and win the game, I think he would be happier.”

 

“He’s tough,” Pugh said of LeClair. “He’s quick, and he can handle the ball. You’ve got to have five people looking for him all the time.”

 

Thursday night in Cooperstown, Pugh and the Mustangs will have the Redskins’ Ryan Davine and Brad Ashford to contend with, and remaining the area’s only unbeaten team will not be easy.