Penns Valley boys’ basketball enters season without key starters

Penns Valley will be relying on a new group of contributors to continue its streak of 20 straight winning seasons.

The Rams lost four starters from a team that finished with a 20-6 record and earned the program’s first-ever PIAA tournament victory a year ago. In the last few seasons, coach Terry Glunt knew what he had going into early December, but he said this team’s rotation could change from game to game.

“We got a blank canvas and we’re going to see how the paint’s going to turn out,” Glunt said.

Logan Pearce and 6-foot-7 center Zach Engle were both first-team Mountain League selections, and Ben Alexander was a second-team pick. Chase Collison rounded out the four seniors who started during Penns Valley’s run to the second round of the PIAA tournament.

The Rams beat Kane in the first round to earn the program’s first state playoff victory.

Andrew Tobias is the lone returning starter.

Glunt said practice will dictate who plays each night and added that it will be a challenge to extend the program’s streak of winning seasons.

But he’s looking forward to seeing this team grow and develop throughout the season.

“It’s fun, but it’s more stressful,” Glunt said. “When you had the team I had last year, stress wasn’t a word that came into play that often.”

This story was originally published December 7, 2016 at 10:57 PM with the headline "Penns Valley boys’ basketball enters season without key starters."