The varsity basketball Owls jumped out to a 10-0 lead and never trailed as they defeated the PURE Academy Royals, 67-50, in the first game of 2026.

Senior Bo Echols led the team with 17 points and 9 rebounds, including 3 important three-pointers, all to stop Royal runs and settle the Owls down.

Senior Miller Griesbeck had one of his best shooting games of the season, scoring 12 points on 4 of 7 shooting, and he added 3 assists. And senior Kendon Leakes was steady with 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists. 

The Owls' lead ballooned to 17 points at 22-5 late in the first quarter before PURE came back to trail, 22-11, at the end of the first stanza. In fact, the Royals cut the lead to 6 at 23-17 with 5:54 left in the half before MUS went on a run and ultimately led at the break, 36-19.

In the second half, the lead got as much as 24 points midway through the third quarter, but PURE continued to fight, cutting the advantage to 14 at the end of the third, 52-38. Despite briefly seeing their lead get to 9 points early in the fourth quarter, the Owls hit timely free throws and won going away to improve to 10-5 on the season. PURE drops to 6-17. 

#GoOwls