RIMERSBURG — There was no stopping Brody Pollock.

There was no slowing down Kyle Armagost, either.

Pollock, a junior guard for Union, and Armagost, a junior point guard for Moniteau, put on quite a show Monday night.

But Pollock and the Golden Knights got the most important stat: a 51-46 boys basketball win.

“He's just developed into such a great player,” said Union coach Karen Davis of Pollock, who scored 29 points to key the victory. “He's just so smooth, and he wants the ball at the end when it's a tight situation.”

Pollock and Armagost, who scored 30 points, dueled for most of the game, especially in the third quarter.

Armagost kept Moniteau close with nine points in the frame. Pollock, though, helped Union maintain its precarious lead with 13 points in the quarter.

“It amazes me how much (Pollock has) improved in one year,” Davis said. “I think he had some of that in him last year, but I think he was in Scott (Booth's) shadow. He was waiting for Scott to do stuff.”

Pollock did a lot of good stuff for the Golden Knights.

He was 8-of-14 shooting from the field and 11-of-12 from the free throw line as Union took the lead for good late in the third quarter.

The Golden Knights (10-3 overall, 8-1 in the KSAC) led by as many as eight midway through the fourth quarter, but Armagost nearly brought the Warriors back.

Armagost scored all but five of Moniteau's 23 points in the second half. He also had 12 rebounds in the game.

“Kyle just played a fantastic game,” Davis said. “We just couldn't stop him, even when we were in his face. I've only seen him once, but is he the best? I think so.”

The problem for Moniteau (7-6, 4-4) was Armagost was the only legitimate scoring threat Monday.

Warriors forward Zach Sloan hurt Union early with eight of his nine points in the first quarter. But he picked up his second foul just five minutes into the game and his fourth with four minutes left in the third quarter.

That rendered him moot for much of the second half.

“That hurt us,” said Moniteau coach Randy Armagost. “He's our big threat inside.”

With Sloan out, the Warriors' shooting woes were magnified.

The Golden Knights, who are predominantly a man-to-man team, switched to a zone defense and dared the Warriors to beat them with the outside shot.

Kyle Armagost was able to penetrate and score at times, but Union turned Moniteau into a mostly jump-shooting team.

“At the beginning of the season, we were a good shooting team,” said coach Armagost. “The last two weeks, we've turned into a horrible shooting team because we're playing like we're unsure of what we're doing.”

The win was huge for Union, which now leads the KSAC South by three games over A-C Valley and 3½ games over Moniteau.

The loss was just as devastating for the Warriors.

“The league title is over,” said coach Armagost. “All you can do now is dig out of the hole and try to get to the playoffs.”

MONITEAU 46Mitch Hunter 0-3 0-0 0, Heath Lominski 0-2 0-0 0, Kyle Armagost 10-28 8-8 30, Jordan Smith 0-0 3-5 3, Ethan Pry 2-5 0-2 4, Andrew Armagost 0-5 0-0 0, Zach Sloan 4-11 1-3 9, Dalton Shuler 0-1 0-0 0.

Totals: 16-53 12-18 46.

UNION 51Shawn Booth 4-9 2-6 13, Trent Corle 1-2 0-0 2, Derek Shirey 0-3 1-2 1, Austin Davis 1-1 1-3 3, Brody Pollock 8-14 11-12 29, Taylor Smith 0-7 3-4 3.

Totals: 14-36 18-27 51.

Moniteau 16 7 12 11—46Union 11 10 18 10—513-point goals: Moniteau 2 (K. Armagost 2); Union 5 (Booth 3, Pollock 2).

Wednesday: Moniteau at A-C Valley; Venango Catholic at Union