CHERRY TWP — Ethan Pry skipped toward the bench after nearly swatting the ball away for another steal.

“It was like a cookie right in front of my face,” he said to Moniteau basketball coach Randy Armagost. “I wanted a cookie.”

Pry was a regular Cookie Monster against Redbank Valley in a 76-40 home win Wednesday night.

C was for crook and it was more than good enough for the Warriors.

Pry had seven steals and Moniteau (5-2, 1-0) forced 40 turnovers — 27 in the first half — on the way to the rout.

“Defense is my favorite thing,” Pry said, munching on a hot dog after the game, not a cookie. “I'm not a very strong offensive player yet, so I just make up for it on the defensive end, work my butt off and get those steals for our team.”

Redbank (0-6, 0-1) was powerless to get anything going on offense in the first half.

Moniteau forced 15 turnovers by the Bulldogs in the first quarter and built a 26-6 lead.

“Right now, until you really get your basketball legs or your shooting (down), you have to win with defense,” Armagost said. “If you press the ball, force them to make mistakes and get turnovers, you get better shot selection — more layups.”

Pry is the catalyst of that pressing defense.

The forward, who is the best jumper on the team, also has quick feet and hands — skills that help him on the basketball court to get to the ball much like they did on the football field as a receiver.

“Same way like in football, Ethan can be 15 feet away from the ball and the next thing you know, he's right there to get it,” Armagost said. “Right now we're just preaching defense and then let the offense come.”

When Moniteau called off the dogs and tried a more traditional half-court offense, it struggled.

The Warriors scored just 13 points in the second quarter, but still led 39-12 at the break.

The lead swelled to as many as 35 in the third quarter.

Most of Moniteau's points throughout the game, though, came off turnovers or on a fast break.

“I'm concerned big time,” Armagost said. “That's why I stopped the press tonight. But in the second and third quarters, we didn't score that much. We know what our problem is. We just have to keep working on it.”

The problem is, the players don't want to stop pressing most of the time.

“That's what's so fun about these kids,” Armagost said. “I stopped the press and they yelled at me because they wanted to keep going. They all work hard and they all love that style.”

Kyle Armagost scored 25 points to lead the Warriors. All of his points came in the first three quarters.

Andrew Armagost added 10 points for the Warriors, who took 30 more shots than Redbank Valley in the game.

Keaton Delp was the only Bulldog in double digits with 11 points.

REDBANK VALLEY 40Nathan Reddinger 1-6 0-0 2, Keaton Delp 4-11 2-4 11, Matt Veronesi 2-6 1-2 5, Jake Dougherty 2-7 1-2 5, Dustin Price 1-3 0-0 2, Austin Shumaker 0-0 0-0 0, Devon Shumaker 1-1 0-1 3, Quinton Brocious 1-2 1-3 3, Doug Gundlach 0-1 0-0 0, Zach Westover 0-0 0-0 0.

Totals: 14-39 10-18 40.

MONITEAU 76Kyle Armagost 11-22 3-6 25, Ethan Pry 2-4 0-0 5, Andrew Armagost 4-10 0-1 10, Joey Deal 2-3 3-4 7, Jonathan Loos 2-5 3-3 7, Brayden McCorry 2-9 0-0 4, Joe Holfelder 3-5 0-0 6, Denny Pry 0-1 0-0 0, Colton Cumberland 0-2 0-0 0, Drew Yeckel 2-2 0-0 4, Zach Timblin 3-4 0-0 6, Cody Skiver 0-0 0-0 0, James Bair 1-2 0-0 2.

Totals: 32-69 9-14 76.

Redbank Valley 6 7 13 14—40Moniteau 26 13 17 20—763-point goals: Redbank Valley 2 (Delp, D. Shumaker); Moniteau 3 (A. Armagost 2, Pry).

JV Score: Moniteau 58-21

Friday: Moniteau at Karns City