RIMERSBURG — Brody Pollock watched helplessly from the bench in the second quarter as Union struggled to light up the scoreboard.

Moniteau took a 22-17 lead into the locker rooms, but Pollock quickly made up for lost time.

The senior scored nine of his game-high 18 points in the third frame to help Union swing the momentum and claim a 47-36 win over the Warriors Monday in a KSAC-South boys basketball matchup.

Pollock carried the Knights early with nine of the the team's 13 points before departing with foul trouble.

“The whole second quarter I was thinking, ‘I need to get in there and make a difference,'” said Pollock. “In the third quarter I got my chance and had to make the most of it — get my team back in it.”

Union coach Karen Davis knew the senior would deliver.

“With (Pollock) sitting on the bench most of the second quarter, I knew it was going to be a different game once we got him in there,” she said.

Moniteau (12-6, 4-2) maintained a slim edge for most of the first half, but the Golden Knights (17-2, 7-0) outscored the Warriors 30-14 over the final 16 minutes of play.

“Union played a very good game,” said Moniteau coach Randy Armagost. “They got every loose ball. They outrebounded us. They wanted the game more than we did, that's the bottom line.”

Union had a 31-22 advantage on the boards, including 11 offensive rebounds to five for Moniteau.

Pollock believes the effort on the glass is due to the Knights' hunger for a District 9 title after falling short in the championship game last year.

“I just think that we wanted it more,” said Pollock. “We have a lot of drive this year. We want to do better than last year, which would be tough — win the district.”

After committing just five first-half turnovers, the Warriors turned it over 13 times in the second half.

Part of the struggles can be attributed to the absence of point guard Andrew Armagost, who picked up his fourth foul with 7:19 remaining in the third quarter and sat out the rest of the frame.

The junior returned for the fourth quarter, but fouled out at the 3:13 mark.

“We struggled handling the ball without (Andrew). He hits the open guys. He runs our offense,” said coach Armagost. “Without him ... it just looked like nobody knew what to do.”

Moniteau's offense became stagnant in the fourth stanza, while Union found openings underneath for Kaden McGregor and Aaron Graham.

McGregor finished with 10 points and Graham tallied nine in his first game of the season after missing time with a back injury.

Graham also grabbed five rebounds, four of them offensive.

“Thank God I got Aaron Graham back,” said Davis. “He did a great job rebounding, putting the ball in, hitting his foul shots and that's what we need.”

Despite the loss, it was a better showing from Moniteau after Union ran away with a 62-41 win on Jan. 30.

Kyle Armagost led the Warriors with 16 points on 8-of-21 shooting. He snared a game-high nine boards, as well.

Ethan Pry had 11 points — nine in the first half — and a team-high three steals. Andrew Armagost was the only other Warrior to sink a field goal and finished with four points.

“We have a lot of work to do,” said coach Armagost. “We're not bad, we just have to play with a little more intensity. That's the biggest thing.

“It was fun coaching against Karen for the last time,” Armagost added referring to the Union coach who will retire at season's end. “I have a lot of respect for her. She does a great job.”

Taylor Smith had a game-high five steals, along with a team-high eight rebounds and three assists. Austin Davis had six points and five rebounds.

MONITEAU 36Kyle Armagost 8-21 0-0 16, Ethan Pry 4-15 2-2 11, Andrew Armagost 2-6 0-0 4, Joey Deal 0-0 0-0 0, Brayden McCorry 0-1 2-2 2, Jonathon Loos 0-3 2-2 2, Joe Holfelder 0-1 1-2 1, Coltan Cumberland 0-0 0-0 0, Denny Pry 0-0 0-0 0, Dustin Geagan 0-0 0-1 0.

Totals: 14-47 7-10 36.

UNION 47Brody Pollock 8-14 1-4 18, Taylor Smith 1-9 2-2 4, Austin Davis 3-6 0-1 6, Brandon Tyson 0-0 0-0 0, Kaden McGregor 3-8 4-6 10, Aaron Graham 4-9 1-2 9, Wanya Harris 0-0 0-0 0.

Totals: 19-46 8-15 47.

Moniteau 11 11 8 6—36Union 9 8 16 14—473-point goals: Moniteau 1-12 (Pry 1-4, A. Armagost 0-3, K. Armagost 0-5); Union 1-10 (Pollock 1-4, Smith 0-6).

JV Score: Union 57, Moniteau 45 (U: Dylan Shirey 19; M: Cumberland 13)

Wednesday: Union at Keystone; Moniteau at Redbank Valley