PARKERSBURG — Parkersburg had its chances here Friday night against rival Parkersburg South inside the Rod Oldham Athletic Center, but the host Patriots got a big game from senior Cole Plants and held off the Big Reds, 51-46, in front of an overflow crowd. “What an environment,” said South head coach Mike Fallon, whose club held the Big Reds scoreless for a span of 9:32 in the middle two quarters and received a game-high 25 points along with 10 rebounds from Plants. “This might be the most packed I’ve seen it since I’ve been here. It was loud. I apologize to our fans. They should get half of their money back for the way we played tonight.” The two programs never found their stroke from long distance as South made just 3 of 22 and PHS went 3 of 20, which included back-to-back misses by Parker Miller and Dylan Shaver inside the final 2 minutes with the red and white trailing 45-42. “It was a good game for December,” admitted PHS head man Jeff Mennillo, whose team was led by Miller’s 23 points and Brenton Strange’s double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds.“I thought our kids defensively were really good. I thought we were disciplined. “You know, can’t be disappointed with your kids’ effort, but when you are 3 for 8 at the foul line and 3 for 20 from 3-point range and you lose by five points that hurts. That hurts.” PHS, which dropped to 2-3 and plays host to Warren on Thursday, wasn’t able to tie it after trailing 45-42, but closed to within a deuce at 48-46 when Kionte Peacock scored in the paint thanks to a Jake Johnson assist with 24 seconds to play. However, the visitors missed 7 of 8 from downtown in the fourth and two foul shots by Seth Fallon with 7.9 ticks left iced the game and set the final score. “I like the fact that we got down big twice and we came roaring back both times,” Mennillo added. “It’s heartbreaking for them because you get over here and steal one, what a great way to head into Christmas break. “You know how much wind that puts into your sails, but we’ll be at it early tomorrow going back to the drawing board. There was a lot of good, but we’ve got to get better in areas.” The Patriots, who held a 45-39 edge on the glass with both teams collecting 16 offensive boards, trailed 4-0 at the start, but stormed back with 13 unanswered points. Plants started it with a 3, a deuce and then a three-point play before Shane Snider, who finished with 14 points, had a three-point play of his own. A knock-away steal by Plants led to the final bucket as teammate Brayden Mooney got the ball and fired ahead for the assist on Plants’ lay-in. PHS, though, closed out the period by scoring the final 10 points to take a 14-13 lead after one. Miller had five markers in the spurt, Jake Johnson had a hoop and Jacob McKnight’s trey capped it. After Miller scored for a 16-15 cushion at 7:09 of the second, the Big Reds went cold and missed their final nine field goals of the half. Another three-point play by Plants with 4:32 to go in the half put South ahead for good and the hosts led 22-16 at the break when Malaki Sylvia scored inside on a second chance opportunity. Parkersburg South, which improved to 3-1 and travels Wednesday to Spring Valley, appeared to take control in the third after Snider canned a trifecta and made a layup for a 34-21 bulge. PHS, which was outscored 9-2 in the second period as Strange rested the final 6:16 of the half after picking up his second foul, had other ideas and finished the stanza on an 11-2 run of its own to close to within 36-32 entering the fourth. “When you play that way and find a way to win, that’s what you got to do, especially early in the season,” added coach Fallon. “We’ve got a ton of things to work on and these guys will figure it out. “This is our third game in four nights and like I told them, you can’t blame that on your legs. You have to find ways. You have to get a stop here. You’ve got to come up with different ways to score and I thought we did that in spurts.”