Clayton Parker made sure that the Montgomery County boys basketball team wasn’t going to suffer another season-opening loss to the Winfield Warriors on Nov. 22.

The MCHS sophomore scored 33 points with four 3-pointers to help his team start its 2022-2023 season with a come-from-behind, 59-52 win over the Warriors at Ballew & Snell Court.

The Wildcats snapped a two-game losing streak to Winfield. Last year, the Wildcats lost to the Warriors 60-34 in their season opener. It’s the first time in three years MCHS won its season opener.

“I felt like the loss last year kind of fired up our guys a little bit,” Parker said. “I was watching a little bit of film of last year’s game (before the contest against Winfield). I was like, ‘I didn’t want this to happen again.’ Our guys fed off of that fire from last year.”

MCHS was trailing 24-10 after the first quarter. Winfield made six 3-pointers in the opening quarter, including one as time expired.

“It didn’t start the way we wanted to,” Parker said. “But we got it together, stayed together and got it done.”

The Wildcats rallied to get within three points, 29-26, at halftime. Trailing 44-37 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, MCHS went on a 15-0 run to pull off the victory. The Wildcats hit five free throws down the stretch.

“We all played well together as a team,” Parker said. “No matter who scores, everybody is going to be clapping for them and finding the open guy. It’s all about winning the basketball game. That’s all we care about.”

Parker scored 11 of his points in that run and finished with 18 in the second half. His basket with 5:45 left in the fourth quarter gave the Wildcats a 46-44 lead they didn’t relinquish.

“I give a lot of credit to my teammates,” the 6-foot-7 Parker said. “When I’m open, they find me. That’s the only reason I can really score, especially around the basket.”

Parker was coming off a strong freshman season that included a second-team all-Eastern Missouri Conference honor and two all-tournament awards. He said the one year of varsity experience last winter helped prepare him for this season.

“A lot of guys came into the game without much varsity experience,” Parker said. “I was telling them not to be nervous. You can be a little nervous when you get out there. Just leave it all out on the court. It’s just another basketball game. Last year, I was in the same position and I know how it feels. This year, I was just going out there to play. But I know that some of those guys are a little bit nervous like I was last year.”

Parker is part of a large sophomore class that includes Tyler Erwin, Isaiah Thomas, Jay Rodgers, Sean Rodgers and Tatum Wessel.

Erwin finished with 10 points, including a breakaway dunk with 3:09 left in the second quarter that gave the Wildcats momentum for the rest of the game.

“That dunk pretty much got us going,” Erwin said. “It got the crowd pumped up. It got the student section going. Tyler played really well on defense as well. He’s a really high energy guy. He helps us out. He’s a really good passer as well.”

Thomas and senior Zak Rodgers each scored five points, junior Mason Leu added four and Jay Rodgers finished with two for the Wildcats, who won 17 games last year.