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Pawhuksa fell to Newkirk on Monday night at home 56-52, but the Huskies get a chance to get the losing taste out of their mouths quickly. Pawhuksa (3-5) is back at home on Tuesday night against Caney Valley. 

Monty Unruh has been working with the Huskies over the break, primarily on defense. Unruh says he has switched from zone to man-to-man.

The reason behind the switch wasn't hard tor Unruh to explain. Effort. Zone defenses can sometimes lull a team to sleep, both on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. A man-to-man makes players exert more effort and get up in the face of their opponent. That is a plus for Unruh, who would rather have that, than a sagging zone. 

After the Huskies loss to Newkirk, Pawhukska takes on Caney Valley and then Dewey, two teams that PHS has had mixed results against. Unruh explains. Pawhuksa beat Caney Valley 83-57 on Dec. 13 and fell to Dewey 60-35 on Dec. 16. 

The win against Caney Valley marked the first time that Pawhuksa played its man-defense. Unruh says he hopes it will stay just as effective on Tuesday night. As for Dewey, the Huskies didn't shoot well against the Doggers in the first game. Unruh may change things up on Friday.

Unruh has seen the signs of better offense during the winter break, he says that the boys have just been shooting the ball better. But at Pawhuska, the basketball ends and begins with defense. 

You can hear the Huskies game against Caney Valley right here on Bartlesvilleradio.com, click on the KPGM link around 7:50, Kevin Anthony will have the call. 

Here is our full interview with Monty Unruh.