The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

The Big Sandy Pioneers dominated the game starting from the beginning. The North Star Knights struggled to get anything to fall into the basket early. Big Sandy wins big73-51. The Pioneers' defense was just as old as their offense, but their offense was fun to watch. Issac Pedraza had some great passes to Braydon Cline and Kody Strutz. Pedraza scored offensively for the Pioneers on a put-back and out-of-bounds play. North Star hung in there as much as they could while knocking down a 3-pointer and a couple of buckets. Jake Darlington hit a nice 3-pointer at the buzzer to put the Pioneers up 8 going into the 2nd quarter.

Jake Darlington continued his hot streak knocking down two more 3- pointers making North Star realize they needed to step up on defense which left the middle open for Wylie Snapp to score some points down low. Braydon Cline received his 3rd foul early, but Pedraza had a nice move to the middle to end the half up 10 points, scoring 33-23.

The second half of the game went from bad to worse for North Star as Big Sandy picked their defense apart. Big Sandy dominated on offense and scored almost 30 points in the 3rd quarter. Big Sandy didn't let up on defense early, while North Star struggled to get anything going. The Pioneers ended up being North Star by 18 points with a final score of 73-51.

The Pioneers opened up with spectacular defense causing Box Elder to turn the ball over several times in the 1st quarter. Kody Strutz had 4 steals, and Wylie Snapp and Cooper Taylor also contributed to the steals stat. A very fast-paced game with several great offensive plays coming from Issac Pedraza, Braydon Cline, Taylor, Snapp, and Strutz put the Pioneers in an early lead against the Bears. The Bears got a last-second shot off in the quarter to try and get a little closer, but the Pioneers had a dominant quarter going into the second quarter up by 17 points with a score of 27-10.

The Bears came out hot in the second quarter, scoring 3 quick threes in the first minute and a half. After back-to-back turnovers and some free-throws from the Bears, the Bears found themselves only down 7 and outscoring the Pioneers 10-0 early. Lane Demontiney and Strutz scored on a couple of buckets, but the Bears came right back after them with another three 3-pointers, putting the Bears up with 2 points. After good ball movement from both teams and trading baskets, the score was tied at half with a score of 37-37.

Box Elder started the 2nd half dominating the boards, allowing themselves second-chance opportunities. The Pioneers quickly broke the Bears' press with several fast break layups. The Bears continued to knock down shots in the middle of the key and some 3-pointers. Snapp had a great pass to Cline down low for a bucket from the post and a Pedraza take for 2 points. Snapp and Strutz took charge for their team, giving them another chance to close the gap on the score. The Bears scored on a baseline taken at the end of the 3rd, putting the Bears up 7 points to end the quarter.

The Pioneers started the last stanza of the game with an aggressive defense. Box Elder had a hard time with it. After back-to-back great takes from Cline, the Pioneers pull within 4 points. After a block by Strutz on a three-pointer set up an opportunity for Pedraza to score an AND1, putting the Pioneers only down 1. The Pioneers continued to score off of buckets from Pedraza, Snapp, and Cline. Strutz made big free throws because Box Elder wanted to foul to get another chance to get the ball back. Strutz's free throws put the Pioneers up by 2 points with a minute left in the game. The Bears hit a nice turnaround jump shot from the high post to tie it up. Pedraza hits a huge 3-pointer with 16 seconds left in the game. Box Elder had a chance to tie it but missed on the 3-pointer. Box Elder then needed to foul, which put Snapp at the free-throw line, where he sealed the deal by knocking one down, making it a 4-point lead. The Pioneers ended up winning with a score of 69-65.

The boys are shooting 50% and dominating the rebounds in both games. At Box Elder, there were four in double figures, Strutz-17, Demontine-13, Pedraza-17, and Cline-13. Against North Star, three were in double figures Cline -17, Strutz-16, and Pedraza-16.