The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

The Pioneer boys had a tough weekend, losing both games, but there was a lot of light in both games, and some positive things happened. They still fought hard, and battled until the very end. They started the weekend against Cascade, then turned around and played Turner the next night.

The first quarter started great for the Pioneers, with Lane Demontiney knocking down a 3-pointer and the Pioneers applying their ¾ court pressure. Lane also had a great take and another deep 3-pointer to put the Pioneers up, 12-8. But the Badgers came back with some tough shots and big plays to take an 8-0 run to finish the quarter, ending the 1st quarter with the Pioneers down 8 points, with a score of 12-20.

Cascade dominated the boards in the 2nd quarter, but the Pioneers had some great plays with Karter Jurenka's steal and take to the basket, a Ryder Galbavy 3-pointer, and a Lane Demontiney floater. The Pioneers had a tough time matching the pace of the game from Cascade but still gave it their all with some big free throws from Laneane and a Karter tip-in at the buzzer. Unfortunately for the Pioneers, Cascade took a big lead in the 2nd quarter going into halftime; the Pioneers were down 17 points, scoring 24-41.

Big Sandy came out of halftime ready to play, but Cascade would also do the same, and it was a battle back and forth with both teams scoring and Big Sandy struggling to get a defensive stop against Cascade. The Pioneers still had great plays with a Karter hustle save to a Ryder 3-pointer, a Karter block and Lane free throws, a 3-pointer from Lane, and a fast break layup. The Pioneers were scoring and putting some points on the board, but so was Cascade. Cascade dominated the boards and took away second-chance opportunities for the Pioneers, putting them in the game driver's seat and pulling ahead of the Pioneers by 23 points. The Pioneers couldn't return and ended up losing the game with a final score of 52-75.

The top three scorers for the Pioneers were Lane Demontiney with 33 points, Ryder Galbavy with 9 points, and Karter Jurenka with 4 points.

The Pioneers then turned around and faced Turner the next night and had a great game with some challenging work coming from the players, as well as hustle, determination, and grit. It was fun to watch them battle against the tornadoes; it was a very intense game.

Eyon Sherburn and Lane Demontiney set the pace for the Pioneers with some great outside shots, both 2-pointers and several 3-pointers between them, and great post play from Ryder Galbavy. Big Sandy had some great stops, forcing the Tornadoes to make poor decisions and turn the ball over. The Pioneers ended the 1st quarter down 1 point with a score of 21-22.

Eli Sixon set the tone for the Pioneers in the 2nd quarter by stealing the ball in the 1st play of the quarter. Ryder Galbavy had a great fade-away jump shot in the muddles of the key, and Lane followed with a nice baseline jumper. Aidan Morsette had a nice board and bucket, some made free throws, and Jaesun Yirsa also had a nice hustle and made free throws. The Pioneers ended the 2nd quarter with a Lane steal and only down 4 points going into halftime with a score of 36-40.

The 2nd half of the game was a lot like the first, with some really great hustle plays, made baskets, and pressure defense. Lane started the 2nd half with 2 steals, a layup and an AND1. Eli had a nice rebound and put back, as well as Eyon with a steal, and Lane finished the 3rd quarter with a 3-pointer; Aidan had a nice steal, while Karter had a great board and bucket, as well as a block. The Pioneers ended the 3rd battling hard but were still down 7 points with a score of 50-57.

The Pioneers took the 4th quarter by storm and came within 2 points with a score of 60-62 with a Lane take to the basket 3, pointer, and free throws. But Turner still had some gas left