The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

The Pioneers went back and forth against a tough Longhorn team this past weekend, but unfortunately, Fort Benton just outplayed the Pioneers and ended up winning by 29 points with a score of 61-90.

Coach Ryne Labuda said, “It was a tough game this week. We need to get back to playing as a team. In the first half of the CJI game, we worked the ball around, had good ball movement, and found the open guy. We have just gotten away from that and need to go back to that film to see the things we had success with. Defensively, we were out of position too much, got beat down the floor often, and gave up too many easy buckets. I was able to watch the film, and there are a lot of teaching moments for practice next week, so we will look forward to moving past this one.”

The Pioneers started with great play from Eyon Sherburn and Eli Dixon. Eyon got a big rebound and put back, while Eli dominated the boards and knocked down some free throws. Lane Demontiney also had a big quarter in scoring with 10 points. The Pioneers struggled a bit with getting back on defense to stop the Longhorns, and the Longhorns went into the 2nd quarter up by 3 with a score of 14-17.

The Pioneers have a huge asset in Karter Jurneka. The way Karter runs the floor gets back on defense and runs down loose balls is something to be proud of. Karter is the type of player a coach wishes he had 5 of. If Karter turns the ball over, he’s the first one back trying to get the ball back on defense. I say this because he had a great game. His effort on the glass getting rebounds on both sides of the court is commendable. Karter may not score the most points in the games, but his work ethic and good attitude show on the court.

Eli also had a great game with his contributions in passing, hustling, rebounding, and driving to the basket. Eyon had great steals, and Lane scored 11 points in the 2nd quarter. Ryder also had a nice game with some big rebounds and big buckets, scoring 10 points.

The Pioneers went into halftime down 7 points after a Fort Benton 3-pointer at the end of the 2nd quarter. The Pioneers also struggled a bit with turning the ball over in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, which the Longhorns took advantage of. The Longhorns went up by 13 to end the 3rd quarter, and from there, they just took advantage of the Pioneers, scoring 30 points in the last quarter.

Aidan Morsette adds a spark to the Pioneers every time he comes off the bench. He is intense and scrappy and motivates the team on the court; Aidan hustles after every play and gets down the court on defense.

Unfortunately for the Pioneers, they couldn’t claw their way back in and lost by 29 points with a final score of 61-90.