The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

The Pioneers had two tough losses this past weekend. In the first one they played against CJI, they only lost by 2 points in a battle with five ties and four lead changes. The Pioneers' biggest lead was 5 points, and the Hawks' biggest lead was 8 points.

The Pioneers started the game taking care of the basketball and only having 1 turnover in the 1st quarter, and that happened in the last 30 seconds of the quarter. Eyon Sherburn stepped up big for the Pioneers, shooting 7/8 from the floor and 4/5 from the 3-point line, scoring 18 points. It was a battle back and forth from the beginning, with both teams pushing the ball up the floor and crashing the boards to help catapult their team. Ryder also had a double-digit point game with 17 points and 7 boards. The Pioneers went into the 2nd quarter up 1 point with a score of 18-17.

The beginning of the 2nd quarter was all Pioneers with great plays coming from a baseline jumper from Lane, a take by Karter, a 3-pointer by Aidan, another jumper by Lane, a big board from Aidan, another jumper by Lane, followed by 2 blocks and a steal from Ryder, and 3 point baskets by Eyon and Lane. And then, CJI took over. It was their turn, going on a 10-0 and going up 2 points. But the Pioneers were still working on their opportunities, too. Ryder scores on an AND1, Aidan hits a 3-pointer, and Karter knocks down a 3-pointer at the buzzer to put them up by 4 points with a score of 42-38 going into halftime.

The Pioneers came out of half a little cold from the floor, only scoring 6 points in the 3rd quarter, and the Hawks went on a 14-2 run on the Pioneers, putting them down by 6 points going into the last stanza.

The Pioneers showed true grit in the last quarter, being down the whole quarter, back and forth 6 to 8 points down, but hard work and some tenacity paid off as they clawed their way back in, tying the game at 68, with just 5 seconds left. The Pioneers really had some great, intense effort from all hands on deck and some big buckets from Lane, Karter, Eyon, Aidan, and Ryder with the 3-pointer to tie the game. Unfortunately, the Pioneers didn't get back on defense in time, and the Hawks scored on a fast break layup with just 5 seconds, with the ball going through the hoop at the buzzer, winning the ball game for them. The Pioneers lost by 2 points, scoring 68-70.

The Pioneers then turned around and played another challenging game against DGSG, where Lane was a high scorer with 36 points, and Eyon had 11 points. The Pioneers were down the whole game by quite a bit but never gave up and fought to the end, and they only lost by 6 points after being down 21 points at one point. The final score was 64-70.

Eli Dixon had a great bucket from the tip, giving the Pioneers their only lead for the night. DGSG couldn't miss their shots, and the Pioneers struggled guarding them, going down by 19 points with a score of 5-24 after the 1st quarter.

Lane had 2 three-pointers, Karter had one, and Eyon had 1 to try to help the Pioneers gain some momentum going into halftime, but DGSG was also knocking down big buckets too, and the Pioneers went into halftime down by 19 points with a score of 20-39.

Lane Demontiney

The 3rd quarter was very similar to the rest of the game, and the Pioneers gained a point on DGSG, going into the last quarter down by 18, with a score of 41-59. The 4th quarter was a different story and was all Pioneers from the beginning. Karter opened up with a 3-pointer, then Lane with 2 three-pointers, then an Eyon 3-pointer, and Karter stole a take to the basket by Lane. Ryder also had a big steal, followed by another steal from Lane, a fast break layup, and a 3-pointer from Lane, bringing the Pioneers within 8 points. Ryder then knocks down a 3-pointer, gets fouled, makes his free throw for a 4-point play, and brings the Pioneers within 4 points with a score of 64-68. Unfortunately, the Pioneers resorted to fouling at the end of the game to give themselves a shot, but DGSG knocked down their free throws, and the Pioneers had a couple of last chances but came up just short and ended up losing by 6 points a final score of 64-70.