Pioneer Boys Advance to Regional Semifinals.

The SK Pioneer boys advanced in 8th region play tonight with a 71-59 victory over the South Oldham Dragons at Henry County at the Roy. The game was one that could best be described as very physical. The Dragons threw several wide bodies on the inside at Josh Hurd making it tough for him to exploit his size advantage. Hurd promptly had several people hanging on him anytime he touched the ball in the paint. There were a couple of scary moments for the Pioneers as Hurd went down at the end of the first half and Hester went down in the second half with a banged up knee. Both players were able to return to the court and finished the game.

The Pioneers jumped out to a 16-7 lead in the first quarter and things were looking up for Steiner’s boys. The Dragons came firing back on an 8-2 run to close the quarter as SK ended the first period of play with a 18-15 lead. Both teams played even in the second quarter and the Pioneers took a 38-35 lead into half-time. The Pioneer faithful was probably expecting a wider first half margin but the Dragons were hard nosed and scrappy.

Both teams came out tight in the third quarter but SK was able to extend their lead to 5 going into the 4th. A couple of key plays in the 4th really seemed to spark the Pioneer lead out to double digits. The first was a steal on a lob attempt on the Dragons offensive end of the floor by Nate Ponzer. Nate’s teammates rewarded him at the offensive end by getting the ball back to him behind the trey line allowing the junior guard to can the long range shot. Another big lift came from Charge Kohrs who returned to action tonight. Not only did Kohrs participate in some type of wrestling break dance in the paint with an Oldham player, the senior forward also converted an old fashioned three point play that got more SK momentum going. Kohrs’ performance was gutsy following his return from his sprained ankle. Kohrs could be seen limping and noticeably grimacing but played with the guts that the Pioneers seemed to need against the physical Dragons. SK ended the game on a free throw barrage. They were able to hit the throws down the stretch although their accuracy early in the game was somewhat suspect.

The Pioneers were led in scoring by seniors Josh Elbert and Mike Hester with 15 points each. Elbert also swiped 15 boards off of the glass and had 3 assists. Hester was key down the stretch at the foul line and was able to connect on 7 or 8 charity shots. Hurd ended up with 14 points and 8 boards and Charge posted 9 points and 5 boards. SK’s bench outscored Oldham by a 20-8 margin as 10 Pioneers notched points in the book.

The Pioneers will take on the Gallatin County Wildcats at Henry County on Monday night at 8:00 p.m. in semifinal action. The PA announcer indicated this was the 45th consecutive year for 8th region basketball to be played in this gym. It definitely has all the feel of Kentucky High School tournament basketball. Make it down on Monday, you'll be glad you did. Good Luck Boys.

Pics from tonight.............

Elbert with the double double.


Here's Charge going up for the and one.


Hester was 7 for 8 from the line.


Here's the play where Hester injured his knee.



Kohrs gettin after it. If you want to know how big the Dragons were, compare the size of this guy's legs to Kohrs' in the second picture.



I guess they call this place The Roy?


Hurd got beat on inside.


Hopperton working the officials.


Henry County Sheriffs get the best seats in the house at the Roy. There's a sign next to the steps of the stage that says Henry County Sheriffs only so don't even think about taking that easy chair seat Betty Sue.