The Pioneer game plan was very apparent right out of the gate. Get the ball into the Big Man Brandon Maegley. The senior scored 6 of the Pioneers first 7 points. That created the classic game plan of inside/outside basketball. That allowed a first quarter trifecta barrage by Ponzer and Sophomore Casey Sorrell. The guard tandem connected on two three point shots a piece as SK jumped out to a 21-13 first quarter lead. Grant tried a 1-3-1 zone against the Pioneers that allowed the Pioneers to inside outside the Braves throughout the game. Coach Steiner had a nice rotation of players in the first quarter as he kept up the defensive pressure on the Braves in the full court and forced several turnovers.
Tournament play in Kentucky High School basketball can bring out the best in players, especially seniors who don’t want to see their season come to an end. This was evident in the play of senior David Dressman. Dressman was flying through the air picking off rebounds and steals. Dressman had three rebounds on one play as each time he went up for a shot got popped in the face. It didn’t stop him as he went to the glass with reckless abandon. Dressman also had a play late in the game where he dove about 10 feet for a lose ball on the Grant County offensive end. Dressman was whistled for the foul but it was a hustle play that the Pioneers will need once they get to the 8th region tournament.
The Pioneers kept up their pace and went out to a double digit lead at half-time of 37-26.
SK turned to transition basketball in the third quarter as they converted several fast breaks for lay-ups. Langdon Barnes hit two lay-ups and a couple of foul shots before a trey as the junior logged 9 points in the third frame. Sorrell displayed more sharp shooting expertise as he knocked down three more treys in the quarter. You could see him just catching and shooting and having a good time on the floor. Sorrell ended up leading all Pioneer scorers with 17 points.
The Pioneer faithful turned their attention to Nate Ponzer off of the floor as Novacare Nick attended Ponzer to the locker room. It turned out that it was for a re-tape job on the ankle and Ponzer did return to the floor for action. Ponzer’s ankle appeared to be causing some discomfort at times but his presence was definitely a nice contribution at the point position as the offense had a better flow tonight.
What was interesting was Grant almost seemed to hold the ball at times when they were down double digits in the second half. The Braves held the ball for about a minute and a half to close the third quarter looking for a last second shot. They were down by 12 at the time. SK’s largest lead of the game occurred in the third quarter at 16. Grant didn’t quit and went on a 12-4 run between the third and fourth quarter to cut the lead to 8 in the fourth quarter. The Pioneers beat the Brave press for some easy buckets and allowed the lead to extend to double digits again. An Achilles for the Pioneers lately has been free throw shooting. SK was able to connect on their throws down the stretch and ended up shooting 12-14 for the game.
Senior Jake Robinson, who played big down the stretch of the season, did not dress tonight due to a concussion suffered in practice. Zach Layne, injured in the Highlands game on Friday night, was sporting the familiar boot and crutches tonight.
The Pioneers will play Walton Verona on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. as they battle for the 32nd District title. The two teams split their first two games during the regular season.
Barnes gets fouled on this play as TB looks on.
Dressman had a strong game.
Slavey looking like he was on skis.
Ponzer with three treys for the game.
Sorrell found the GC gym to his liking with 5 long range shots and 17 points.
Trimmed up Hopp with some strong minutes tonight.
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