SK PIONEER SPORTS: SK falls to Birds on Senior Night

SK celebrated senior night festivities for 9 senior basketball players. Tyler Hopperton, Tyler Rabe, Brandon Maegley, Josh Brown, Zach Layne, Nathan Ponzer, David Dressman, Jake Robinson and Jeff Slavey played their last games at the Joe. The Pioneers end their regular season at 12-15 as they fall to Highlands 61-51. SK fell behind by as many as 15 points in the first half before they made a nice run at the end of the second quarter to close the gap to 8 on a trey by Langdon Barnes with just a few ticks on the clock. Nate Ponzer was also a key to the run during the last few minutes of the quarter with a couple of nice defensive plays. The Pioneers had several chances to get the lead down to 4 points in the second half but had difficulty capitalizing on some of their possessions as untimely turnovers seemed to present themselves. Highlands got lots of second chance opportunities thanks to strong offensive rebounding.

Good news for the Pioneers tonight: Schneider, Barnes and Ponzer returned to action. Bad news for the night was Zach Layne left the game with an injured leg/ankle. It didn’t look good for Zach as he left the campus for x-rays and further examination. Josh Brown also left the game with an injury and was unable to return to action.

More pictures including players and their families at http://www.flickr.com/photos/figsfotos

The Pioneers take on Grant County at Grant County in opening round action of the 32nd District tournament. Tip-off time is expected to be around 8:00.

Before game festivities.

Half-time stunt work.

Hopperton locked.

"Would you like to join us in the cafateria after the game for the senior night reception?"

Robinson way up in the air.

Quote from Enquirer reporter Ryan Ernst on his Blog Friday night. "Simon Kenton senior guard Nate Ponzer might wear the baggiest shorts I've ever seen on a high school basketball player. If they drooped a little more, they'd cover his socks."

It looks like it started with the tails.