New Year for the Pioneers
For the first game back after the Christmas break, the Pioneers played the Huntsville Eagles. The Pioneers were ready for the Eagles coming off on 0-2 series from previous meetings from the year before. The Pioneers had the lead all through the first and second quarters. One of the guards from Huntsville hit a last second three to give them a one point lead before the end of first half. The Eagles came out hot in the third quarter surprising the Pioneers. The Pioneers didn’t let that get them down, fighting through the adversity the whole game. When the final buzzer sounded, the Eagles ended on top winning 62-55. Sophomore Ethan Hammond said “We played hard but in the end it just wasn’t enough to come out on top.”
The next game the Pioneers traveled to Springdale and played the Shiloh Christian Saints. The Pioneers were playing well and by the end of the 1st half the score showed it. The Pioneers were up 15. The Saints, on the other hand, didn’t let that get them down, clawing and scratching their way back and gaining the lead late in the fourth. Cripps stepped up and hit a few threes in the fourth and so did sophomore guard Ethan Hammond. That wasn’t enough for the Pioneers, who lost 66-63. When asked how he felt about they played Senior Matt Juillerat responded saying “We just didn’t play all four quarters.”
The Prairie Grove Tigers were the visiting team for the Pioneers on Tuesday, January 12. The Pioneers had a big task and that was to stop the big 6’7” 245 lb big man. The Pioneers didn’t let that worry them and they accepted the task at hand. By the end of the first half, Gentry was up 7. The Tigers in the third quarter got within three, but Gentry pulled away winning 59-38.
“This is what happens when we have people buy into what we are told to do,” said senior Wyatt Clark.
On Friday, January 15, the Pioneers headed to Lincoln to play the Wolves. The Pioneers started out hot but so did Lincoln considering it was their coronation. The Wolves clawed their way back, but it was not enough; the Pioneers powered through winning 53-46.
Senior forward Jake Faulkenberry had this to say about the game, “I feel that we played well considering it was their coronation; we knew it would be tough but we executed our game plan and everything turned out well.”
The last game of the first round of conference for the Pioneers, they played the Gravette Lions. Senior forward CJ Taylor started out the game with a quick eight points for the Pioneers. Senior guard Matt Juillerat started out with a couple of threes, which led to good things for the visiting Pioneers. Junior guard Cole Cripps also hit a couple of threes. With less than a minute left in the game, Taylor got a “dunk put back” which lit the Pioneers final fire. They won 54-50. Taylor was the leading scorer for the Pioneers with 21 points. Taylor was asked after the game what he thought about his performance and he responded with “I’m not really worried about how I played, basketball is a team sport and we won this game as a team.”
The Pioneers ended the first round of conference 5-2. They will continue the second round of conference on Friday, January 22nd against the Pea Ridge Blackhawks.
