Junior, Kade Strutz (33) drives torward the basket in Hays Saturday.
Senior Jeremiah Genereux (23) shoots to score.
Senior, Ryan Roth (2) jumps to hit the basket during the tough game against HLP.
A three-game winning streak for the Big Sandy boys on the hardwood met a buzzsaw in the form of the relentless Chinook Sugarbeeters Thursday.
The Pioneers recovered from a 75-43 defeat to complete a season sweep of Hays-Lodgepole Saturday, winning 51-43.
At home against Chinook, Big Sandy did not give the Beeters the same run for their money that they did in an earlier road contest.
"We just seemed unmotivated. We played so tough in Chinook," Pioneers coach Thomas Dilworth lamented. "I don't know if we're just nervous. We've got to figure it out, though, They're not that much better than us."
The Pioneers seemed to have no answer for Sugarbeeter big man Reese Elliot at 6 feet, 7 inches tall. When Elliot was not devastating underneath, the Beeters could rely on Ethan Bell for perimeter shooting, a steady hand at the free throw line and unstoppable drives underneath.
Big Sandy trailed 31-15 at the break and in the second half, things only got worse, not better.
"Not having (senior) Brock (Proulx) kills us," Dilworth said. "We don't have anybody else physical like he is."
Digging a hole early against a team like Chinook put Big Sandy in a tough spot.
"You can't get down early. It doesn't work," Dilworth said. "They're well-coached. They've been playing together for a long time."
Yet Big Sandy bounced back when they went to Hays and maintained their position in the upper half of the 9C standings. Senior Ryan Roth took over the game in the fourth quarter and scored 10 of his game-high 23 points. That broke open a contest in which the Pioneers held just a 20-19 edge at halftime. Junior Kade Strutz and freshman brother Kody Strutz each added 9 points for Big Sandy in the win. Seniors Clint Darlington and Jeremiah Genereux tallied 6 and 4, respectively.
The Pioneers (5-4, 7-5) go to Denton in a rematch of a thriller earlier this season at the Big Sandy gym. Junior varsity tips off a 4:30 p.m. and the varsity plays at 7:30. Game times are the same for a home matchup with 9C frontrunner Fort Benton at home on Saturday.
