Sophomore, Lane Demontiney (3), putting points on the board.
The Pioneers started their week on the road to face off against the Longhorns of Fort Benton, the first of three conference games of the week. Like the previous weekend, the Pioneers found themselves in a hard-fought battle in the first half of play; at the halftime break, the Longhorns had a 19-17 edge over the Pioneers, but the Pioneers held their own and kept the contest close. After three quarters, the Longhorn lead was three. The Pioneers needed a big quarter in the fourth if they wanted to come out of this game on the winning side, and the Pioneers did just that coming up with twenty points in the fourth quarter, including four clutch free throws from sophomore Lane Demontiney. That would seal the 48-44 victory for the Pioneers. The Pioneers were led by Lane Demontiney with 17 points, and right behind was Braydon Cline put in 16 points.
In Friday's contest was the home opener for the Pioneers, and they were set to match up with the Sugarbeeters of Chinook. More of the same type of contest was in the works as the Pioneers were in yet another tough battle with another formidable physical opponent. The Pioneers jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter of action with a score of 11-4, but the Sugarbeeters would cut the lead down to five at the half with a score of 21-16. The Beeters would cut the lead to only one coming out of the half. Now suddenly, we have a ball game that will come down to the wire. The Pioneers would start the fourth quarter of play with the hot hand as both Strutz and Cline hit back-to-back threes to push the lead to seven. Chinook would respond by cutting back at the lead down to just two to putting the score at 42-40. A pair of free throws for Lane Demontiney would ice the game giving the Pioneers the 44-40 win. Wylee Snapp would lead the Pioneers with 16 points, and Braydon Cline would chip in 12.
In the third and final contest of the weekend, the Pioneers would host the Thunderbirds of Hays-Lodgepole. Another 9C conference matchup saw the Thunderbirds at the end of one with a one-point edge over the Pioneers. Adjustments were made, and the Pioneers defense really stepped up in the second, holding them to only two points. The Pioneers held on to a 20-16 lead at the half. After the intermission, the offense for Big Sandy started to click, and the lead grew to a 36-24 advantage for the Pioneers. Big Sandy would finish off the game strong, allowing the bench to see some minutes at the end of the contest. As the game's final buzzer sounded, the Pioneers had picked up their fifth straight win, With a final score of 54-38. Pioneers move to 5-0 and 3-0 in 9C conference play-a big night for Junior Braydon Cline, who tallied 30 points along with ten from Wylee Snapp. Pioneers will have one more game before the winter break facing the Bearcats of D-G-S on Monday, December 20.
