To open their postseason, the Pioneers would square off against the Thunderbirds of Hays-Lodgepole. The Pioneers were hoping to bounce back from their last game of the regular season, resulting in a loss. In the first quarter of play it would be Junior Kody Strutz who would help the offensive attack putting in 15 points in the first eight minutes of the game by getting good looks inside that would eventually start opening things up for the rest of the Pioneers. After one-quarter of play, Big Sandy would lead 24-7, but the Thunderbirds wouldn’t go away in the first half as they started to get their offensive to click as both teams would go back and forth in the second quarter resulting in a score of 42-28 at the halftime break. In the second half, where the Pioneers have been solid almost all year long, put up one of their best quarters of basketball on both ends of the floor and would outscore the Thunderbirds 31-8 in the third to push their lead 73-35. In the final quarter of play, the running clock would come into effect and benefit the Pioneers as they would rest their starters for a big game against Box Elder. Final Score Big Sandy 90 Hays Lodgepole 50. Braydon Cline led the Pioneers with 30, including 5 three-pointers, Kody Strutz added in 28, and Lane Demontiney put up 14.
On the Semifinal night of District 9C, it was a packed house inside Havre High School Gymnasium. In a highly intense matchup against the Box Elder Bears. The winner of this matchup would punch their ticket to the Divisional Tournament in Great Falls; This contest was full of fouls in the first half, with both teams being in double bonus halfway through the second quarter, which led to a lot of foul shots for both teams. In the first quarter, the Pioneers would be the team to jump out quick on the Bears, but everyone knew that Box Elder wouldn’t just roll over as they would fight their way back into it time and time again, ending the first quarter with a score of 19-14 in favor of the Pioneers. In the second quarter, a lot of the same free throws on both ends and each team delivering blows. In the final few minutes of the quarter, the Pioneers would finally open their lead to double figures going into the half with a score of 41-30. In the second half of play, it was Box Elder’s turn to come out of the half hot and would slowly chip away at the Pioneer lead, as the Bears would try to speed up the Pioneers and would start to pick up some easy baskets. After three-quarters of play, the lead was cut to 8 and would be cut down to just one with six minutes to go leading to a Pioneer timeout. Right out of the timeout, the Bears would gain the lead, but not for very long as a couple of big buckets from Cline and Demontiney would push them ahead in the closing minutes. However, the Bears didn’t want to give up yet as they would answer back almost every possession and keep it within one possession. Down the stretch, a big bucket from Wylee Snapp would give the Pioneers a 70-66 lead, but a quick layup for the Bears would cut it to two, then two free throws for Box Elder as they would go 1-2, putting the score at 70-69. Down the stretch, it would come down to hitting free throws for the Pioneers, and Sophomore Lane Demontiney did just that going 4-4 to finish the game and would be enough to give the Pioneers a chance in the District Championship. Final Score Big Sandy 74 Box Elder 72. Lane Demontiney led pioneers with 22 points, Junior Braydon Cline would chip in 21 in the win, and Kody Strutz would help the scoring attack with 17.
It was championship night, and this was a highly anticipated contest against the CJI Hawks, two teams who had battled it out twice in the regular season splitting their matchup, which would make this third contest the rubber match between these two teams. Once again, a packed house would not be less than entertained as both teams were ready for battle. In the first quarter, something that both groups had not done in the tournament was score very many points in the first quarter of action as either side had to get the championship game jitters out; as the first quarter ended, CJI would lead 8-2. In the second quarter, both teams started two shoot the ball a little better as a couple of threes from Demontiney and Cline would try to get the Pioneers going offensively. Still, the Hawks continued to respond with threes of their own, and the lead would be 6 going into halftime. Going into the second half, both teams were solid on the defensive end, not giving up anything easy, but second-chance points in the third for the Hawks would not allow the Pioneers to cut into the deficit. As the third quarter winded down, Big Sandy knew they needed a big 4th quarter to find a way to come out of this one on top. The Pioneers started applying pressure which would cause the Hawks to speed up a little and throw the ball away, which would allow the Pioneers to knot the contest up at 33 thanks to a Wylee Snapp steal and finish on the other end.
In the closing minutes, tempers flew for about everyone in Havre High School as the championship was on the line, and a few controversial calls would send CJI to the foul line. They would sink free throws and eventually win the 38-33 win over the Pioneers. Braydon Cline led the Pioneers with 14, and Lane Demontiney had 10. The Pioneers would come out of the 9C with the second place trophy and find themselves in the Divisional Tournament in Great Falls. The Pioneers will face Roy-Winifred at 9:30 a.m.on Thursday the 24th. Come out and support your Big Sandy Pioneers. We hope to see you there. Go, Pioneers!
