The Pioneer Basketball team played some tough teams this weekend in Cascade and Turner. The boys lost to Cascade by 27 points with a final score of 47-74 and then turned around to play Turner and lost by 24 points with a final score of 42-66. One thing is for sure: when you watch these boys, they play with heart. It doesn’t matter if they are down by 2 or 20; they are still hustling after every loose ball, crashing the boards for every rebound, and running the floor back in transition.
The Pioneers made a statement early against Cascade by crashing the boards, including some big boards from Karter Jurenka, Jayton Ophus, and Jaesun Yirsa.
Team Stats vs. Cascade:Rebounds: 27 with Jaesun having 12, Free throws: 4/4, Steals: 9 with Karter having 4, Assists: 12 with Eyon having 4, and Turnovers: 24.
The Pioneers then turned around and played Turner, and Turner really made the Pioneers work for their baskets. Turner loved running the floor and got some easy buckets off of some fast-break layups. The Pioneers had a nice play from a backdoor cut from Eyon and a great pass from Aidan. Karter had a nice take and 3-pointer as well, and Aidan also scored a 3-pointer. The Pioneers went down 10-24 after the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Jaesun had a nice board and bucket with an AND1. Jayton and Braxton had some big boards, and Tommy had some great passes. Aidan scored on two three-pointers, and Braxton had a nice bucket as well. The Pioneers went into halftime down by 17 points with a score of 23-40.
The Pioneers continued to work hard the last two quarters but just couldn’t get back in it. Turner did very well at knocking down their shots and sunning the floor. The Pioneers got a lot of effort from every player on the floor, but unfortunately, they ended up losing by 24 points with a score of 42-66.
Team Stats vs Turner: Rebound: 38 with Jaesun having 8, Free throws: 3/5, Steals: 5 with Karter having 3, Assists: 10 with Aidan having 5, and Turnovers: 18
Although the Pioneers lost both games, the difference between the first time they played these two teams and last weekend was a significant improvement. They continue to improve and are doing better at playing team ball.
