Southwestern Rebel varsity boys basketball coach B.J. McAlister came home to Switzerland County on Saturday night, as the former Pacer great brought his team to Vevay for a game against Switzerland County.
After delivering quite a scare early in the game, Switzerland County bounced back to post a 65-53 win.
It was a good homecoming for Coach McAlister, with a large crowd giving the coach a warm ovation when he was introduced; and as the game began, it looked like his players might add to that homecoming.
The Rebels scored the game’s first 14 points; shocking the Switzerland County faithful and the team early in the contest. Pacer coach Brian Bowen called a timeout with 5:17 to play in the opening quarter and his team down 9-0.
The timeout didn’t help much, and with 3:20 to play, Southwestern built a 14-0 lead as their fans rejoiced in the stands.
Kyle Green finally broke the Rebel run with a pair of freethrows with 3:11 to go – and those charities ended a charitable run for Southwestern.
With senior guard Mark Sharp standing in the corner being face guarded by a Rebel defender as part of a “box and one” defense; the Pacers went on a tear.
Junior Noah Hughes drilled a three-pointer and followed it with a traditional three-point play; Kyle Green hit a jumper and Kameron Pavy converted two freethrows to draw the Pacers with within two points, 14-12, at the end of the quarter.
The second quarter kicked off with Switzerland County tying the game on a basket by Kameron Pavy; and when Travis Tackett drilled a three-pointer with 5:31 to play, the Pacers had scored 17 straight points and had taken a three point lead.
Southwestern responded with a basket and a pair of freethrows to retake the lead by a point; but Switzerland County responded with a basket by Mark Sharp; a steal and layup from Travis Tackett; and a basket by Brennan Bragg to move out to a 23-18 advantage.
Southwestern scored two straight baskets to close to within one; but a three-pointer by Kyle Green pushed the lead out to 26-22 at the half.
Southwestern’s Tanner Mahoney opened the second half with a basket to narrow the lead to two; but Travis Tackett matched that and Noah Hughes followed with a three-pointer.
A Southwestern basket temporarily sliced the lead to five; but Kyle Green then hit a hot streak, converting two straight three-pointers to push the lead into double digits. He followed that with a freethrow; and when Travis Tackett connected on a jumper, the Pacers held a 40-26 lead with 3:45 to play.
Southwestern didn’t go away, as Tanner Mahoney converted a traditional three point play; but Switzerland County responded with another three-pointer and a pair of freethrows by Kyle Green to push the lead back to 16.
Both teams would trade buckets through the remainder of the quarter, with Switzerland County getting baskets from Brennan Bragg and Kameron Pavy; and with a period to play, the Pacers held a 49-35 lead.
The final stanza opened with Clay Meyer converting two freethrows; but that was followed by the Rebels going on a run of eight straight points to revive Southwestern hopes, down eight with 5:23 to play.
Kyle Green made a freethrow; but that was followed by a jumper from Franklin Totten that narrowed the lead to seven with just over four minutes to play.
Switzerland County then got a freethrow by Mark Sharp; a basket by Brennan Bragg; and a three-point play by Travis Tackett to again extend the lead to 13, 58-45.
From there the game was out of reach, and the Pacers finished things off with a pair of freethrows from Kyle Green; a freethrow by Noah Hughes; and baskets by Mark Sharp and Clay Meyer.
Final score: Switzerland County 65, Southwestern, 53.
It was a balanced offensive attack for the Pacers, as Kyle Green led the way with 22 points. Travis Tackett finished with 12 points; and Noah Hughes came off of the bench to have an outstanding game, ending with 10 points.
Brennan Bragg and Kameron Pavy each finished with six points; while Mark Sharp fought through the special defense devised to stop him to score five points, Clay Meyer added four.
Tanner Mahoney led Southwestern with 15 points; while Cory Hoagland added 12 points and Caleb Jones had 11.
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The Pacer jayvee captured a 47-28 win over Southwestern, as all 10 Switzerland County players on the roster scored.
Keegan Kincaid led the way with 12 points; while Danny Schira added seven points and Josh Hon and Tanner Ross had six points each. Tray Meyer and Blake Whitham each had four points; Adam Clark had three points; Zach O’Neal and Kendall Otter had two points each; and Damon Robbins finished with one point.