What started out as a rout got a little too close for comfort by the end of the game, but Switzerland County claimed a Homecoming victory last Friday night 59-52 over New Washington.
The Pacers, playing in front of a packed house, opened hot, reeling off the game’s first nine points. Kyle Green had eight of those on two three-pointers and a deuce; and Mark Sharp provided a freethrow.
After New Washington got on the board with a freethrow of its own, Switzerland County went right back to work, getting a traditional three-point play from Kyle Green, a basket by Devon Armstrong, and a three-pointer by Devon Armstrong to open up a 17-1 advantage with less than three minutes gone in the game.
New Washington called a timeout to settle itself, and responded with five straight points. Brandon Otter and Brennan Bragg each converted for Switzerland County; and after New Washington made a pair of charities, Brennan Bragg scored again to make the lead 15 points.
A late freethrow and basket by New Washington made the score 23-12 in favor of the Pacers after one period.
The second quarter opened with the teams trading baskets. Switzerland County got a score from Brandon Otter; and after the Mustangs closed to within nine at 25-16, Kyle Green hit another three-pointer and that was followed by buckets from Travis Tackett and Daniel Welch to again increase the lead to 32-16.
The Mustangs managed a freethrow and a three-pointer over the remainder of the half, and Devon Armstrong’s three-pointer in the final minute of the half gave the Pacers a 35-20 lead.
Things seemed to favor the Pacers as the second half got underway, with Kyle Green scoring again; but New Washington staged a run of seven straight points to climb to within 10. After Mark Sharp made two freethrows, the Mustangs got two freethrows as well, and suddenly the lead was shrinking too quickly for Pacer fans.
Kyle Green allowed everyone to breath more easily with a string of four straight points; and that was followed by a bucket and a freethrow from Brandon Otter to push the lead back to 17.
New Washington again wouldn’t go away, and they scored the quarter’s final five points to narrow the gap to 46-34 with a quarter to go.
After Kyle Green scored again to open the period, it was matched by the Mustangs, who seemed to be gaining momentum.
That was dashed by a basket from Brennan Bragg, a freethrow by Clay Meyer, and another basket by Kyle Green, and Pacer coach Brian Bowen began to substitute in order to get all of his players into the Homecoming game.
New Washington posted a run of seven straight points to get back within 10; but Mark Sharp made three key freethrows to seal the win. The Mustangs got back to within six with time running out; and senior Codey Turner converted a freethrow in the game’s waning seconds to provide the final margin, 59-52.
Kyle Green’s 24 points led the way for Switzerland County, while Devon Armstrong added eight. The trio of Mark Sharp, Brennan Bragg, and Brandon Otter each had seven; while Travis Tackett and Daniel Welch had two each and Clay Meyer and Codey Turner each chipped in one.
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In the junior varsity game, Switzerland County defeated New Washington by a score of 45-38.
Travis Tackett led the way with 12 points and nine rebounds in the win; while Justin Reagan was also in double figures with 10.
Noah Hughes and Tray Meyer each had eight points; Tanner Ross and Danny Schira had two points each; and Kendall Otter, Corey McFarland, and Kameron Pavy each contributed one point.