The Switzerland County boys basketball team traveled to Rising Sun Friday night and gained a conference win by a score of 62-58.
The Shiners scored first in the game with a three-point shot and a point from the foul line; but Switzerland County’s Mat Deaton opened the Pacer scoring with two baskets.
B.J. Shelton also added two baskets after that, and Travis Webster stole the ball and went down for a nice layup to give Switzerland County a 10-4 advantage.
The Shiners then responded by the adding another basket and a three-point shot to climb to within one of the Pacer lead, 10-9.
Switzerland County then took control and finished the first quarter with an offensive outburst that was keyed by buckets from Josh Snow, T.J. Sefton and B.J. Shelton — pushing the Pacers to a 20-9 lead at the end of the period.
The second quarter would also belong to the Pacers, with Rising Sun only managing to score two baskets and add three points at the line for the entire second stanza.
The Pacers stayed in control of the game, scoring several times — including a three-point basket by Travis Webster to end the half with Pacers leading 36-16.
Switzerland County went to the halftime break with a 20-point advantage, but in the two previous games that these two teams had played, the Pacers held big leads only to see them melt away into losses at the hands of the Shiners.
It nearly happened again Friday night.
In the third quarter the Shiners didn’t have a problem keeping up with the Pacers, with each team scoring 17 points in the quarter. Both teams countering each other with baskets, and the third quarter would end with the Pacers still leading thanks to the great first half, 53-33.
The Pacers looked like they were going to take control once again; scoring first in the fourth quarter on baskets by Ben Hickman and Travis Webster to expand the lead to 57-33.
With Switzerland County in control on the game through three quarters, the final period would belong to Rising Sun, as the Shiners took control over the final eight minutes — going on a scoring run that added 23 points to their total.
Pacer Kyle Green would add a basket in the middle of Shiner run, but Rising Sun suddenly pulled to within three points of the Pacers, 59-56, with only two minutes left in the game.
The Shiners fouled Chancey May in an attempt to get the ball back, sending the senior guard to the line. He connected on both freethrows, extending the Pacer lead back to five points, 61-56.
With less than a minute left on the clock, the Shiners took a trip to the foul line adding two points to their total and making the score 61-58.
The Pacers finished the game with Chancey May adding one more point at the line, giving Switzerland County a much-needed win, 62-58.
Leading scorer for the Pacer was B.J. Shelton with 11 points, and he also pulled down three rebounds. Ben Hickman had five rebounds and Travis Webster had three rebounds, and each contributed nine points. Chancey May had two rebounds and Mat Deaton had five rebounds they each had eight points.
Josh Snow had seven points and Kyle Green had six points, and each had two rebounds. T.J. Sefton had three rebounds and chipped in four points.
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The Pacers jayvee team won 36-27 Friday night. The leading scorer was Kyle Green with nine points and two rebounds. Jordan Pavy finished with seven points and three rebounds; and Brandon Otter had six points, five rebounds, and four assists.
Michael Haas had five points and two rebounds; while Aaron Moore added four points and four rebounds. Devon Armstrong had three points and finished with three steals; and Daniel Welch finished with two points while pulling down four rebounds.
— Debi Sefton