The Switzerland County Pacers fought hard last Friday evening in their regular season ending Senior night game against the Madison Cubs; but ended with a 78-50 loss.
The Pacers kept up with the Cubs in the first quarter with baskets from seniors Mat Deaton, Ben Hickman and Josh Snow; moving into the lead at one point; but the first quarter would end with the Cubs leading 16-11.
The Pacers played a strong game, but the Cubs were able to keep the lead, outscoring the Pacers 17-10 in the second period. Senior Pacers Zach Getz and Chancey May each hit three-point shots in the second quarter; while Travis Webster added a bucket and two at the line, ending the first half of the game with Switzerland County trailing by a score of 33-21.
In the second half, the Cubs continued their scoring run, while the Pacers fought hard to get every point they could manage. Josh Snow added six points in the third quarter; and senior B.J. Shelton was able to connect for one at the foul line. Zach Getz was also able to gain three points at the line during the last quarter and chip in a basket.
Even though the game showed the Cubs ahead and winning the game the Pacers fought hard and never gave up, making it an exciting game.
Senior Michael Otter had some playing time at the end of the fourth quarter; and an appreciative crowd chanted for rehabbing senior Cody Peters to get on the floor at the end of the contest. Cody Peters has been supporting his team from the bench all season due to a knee injury, and entered his first game of the season with six-seconds left and was able to attempt a shot — much to the delight of fans and his teammates.
Despite giving up 78 points, Switzerland County still finished with the best defensive scoring average in school history, allowing just 52.6 points per game.
“Our focus coming in was that we had won 7-of-8 and we weren’t going to do anything differently for Madison ,” Coach David Todd said. “This was a chance for us to compete against a very good team and we didn’t back down. Our mind set is completely different than last year and this group is ready for the sectional.”
Josh Snow was the top scorer for the Pacers on the night, finishing with 10 points, and he also had four rebounds. Mat Deaton had nine points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots; Zach Getz finished with eight points; and Travis Webster chipped in six points and five rebounds despite recovering from the flu. T.J. Sefton finished with five points and four assists.
Chancey May and Kyle Green each finished with three points; while Ben Hickman added two points while rehabbing an injured ankle. B.J. Shelton and Aaron Moore each chipped in one point in the game.
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The Pacer jayvee team ended its season with a win against Madison, 52-47.
“This is my fourth year and it is the first time the jayvee Pacers team beat the Madison Cubs,” Coach Brian Bowen said. “This game was the high point of the season.”
The team took the lead right away in the first quarter and had some great rebounding during the entire game. The first quarter ended with the Pacers leading 11-2. In the second quarter, the Pacers continued scoring and headed to the locker room at halftime with the lead, 28-16.
The second half of the game saw Madison try to narrow the lead, but did not succeed as the Pacers continued with a great offensive and defensive game; finishing the contest with the win, 52-47.
The jayvee team ended the season 5-1 in the conference and tied for first with Southwestern; overall the team ended the year with a mark of 13-6.
“The team had some ups and downs getting shots during the season but they worked hard,” Coach Bowen said. “The team really showed improvement as the year progressed.”
Jordan Pavy ended the season with 10 points to lead the team, and also had 13 rebounds. Mark Sharp finished with 11 points; and Kyle Green and Aaron Moore chipped in 10 points each. Aaron Moore also had seven rebounds.
Brandon Otter added six points while Michael Haas chipped in three points, and had the most assists with three.