The Switzerland County boys lost last Thursday to the Rising Sun Shiners in the last seconds of the game by a score of 53-52.
The Pacers played great in the first quarter, with B.J. Shelton starting with a basket. Ben Hickman followed that with a layup giving the Switzerland County Pacers a lead of 4-0.
Rising Sun then hit two baskets of their own tying up the game 4-4.
Pacer Ben Hickman scored once again; Zach Getz followed by two baskets; and Chancey May also added a basket for two points to expand the lead; while the Shiners only added a foul shot, trailing the Pacers now by a score of 12-5.
Rising Sun was then able to score a basket and added one more foul shot — ending the quarter with just eight points.
The Switzerland County Pacers finished the quarter with Ben Hickman going to foul the line and hitting one of two. T.J. Sefton followed that with a three-point shot and Chancey May also added a three-point shot ending the quarter 19-8.
B.J. Shelton started off the second quarter by scoring a basket for the Pacers, but Rising Sun followed with a shot of their own. That basket managed to break the Pacer scoring streak, but the Shiners were still trailing by 11 with a score 21-10.
Josh Snow and Travis Webster each scored for the Switzerland County Pacers giving them a stronger lead of 25-11; while the Shiners hit a foul shot and added a basket for a total of three more points on their side.
The Pacers countered that with three shots in a row, starting with Travis Webster with a three, Kyle Green for two, and Zach Getz up for two — all within a minute — giving the Pacers a 19-point lead, with a score of 32-13.
The Shiners returned with two shots of their own, and going to the foul line finishing the quarter 32-19.
During the third quarter the Pacers were outscored by the Shiners 13-9.
In the first minute of the quarter, Chancey May hit a basket and Travis Webster hit a three-pointer. Pacers did not score again until about half way through the quarter. The Shiners scored four times and added a foul shot, tightening the lead that the Pacers had to 37-28.
The Shiners would add four more points to their score by the end of the quarter; while Pacers Ben Hickman and Josh Snow each scored before the period came to a close. The Pacers were still leading — but now only with a nine point difference, with a score 41-32.
Rising Sun was first to score in the final quarter; and Ben Hickman followed with a basket of his own. Scoring went back and fourth for the first part of the quarter; with Rising Sun scoring and B.J. Shelton responding with a basket of his own.
The Shiners hit a basket, followed by a couple of foul shots and then hit another basket getting the spread between the two teams even closer now with a score 45-40, as Switzerland County clung to the lead.
Ben Hickman had a nice layup and followed that with a shot to push the Pacers out to a nine-point advantage; but the Shiners then added another point at the foul line to make the score 49-41.
With three minutes left in the game the Shiners hit a scoring streak and added seven points, narrowing the lead the Pacers had the entire game down to just a point with a score of 49-48.
Ben Hickman was then passed the ball inside by B. J. Shelton for a shot giving the Pacers a lead of three, 51-48. Ben Hickman was fouled but didn’t have any luck at the free throw line, missing both attempts. The Shiners responded once again, hitting a shot going back to a one point lead once again for the Pacers, 51-50.
With only 21 seconds left, T.J. Sefton was fouled and went to the line — hitting one for two of his shots to make the Pacer lead two points.
The Shiners scrambled downcourt with a final possession, and senior Shiner Nathan Keith got free at the top of the key and connected on a three-point basket — Rising Sun’s only three-pointer of the game — giving them the lead for the first time, 53-52.
The Pacers tried one last time to score.
With time ticking down and Switzerland County racing upcourt, Chancey May opted for a three-point shot in an attempt to win the game, but the shot was no good as the buzzer sounded.
That ended the game, with the Pacers handing the win over to the Shiners, 53-52.
A telling statistic for the game was that the Pacers were only 2-for-10 from the free throw line; while the Shiners were 10-for-19. Switzerland County also played short handed in the contest, as senior center Mat Deaton didn’t play due to illness although he was dressed and sitting on the bench to support his teammates.
Ben Hickman led Switzerland County with 15 points; while Travis Webster had eight points and Chancey May had seven. Zach Getz and B.J. Shelton each added six points; T.J. Sefton and Josh Snow each had four points; and Kyle Green chipped in two.
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The junior varsity team defeated Rising Sun by a score of 40-25.
The leading scorer for the junior varsity team was Jordan Pavy with 10 points; while Bryan Levell and Kyle Green each had seven points. Ryan Peters and Aaron Moore each had four points; Devon Armstrong chipped in three. Brandon Otter and Jim Abbott each had two points and Cliff Meyer chipped in one.