In a game that Switzerland County varsity coach B.J. McAlister says that his team showed up “physically, but not mentally” ready to play; the Pacers suffered their first loss of the season on Friday night with a 65-60 road loss to South Dearborn.
The game was closely contested throughout the night, with the Knights taking a 21-13 lead after the first quarter break.
The Pacers got strong play in that opening period from Alex Curran with seven points; while Clint Swanson had four points in the opening quarter and Austin Clark added two.
Down eight, the Pacers bounced back a bit in the second quarter, outscoring the Knights by a 14-10 count to go into the halftime break down by just four. That second stanza also highlighted the Switzerland County offensive balance, as Chase Ritch had five points including a three-pointer; Clint Swanson continued his outstanding play with four more points in the quarter; Trevor Smith and Braden Burk had two points each; and T.J. White chipped in a point.
Switzerland County’s offense erased that four-point deficit in the third quarter, as two three-pointers from Braden Burk and another trey from Chase Ritch spotlighted a big quarter offensively that saw the Pacers outscore their hosts in the period by a 23-18 margin.
Switzerland County got six points from Trevor Smith in the period; four points from Alex Curran; and T.J. White and Clint Swanson each had a basket.
After fighting their way out of an eight-point hole after one quarter; with one quarter left to play, Switzerland County found itself in the lead, 50-49.
But after fighting their way up and out of the hole, Switzerland County couldn’t sustain that momentum in the final quarter, as South Dearborn won the period by a 16-10 count – and with it the game, 65-60.
In that final quarter, five different players each scored two points for the Pacers: T.J. White, Trevor Smith, Clint Swanson, Austin Clark, and Chase Ritch.
One bright spot was the offensive balance that Switzerland County showed, placing four players in double figures.
Clint Swanson led the Pacers with 12 points; while Alex Curran finished with 11 and Chase Ritch and Trevor Smith each had 10.
Braden Burk had eight points in the game; T.J. White had five; and Austin Clark finished with four.
Taylor Weston and Collier Holtegel led South Dearborn, finishing with 19 points each; and Austin Miller was in double figures with 12.
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In the junior varsity game, Switzerland County defeated South Dearborn by a score of 44-24.
Nathan Hunter led the Pacers with 13 points and four rebounds; while Riley Phagan was in double figures with 11 points, four assists, and three rebounds.
Ben Curran had eight points, four rebounds, and three blocks; Zach Whitaker had five points; Justus Powell had three points and seven rebounds; and Nolan Armstrong and Tristen Bolton each added two points.