The Switzerland County Pacers had their winning streak stopped at seven last Friday night with a 48-47 loss to the Jac-Cen-Del Eagles.
The Pacers started out in control of the game scoring the first six points of the opening quarter before the Eagles were able to score against the Pacer defense. Mat Deaton, Travis Webster, and Chancey May all contributed to the lead; and the Pacers continued their outstanding play through the first eight minutes, and held a 16-10 lead at the end of the quarter.
After an outstanding first period offensively, the Pacers stumbled a bit in the second quarter, scoring only seven points.
Travis Webster hit a three-point shot and added a basket and Ben Hickman hit a basket near the end of the quarter, but those would be the only points that Switzerland County would put on the board. Jac-Cen-Del still had trouble with the Pacer defense, however, and were only able to score 10 points in the period, and both teams headed to the locker rooms with the Pacers leading 23-20.
“The boys played good defense the first half as they have all year but we had too many turnovers and that hurt us,” Coach David Todd said. “They were just not hitting as well as they should.”
The first six points in the third quarter from the Pacers came at the foul line; with Mat Deaton, T.J. Sefton and Travis Webster all connecting. The Pacers continued to be strong at the freethrow line, and were 7-for-9 at the stripe in the third quarter.
From the floor, however, the Pacers were still not able to connect on their shots — and also continued with turnovers that plagued them in the first half.
The Eagles scored several baskets and got a three-point shot from Tyler Bradshaw after the Pacers scored at the line; and the Eagles scored several more times to slice the Pacer lead to just two.
B.J. Shelton then scored for the Pacers; but the Eagle’s Tyler Bradshaw would add two more three-pointers. Usually not a high scorer, Tyler Bradshaw scored 13 points in the second half, including the three three-pointers, and those points helped spell the end of the Pacer winning streak.
Josh Snow and Chancey May added baskets, but the Eagles would outscore the Pacers in the quarter 20-12 and take the lead at the end of the third quarter, 40-35.
In the fourth quarter Josh Snow scored first and T.J. Sefton and B.J. Shelton each scored; but the Eagles answered each Pacer basket with one of their own, and as the time slipped away, the Eagles were still leading, 45-41.
The Pacers were trying to gain control and take possession of the ball by sending the Eagles to the line, but some key Jac-Cen-Del freethrows expanded the Eagle lead to 48-41.
With less than 30-seconds to go in the game, it was time for one last Switzerland County comeback.
T.J. Sefton connected on a three-point shot to cut the lead to four; and with just 11-seconds left Chancey May connected on a three-pointer that drew the Pacers to within one point, 48-47.
With less than 10-seconds left on the clock, the Pacer defense forced another turnover, and T.J. Sefton intercepted an Eagle pass and headed toward the Switzerland County basket with his eye firmly set on another Pacer win.
As T.J. Sefton entered the foul lane, the basketball game turned into a rugby scramble, with bodies hitting the floor in tangled piles of players. While the capacity crowd waited on an officials call — either a foul or jump ball — instead the referees stood by as the final seconds ticked away without making a call at all, and the Eagles escaped with the win, 48-47.
The Pacers played a good defensive game and did contain Brandon Gehl, holding the Jac-Cen-Del player to only seven points on the night.
“Our goal was to keep them below 50 points for the night, and our defense did that,” Coach Todd said. “We played a good team and we can’t let this effect us, as we get ready to go into the sectional.”
Leading the Pacers in scoring was Chancey May with 14 points, including two three-pointers. Travis Webster finished with nine points and had a three-pointer; and T.J. Sefton added seven points and also had a three-pointer. Mat Deaton finished the game with six points; while B.J. Shelton and Josh Snow each finished with four; and Ben Hickman chipped in three points.
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The jayvee team defeated Jac-Cen-Del by a score of 38-35 Friday night.
Leading the way for the Pacers was Aaron Moore with 10 points; while Jordan Pavy contributed seven points. Kyle Green and Mark Sharp each finished with six; Michael Haas added five; and Devon Armstrong had four points.
Jordan Pavy also led the team with five rebounds; while Mark Sharp added three assists and three steals.
The junior varsity team wraps up its season tomorrow (Friday) night against Madison.