ROYAL CENTER —
Pioneer boys basketball coach Pat Skaggs was concerned about the athleticism of West Central entering Friday night’s game in Royal Center. It didn’t take long for Skaggs to see that he had some pretty good athletes on his team, too, as the Panthers easily turned away the Trojans 74-36.
The Panthers improved to 9-3 and 3-0 in the Midwest Conference. West Central dropped to 4-9 and 1-3.
The intensity by each team was evident early, but with the score tied at 4-4, the Panthers simply shifted their game into a higher gear. Pioneer went on an 18-0 run behind some bulls-eye shooting from Carter Skaggs and some very sticky defensive play. By the time the quarter ended the Trojans were dazed and on the ropes with the Panthers holding a commanding 24-9 lead.
“Fortunately for us we were able to get out to a quick start and make some shots early. But I really think the key to the game was our halfcourt defense was probably as solid as I’ve seen it all year,” Pat Skaggs said.
Pioneer turned up the defense even more in the second frame and the Trojans had difficulty getting looks at the basket. When they did get a quick look their shots just weren’t falling. Pioneer, on the other hand, opened the quarter with a 8-0 run to bump the lead to 32-9. West Central halted the Panther run at the 4:14 mark with their first points of the quarter. Back-to-back baskets by Pioneer big man Clayton Harvey forced the Trojans into taking a time out down 38-11. Going into the halftime break Pioneer was way ahead and showing no signs of a let-up leading 41-17.
When play resumed in the second half, the Panthers continued their dominating play. Brandon Scruggs and Matt Dorris began heating up on the offensive end of the floor while the Pioneer defense continued to be suffocating. At the 5:52 mark of the third Carter Skaggs showed the Pioneer faithful another part of his game with a breakaway dunk that brought the locals to their feet. West Central continued to struggle by scoring just four points in the quarter. Pioneer went on to a comfortable 59-21 lead entering the final quarter of play.
Things went from bad to worse for the Trojans when starter Michael Hamilton fouled out at the 6:31 mark. Pioneer started to empty its bench with nearly five minutes left after Carter Skaggs was fouled hard on a dunk attempt. With the reserves in the contest for the last half of the fourth the Panthers went on to the 74-36 win.
“We’ve got a great group of kids on this team. We’ve got a strong group of seniors and tonight, they all played the way we’re capable of playing. They just hustled and played hard and good things happen when they play like that,” added Pat Skaggs.
Pioneer finished the game with three players in double figures. The Panthers were led by Carter Skaggs with a game-high 31 points behind five made from long distance. Scruggs finished with 12 while Dorris chipped in 10. “The credit has to go to the guys on my team for finding me when I was open and for setting some great screens to free me up,” said Carter Skaggs. “West Central lost some good players to graduation and are kind of rebuilding this year, but we played pretty good tonight.”
Girls hoops
W. Central 47, Pioneer 23
For the second game in a row turnovers were the downfall for the Lady Panthers (5-12, 2-4 MWC).
Sarah Dorris led Pioneer with seven points. Mati DeWitt had five and Gabby Dunlap chipped in four.
Local Sports
Panthers trounce Trojans, move to 3-0 in MWC
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Logan baseball tops Harrison 8-0 to advance
Neither Harrison nor a 36-minute rain delay could slow down Logansport’s baseball team on Wednesday.
The Berries got a strong pitching performance from Kyle Jordan and broke open a close game with a five-run fifth inning in an 8-0 win over the Raiders in a Class 4A, Sectional 7 first-round game at Highland Park. -
SOFTBALL: Logan lets 9-run lead slip away in sectional loss to Jeff
Logansport’s softball team hovered around .500 this entire season, but the Berries knew they had the talent to contend for the always highly competitive Class 4A, Sectional 7 title.
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Kings begin sectional title defense with win over Northfield
It’s been an up and down season for the Lewis Cass softball team.
But the Kings were in postseason form in the opening game of the Class 2A Cass Sectional. They opened the defense of their sectional crown with a 4-2 win over Northfield. -
BOYS TRACK: Calisto claims sectional title
Logansport junior Alex Calisto was nearly in the identical spot he was in exactly one year ago.
But this time, he didn’t have to settle for second place. -
Redman perseveres
Timing can be everything.
Unfortunately for Logansport senior Seanna Redman, she suffered a devastating knee injury right in the middle of her senior year. -
GIRLS TRACK: Regional bound
The Logansport, Lewis Cass and Pioneer girls track teams made the long trek to Madison-Grant High School for action in the 2013 Madison-Grant sectional. Several area girls had successful nights and will be advancing to regional action.
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SOFTBALL: Berries bring intensity in win at Cass
Intensity and defense.
An abundance of the former and a lack of the latter made the difference in Monday night’s softball matchup between the Logansport Berries and the Lewis Cass Lady Kings. -
Trey Baseball: New Castle star leads sweep
There were approximately 30 Major League scouts on hand to watch New Castle star Trey Ball Saturday afternoon at Jim Turner Field.
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FRIDAY ROUNDUP: Panthers end Warriors’ MWC title streak in boys golf
Pioneer’s boys golf team took down Midwest Conference stalwart Winamac at the conference meet at Pond View G.C. on Friday.
The Panthers defeated the Warriors by five strokes, 338-343. The Panthers won their first MWC title since 2002. -
Zebras zip past Logan
Speed kills.
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