LEBANON — There is a lot of firepower in the Pioneer lineup. Lebanon will be difficult to beat when they shoot it well and play a complete game. On Tuesday, the Pioneer boys put everything together and rolled to a 76-55 win over Grundy at Charles C. Long Gymnasium.
“We played four quarters tonight instead of just two,” first-year Lebanon coach Scotty Boyd said. “We’ve had good quarters in the first two games, and then we’ve had bad quarters. All four quarters tonight, we were pretty good.”
Athletic Lebanon post Mike Reece had a big impact. Thoughts still lingered with Reece from a last-second 55-53 victory by the Golden Wave to end Lebanon’s season in regional play on the same court last season.
“I’ve been thinking about that playoff loss since it happened,” stated Reece. “I immediately started weightlifting and getting back in the gym, it’s stuck with me ever since. It feels good to win with this team this year and to defeat Grundy. They are a heck of a team, well coached with Coach [Brian ‘Doc’] Looney, this win is sweet.”
There were four lead changes early. Caden Boyd drove in for a layup to put the Pioneers up 9-7 with 3:11 to play in the first frame, and they would never relinquish the lead. They led by eight at the end of the first and held a 34-23 advantage at the half.
There was no quit in the Golden Wave. Caleb Conaway scored 11 of Grundy’s first 12 points in the third quarter to give them a spark. When Conaway dropped a floater in the lane, they were back in the game, trailing only 39-35 with just under four minutes to play in the third.
Andy Lambert hit a jumper for the Pioneers, Reece scored inside, then came the four-point possession for Lebanon when Boyd made a foul shot and missed the second. Reece grabbed the offensive board, stuck it back in, and was fouled. He made the foul shot, and the Pioneers seized the momentum back.
“We closed to four,” Coach Looney said. “There was a sequence. We fouled them. They made a free throw and missed the next one but got the rebound, a put-back, and a foul. That sequence killed us and swung the momentum.”
Reece, who had five points in the first half, went on a tear, adding 18 in the second half to finish with a game-high 23 points. He also snagged 15 boards, with four assists and three steals. What was the change at halftime?
“Coach got my attention, he got me going,” said Reece. “Everything was positive. I couldn’t ask for a better team. We have some new players, so we were working on communication early, but now we’re playing together, and you can see how good we are when we play as a team. I think we can compete with anyone, I couldn’t be prouder.”
Led by Reece, Lebanon made 56 percent of their shots, scoring 22 points in the final eight minutes to end it with a surge.
“Mike had a huge second half,” Coach Boyd said. “He missed some stuff in the first half, we talked about playing through contact, finishing, and not worrying about getting a shot blocked. Mike finished everything in the second half.”
Caden Boyd had a strong performance with 18 points and eight assists for the Pioneers. Lambert contributed 12 points with five boards and five assists.
“We had been waiting for a breakout shooting game,” remarked Boyd. “We’ve got good shooters, they struggled the first two games. A lot of people were questioning how we ran our offense, but I believe in these guys. We’re going to keep shooting, and hopefully, we will have more nights like tonight.”
Jonah Looney led the Wave with 19 points. Conaway (15) and Landon Johnson (11) were also in double figures.
“Hat’s off to Lebanon, they are a great team,” stated Coach Looney. “To me, they are the team to beat in Class 2, in my opinion. I haven’t seen Graham, but Lebanon has what it takes. Lebanon has good shooting, even off the bench. They might be missing some size, but that’s the only thing they’re missing. If you shoot the ball like they did tonight, it doesn’t matter.”
Grundy has a strong team, too. They have played a torrid early season schedule.
“I might have over did it with the non-district schedule,” Looney said. “We’ve played Pike Central, Ridgeview, and Lebanon; of course, we’ve lost all three. I hope it gets us ready to go by February. I’m a firm believer if you want to be the best team come tournament time, you have to play some tough teams. In the end, this doesn’t matter. What counts is when you get down to the district and region tournaments.”
GIRLS
The girls’ game went in the other direction, with the Lady Wave pulling away for a 47-40 victory.
Lebanon led 28-27 going to the fourth quarter. Sophia Belcher scored in the paint and added a put-back to give Grundy a spark.
“This is one of Sophia’s better games,” said coach Loni Webb. “She was strong and more controlled under the basket. Our other big Amber [Dotson] played great defensively against Lebanon’s number 11 [Lia Beck]. I thought both our bigs did great.”
The Pioneers came up empty on their first five possessions in the fourth, missing three shots with two turnovers. Grundy outscored Lebanon 20-12 in the final eight minutes.
“We moved the ball and weren’t forcing anything,” Webb said. “We ran the floor and took the open shot. We’re young, but they want to play, and they want to win.”
Kate Bostic (13 points) and Belcher (10) led the way offensively for Grundy.
Chloe Couch paced the Pioneers with 14 points, including two treys.
“We scrapped and battled,” Lebanon coach Rex Parker said. “We had too many turnovers, driving in and shooting into their arms. We didn’t have a good game offensively, but our defense kept us in it. Grundy hit some shots down the stretch.
“I’m proud of how we battled, Grundy has a good team.”