Pioneers rebound to defeat Susquehanna Township 61-47

With about 18 hours separating the final buzzer from last night and the tip today, the L-S boys basketball team did not have much time to dwell on their first loss of the season. And Coach John Achille is happy about that.
Luke Beers was key for the Pioneers, notching 17 points
Today, the Pioneers started strong, and fought through some obvious fatigue to defeat Susquehanna Township, who played like a much better team than their 3-9 record would indicate.

Featuring a press attack that relied on making some key shots, Susquehanna Towsnhip fell behind by 12 early, but battled back to trail by only four at the end of the first quarter.


Susquehanna Township tied the game early in the second quarter at 15, but a quick sequence featuring some fast break points for the Pioneers gave them an advantage they would not relinquish. Despite the fast break, which obviously challenged the Pioneers given that they played an afternoon game after a tough night game, the Pioneers held strong, and got to the rim with remarkable frequency, something with which they struggled yesterday.

Luke Beers scored 12 of his 17 points in the first half, and L-S led 32-22 at intermission.

L-S began with a strong start in the second half, especially on defense, holding Susquehanna Township scoreless for the first five minutes of the third quarter. Meanwhile, Jake Groff had a pair of layups, and Ben Sandberg had a pair of dunks in the quarter, helping the Pioneers open a 16-point advantage at one point before Susquehanna Township scored five points in the final minute to close the deficit to 11 heading into the fourth.


It was a strong team effort for the Pioneers
The Pioneers started that quarter well too, burning clock by holding the ball. Jordan Boynton and Matt Achille scored in the first two minutes, the first points of the game for Achille, who instead made some excellent passes to create opportunities for his teammates around the basket throughout the game. The remainder of the fourth quarter featured some press defense from the Indians; the Pioneers handled it pretty well, and made free throws to ice the game, ultimately winning 61-47.

Ben Sandberg tied Beers with 17 points, while Connor Brown added nine, and Jordan Boynton and Isaac Beers contributed five.

Coach Achille was pleased with his team's victory.

"We've got to keep pushing," he says. "I told my guys, 'If you want to be a championship team, you have to play hard.' ... They gutted it out."

YouTube playlist with videos from the game
Google Photos gallery of game photos

--Benjamin Pontz, LSNews.org Editor-In-Chief

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