The Pioneer boys’ basketball team opened SEC play on Tuesday with an impressive 70-40 win over Bedford in a game that was really never in doubt. The Pioneers led 18-7 after the first quarter and 42-14 at halftime.
Pioneer outscored Bedford 17-12 in the third quarter. They made 19 of 39 field-goal attempts (49.2 percent) and 11 of 14 free-throw attempts in the win. The Pioneers outscored Bedford 25-3 in points off turnovers as their defense created plenty of offense in the game with 18 steals. Bedford had 27 turnovers against Pioneer’s pressure defense.
“I thought our defensive intensity was solid for 20 or so minutes,” said Pioneer Coach Rich Marion. “They run good stuff offensively and we did a good job of disrupting them. I also liked our getting out in transition on offense.
“We pushed, attacked inside out and made good decisions. We played unselfish overall, and that’s probably our best trait. We share it and have several guys capable of scoring double figures.”
Pioneer had five players score eight or more points.
Tyler Mutinda made 6 of 7 shots and 4 of 6 free throws to finish with a game-high 16 points. He also had six rebounds. Jordan Harrison knocked down 3 of 4 three-point shots and finished with 15 points.
Cole Treat had nine points and Micah Powell and Carson Strauss (four steals and five rebounds) each scored eight points. Nathan Freisthler had five points and eight rebounds and Nelson Sompa had four points, four assists and three steals.
Pioneer plays Thursday at Skyline.
