PawneeSports
02-15-2006, 08:35 AM
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Published: February 13, 2006 12:12 am
Pioneer player’s assists garner 2nd straight district title
Written by: Bruce Campbell, Staff Writer
LAHOMA — J.J. Fournier was not the headliner in Pioneer’s 66-49 victory over Waukomis Saturday in the Class A Area I District 3 boys basketball finals.
He scored only seven points, breaking a string of four straight games in double figures, including 20 points in an 82-79 loss at defending state champion Frontier Monday.
That was fine with him.
His value was seen in his passes inside to Phillip Easterly, who had a game-high 22 points, the sixth time this season he had scored 20 or more.
“When we’re playing against zones, I drive on the baseline and it really opens things up for Phillip,” Fournier said. “Phillip really works hard inside. He goes up pretty strong.
“I feel like my own role is to get a lot of assists when we play against zones. I don’t feel like I have to score a lot.”
Fournier’s importance Saturday was not lost on Mustang coach Brandon Gallagher.
“J.J. is a very unselfish, very underrated player,” Gallagher said. “He’s one of the better players in this area. I guarantee you that.”
Fournier said the Mustangs are 20-3 because his teammates have checked their egos at the door. All five starters have scored 17 or more points in a game at least once this season.
“We have real good chemistry,” Fournier said. “We like to share the ball real well. We don’t care who gets their name in the paper.”
Fournier is motivated by another factor. He failed to reach his long-term goal of playing on a state championship team in football when Pioneer lost to Morrison in the Class B final in the fall.
He figures a championship ring in basketball would be just as good.
“We expect to win in everything we play,” Fournier said. “We want to win it more now because of what happened in football. It really means something to us because it is one of our last sports.”
Fellow senior Jacob Hundley has played with a torn ACL to achieve that dream.
“We want to go out big,” Fournier said.
The district championship was the second straight for the Mustangs, who reached the state tournament for the first time in school history last season.
“This is a small part of what we want to accomplish, but we’re happy that we did it,” Fournier said.
The victory gave Pioneer 20 wins for the season, another small goal.
The big goal is the state tournament.
Pioneer will try to take another step toward that Thursday when the Mustangs face Oilton in the regional semifinals at 8 p.m. at Waukomis. A win would assure Pioneer a trip to the area tournament at the Chisholm Trail Expo Center Coliseum.
“We take the attitude that our backs are against wall,” Fournier said. “If we lose, we’re done. We don’t want to lose that momentum.”
Having gone to state before is beneficial.
“We feel like nothing has been given to us,” Fournier said. “Having been there before does help because we know what the atmosphere is like and how much fun it is to get there. It makes us want to get there even more.”
Especially since Pioneer has dropped from Class 2A to Class A.
“Everybody told me the Class A state tournament is the (most fun) place to be,” Fournier said. “We’ll find that out at the end of March.”
Pioneer, ranked No. 2 by Coaches Aid, might have gotten a preview of state Monday against Frontier.
“I felt like we didn’t play our best ball,” Fournier said. “We had some runs. They had some runs. We had a chance to win at the end. Hopefully, we’ll get another chance.”
NOTES: Waukomis’ boys will be playing Olive in the regional losers bracket quarterfinals Thursday on their home court. The last two years, the Chiefs won three games in the regional losers bracket to reach the area. ... Pioneer’s girls won their fourth straight district title with a 39-32 upset of Cimarron. The Lady Mustangs face Oilton in the regional semifinals at 6 p.m. Thursday. ...
Published: February 13, 2006 12:12 am
Pioneer player’s assists garner 2nd straight district title
Written by: Bruce Campbell, Staff Writer
LAHOMA — J.J. Fournier was not the headliner in Pioneer’s 66-49 victory over Waukomis Saturday in the Class A Area I District 3 boys basketball finals.
He scored only seven points, breaking a string of four straight games in double figures, including 20 points in an 82-79 loss at defending state champion Frontier Monday.
That was fine with him.
His value was seen in his passes inside to Phillip Easterly, who had a game-high 22 points, the sixth time this season he had scored 20 or more.
“When we’re playing against zones, I drive on the baseline and it really opens things up for Phillip,” Fournier said. “Phillip really works hard inside. He goes up pretty strong.
“I feel like my own role is to get a lot of assists when we play against zones. I don’t feel like I have to score a lot.”
Fournier’s importance Saturday was not lost on Mustang coach Brandon Gallagher.
“J.J. is a very unselfish, very underrated player,” Gallagher said. “He’s one of the better players in this area. I guarantee you that.”
Fournier said the Mustangs are 20-3 because his teammates have checked their egos at the door. All five starters have scored 17 or more points in a game at least once this season.
“We have real good chemistry,” Fournier said. “We like to share the ball real well. We don’t care who gets their name in the paper.”
Fournier is motivated by another factor. He failed to reach his long-term goal of playing on a state championship team in football when Pioneer lost to Morrison in the Class B final in the fall.
He figures a championship ring in basketball would be just as good.
“We expect to win in everything we play,” Fournier said. “We want to win it more now because of what happened in football. It really means something to us because it is one of our last sports.”
Fellow senior Jacob Hundley has played with a torn ACL to achieve that dream.
“We want to go out big,” Fournier said.
The district championship was the second straight for the Mustangs, who reached the state tournament for the first time in school history last season.
“This is a small part of what we want to accomplish, but we’re happy that we did it,” Fournier said.
The victory gave Pioneer 20 wins for the season, another small goal.
The big goal is the state tournament.
Pioneer will try to take another step toward that Thursday when the Mustangs face Oilton in the regional semifinals at 8 p.m. at Waukomis. A win would assure Pioneer a trip to the area tournament at the Chisholm Trail Expo Center Coliseum.
“We take the attitude that our backs are against wall,” Fournier said. “If we lose, we’re done. We don’t want to lose that momentum.”
Having gone to state before is beneficial.
“We feel like nothing has been given to us,” Fournier said. “Having been there before does help because we know what the atmosphere is like and how much fun it is to get there. It makes us want to get there even more.”
Especially since Pioneer has dropped from Class 2A to Class A.
“Everybody told me the Class A state tournament is the (most fun) place to be,” Fournier said. “We’ll find that out at the end of March.”
Pioneer, ranked No. 2 by Coaches Aid, might have gotten a preview of state Monday against Frontier.
“I felt like we didn’t play our best ball,” Fournier said. “We had some runs. They had some runs. We had a chance to win at the end. Hopefully, we’ll get another chance.”
NOTES: Waukomis’ boys will be playing Olive in the regional losers bracket quarterfinals Thursday on their home court. The last two years, the Chiefs won three games in the regional losers bracket to reach the area. ... Pioneer’s girls won their fourth straight district title with a 39-32 upset of Cimarron. The Lady Mustangs face Oilton in the regional semifinals at 6 p.m. Thursday. ...