As we wind down the regular season for high school boys basketball in Northwest Oklahoma, one team stands out in my mind-the Pioneer Mustangs. After Saturday night’s thrashing they put on the Pond-Creek Hunter Panthers to claim the Skeltur Tournament championship by a score of 57-38. The tone was set in the first quarter when Pioneer went on a 17-2 run to close the quarter with a 19-7 lead. From that point, it became glaringly obvious the confidence level was at an all-time high for the Mustangs. Their man-to-man defense put the Panthers on edge the whole game and wouldn’t allow them any room to breathe. To hold that group of Brady Krittenbrink, Tucker van Dyke, Mac Styles, and Zach Rayner, just to name a few, along with the other great players on that squad to just 38 points is quite an accomplishment. Pond-Creek Hunter only has 2 losses. But this sets up what could be something bigger for Pioneer.
I see so many high school girls and boys team on a weekly basis and I have to say the team that keeps standing out in my mind that could make a deep tournament run is the Pioneer boys. One reason is their defense. They close out on shooters better than any defense I have seen so far. When you try to drive to the basket, there is someone there to block your shot (i.e. Colby Koontz) or a double team that makes you travel or throw the ball out of bounds.
The next thing to like is their humble mindset instilled by their head coach Brandon Gallagher. He’s a veteran coach in his 14th season and has so much wisdom to share. Every time I have spoken to him, it has been the same message: We’re playing well but there is a lot we can do better. At one point in the Pond-Creek Hunter game early in the first half Saturday, he called a time out and was clearly upset with the way his guys were playing and his face was as red as a strawberry. Since he is so soft-spoken most of the time, it really sends a message when his emotions boil to the surface. Based on the result, they clearly responded. The players always seem to respond by picking each other up when someone’s having an off night.
On January 13th, Tom Nelson and I were at Pioneer to call the Pioneer vs. Crescent doubleheader. I had not seen Brett McNaughton struggle the way he struggled that night. He was 0 of 7 from 3-point range, but the slack was more than picked up everywhere else. Claye Hammock scored 15 and Derek Gabriel scored 19 to help secure a 63-47 win. And that’s just one example of how this team picks each other up when the chips were down. Earlier in the season, McNaughton was the one picking every body else up when Gabriel, Hammock, or Garrett Sharp were having off nights. It’s just another display of the give-and-take this team shows along with their selflessness. Their #4 ranking in class 2A is justified and it will only get better as the season goes on.
And as always folks, CTB Sports is the place to get quality, professional high school sports coverage in northwest Oklahoma. Games can be heard on 95.7 KXLS, 1390 KCRC, or 107.1 KNID. Come on back to ctbsports.com anytime to listen to the archive of games broadcast in the past year. We’ll keep you informed as to where we’ll be in the playoffs coming up too.
