9C Extra: Big Sandy boys working on a Pioneer Revival

The Big Sandy Pioneers have spent the past few years rebuilding and, even though they suffered a heartbreaking loss in the opening round of the District 9C tournament against North Star, the arrow is pointing up.

And for most of the day Thursday, it looked like Big Sandy was going to advance to the semifinals for the first time in years. Even with a loss, though the Pioneers still have a chance to advance to the Northern C Divisional tournament. Either way, Big Sandy is one of the youngest teams in the conference and they should be back in contention soon.

"These guys have fought through adversity all year," Big Sandy head coach Thomas Dilworth said after losing to North Star. "We have five upperclassmen and four eighth-graders. Our program is based on character first, and adversity builds character, and this will help us build that. You know we missed some shots, got some fouls and you have to give credit to North Star, but we aren't done yet. We are still looking at divisionals."

The road to Great Falls got much more difficult for the Pioneers, who will need to win three straight games to advance to the divisional tournament for the first time in years. Their mission will start this morning with loser-out action and if they are successful, they will need to win two games Saturday. Yet, after finishing 7-7 during the regular season and beating most of the teams in the conference, anything is still possible.

"We are not finished by any means," Dilworth said. "We still have a chance this weekend and this is not the last that you have seen of this kids I can tell you that."

One player who has been a critical part of the rebuild in Big Sandy is guard Ryan Roth, who is one of the Pioneers leading scorers. The junior has been starting since his freshman season and he put together multiple 20-point outings in each of his three seasons with Big Sandy. While he fouled out in the loss to North Star, Roth said the big-game atmosphere was exciting.

"It was a fun game to play in," Roth said. "We had a 16-point lead and we just couldn't finish it. We had some mistakes and things, but I think we should have a good chance tomorrow if we can get past that, then our goal is still divisionals."

One obstacle will be that the Pioneers will be without one of their star players in Brock Proulx who injured his arm. He was knocked out of the loss to North Star and looks done for the rest of the 9C tournament. Without him, Roth will have to carry much of the scoring load, while others like Kade Strutz, Jeremiah Genereux and even eighth-grader Crawford Terry will need to help pick up the slack. Big Sandy actually doesn't have a single senior on its roster and also boasts others like Parker Proulx and Kody Strutz.

While the Pioneers have yet to reach their full potential in basketball, the experience of many of their players in football, where they have reached the playoffs and won a game the past two years shows Big Sandy has athletes to succeed, now it's just a matter of putting it all together.

The Pioneers head coach, at least, thinks there is still a good chance for Big Sandy to put it together this weekend, but if not, expect them to be a factor in the 9C in the future.

"Big Sandy basketball is back and we aren't going anywhere," Dilworth said. "No one gave us a chance this year or expected anything from us, so these kids have come a long way and I am extremely proud of them. We are going to be here, too, and we still are thinking divisionals this weekend. We just have to learn from (North Star) and get that first win."