Advertisement

This time around, the Pioneers are just one of four teams, including two other Sanilac County hoops squads, that could viably come away with the hardware. The semifinals will tip-off the boys event, sponsored by Pioneer Sugar, tomorrow (Thursday) at Peck High school with CPS facing off with Cros-Lex at 4 p.m. and Peck hosting Harbor Beach at 7 p.m. The venue turns to Harbor Beach on Friday night - consolation game at 5:30 p.m. and the championship battle at 7 p.m. in the high school gymnasium.

Don Roberts, coach at Cros-Lex, has a less experienced team on the court this season, but defense remains a staple. The Pioneers (1-2) held a good Almont team to 35 points in picking up their first win of the season last Thursday.

But, will defense be enough against the Tigers (3-0)?

"I don't know much about any of these teams right now," remarked Roberts, "but from what I know about Jeremy (Macejewski, CPS coach), he'll want to press and run. His guards dominate the game.

"We're a totally different team this year. We won't go out and score a lot in transition like last year. We'll want to control the pace of the game," said Roberts.

The Pioneers, in three games, have not tallied a lot of points and have had different scoring leaders each time out. C-L will have the tallest player on the floor, though, in 6'6" Jacob Munger.

Macejewski's Tigers are unbeaten at this point, but he acknowledges the competition has offered little resistance.

"There is a lot of uncertainty on our team right now. I don't even know who our best five players are yet because we haven't been tested," said Macejewski.

The second-year varsity coach does know his team will get a challenge against the Pioneers. "I know they are not as deep as last year, but I had an opportunity to see them and they're still a very aggressive team. They're well-coached and they're disciplined.

"I see it as a challenge for us," he continued. "It's the first time this year we'll see an aggressive team."

The Tigers feature a small, but quick line-up, spearheaded by senior forward Justin Taylor. The 5'10" Taylor may be one of the toughest man-to-man defenders in the area.

"We're pretty athletic," too," suggested Roberts, "and I think we can match up with their quickness. I think we're a little bigger and, hopefully, our inside game will be a factor."

Macejewski then said, "We're coming into this tournament to have some fun - not worry about Peck or Harbor Beach, but to see how we can do against Cros-Lex, and see how much better we can get."

On the other side of the bracket, the Peck Pirates have come out and established that they are a team to beat in the NCTL this winter by starting off 5-0 under first-year coach Garnett Kohler. The Pirates of Harbor Beach sect, though, have been a little bit of surprise in the early going, posting a 3-1 record. They could be a major player in the GTC East race.

"I know they're a very good team," commented Kohler. "They are big and physical, and by the looks of it, they have some shooters, too." Sophomore Jacob Murwaske knocked down seven triples for Beach in a win against Bad Axe.

Peck has gone after all five of its opponents this season with all out, full-court pressure and looks to push the ball at all times. Kohler has not hesitated to rotate several players into the game. Seniors Michael Mann (6', G/F), Bryan Carrier (6'5", C), A.J. Kiley (6', G), and Jesse Germain (6'2", F) have all played key roles. Juniors Billy Burns (6'), Zac Overstreet 9(6'4"), and Chris Zacharias (5'10:, G) and others also have produced on both ends of the floor.

"This will be a good game for our team," said Kohler. "(Harbor Beach) is a physical team and we'll see how we match-up with them. And, they're athletic and that will challenge our guards.

"The good thing is, we get them on our own court," Kohler added.