The Northwest Lions came to town to take on our Pioneers just one day after a disappointing loss to Oakville for Kirkwood. Eager to get the taste of loss out of their mouth, the Pioneers came out firing early. Six Pioneers scored in the first quarter as Kirkwood jumped out to a 13-5 advantage and never looked back. The Pioneers defense defined this game as they’re full court press created turnovers and never allowed the Lions to get into an offensive rhythm. JuJu Marable and Demetrius Terry combined on defense to shut down the Lions top scorer and hold him to zero points. Ten Pioneers scored in the game with McDowell finishing with 12, Robbins with 10, and David Kennedy, Michael Toigo, and Terry finishing with 4. The Lions improved to 9-4 on the season and play their final home game against Parkway Central on Thursday.

GAME 12 JAN. 11 SITE: OAKVILLE HIGH SCHOOL

GAME BY QUARTERS

KIRKWOOD 15 6 8 11 = 40

OAKVILLE 8 7 15 15 = 45

The Pioneers traveled to Oakville to take on the Tigers and they got off the bus shooting. Andy Robbins knocked down a trey on the Pioneers first possession and Kirkwood continued to roll in the first quarter. The second quarter slowed down as both teams began to get sloppy, turning the ball over, and falling out of rhythm. By halftime, the score was Kirkwood 21 and Oakville 15. Turnovers began to haunt the Pioneers in the third quarter. At one point the Pioneers had a 28 to 21 lead, but bad passing and Oakville turning steals into points changed the momentum of the game and Oakville went on a 9-1 run to end the quarter and take a 1 point lead into the fourth. The fourth quarter was a battle as both teams gave every ounce of energy they had to win, but it would not be enough for the Pioneers this day. Mike McDowell led all scorers with 11, Robbins finished with 10, and Lavata Berry scored a season high of 9. This loss dropped the Pioneers to 8-4 on the season.

Looking to get back to their winning ways, the Pioneers traveled to Lindbergh High School to take on the Flyers. Despite losing two in a row, the Pioneers came out lose and jumped on the Flyers early. The bench played their role as Chris Mitchell, Charlie Warden, Quincy Sharp, and Demetrius Terry all scored in the quarter. Kirkwood never trailed in the game as ten Pioneers scored in the game. Andy Robbins led the team with 12 on his birthday and Warden finished with 10.

Still smarting from their loss earlier in the week, Kirkwood came out flat against the Marquette Mustangs. Mike McDowell and JuJu Marable each squared 4 in the first quarter as Kirkwood found themselves down early 15 to 10. The second quarter was all Mustangs as they built upon their lead. Charlie Warden knocked down a three to try and spark the Pioneers, but they could not match Marquette’s intensity. The third quarter sparked a Kirkwood comeback as the Pioneers began to battle back. McDowell and Warden each scored 4 in the quarter and Lavata Berry added a bucket to cut the lead down to 8. Andy Robbins and Warden each knocked down a three in the quarter to make the game close, but a final run by the Mustangs finished off the Pioneers as they lost their second straight, 44 to 37.

GAME 9 JAN. 2 SITE: PATTONVILLE HIGH SCHOOL

GAME BY QUARTERS

KIRKWOOD 4 4 10 10 = 28

PATTONVILLE 19 17 12 8 = 56

The Pioneers 7 game win streak was snapped at the beginning of the new year by a very talented Pattonville team. The Pirates jumped out to an early advantage taking the young Pioneers out of their offensive game early. Mike McDowell scored all 8 first half points for the Pioneers. By halftime the Pioneers found themselves down 36 to 8. The second half was much more competitive as the Pioneers battled back to score double digits in the quarter. Five Pioneers scored that quarter in a much more balanced effort. Despite being down 30 going into the fourth quarter the Pioneers never let up and continued to play hard. Winning the fourth quarter Kirkwood showed they had some fight in them. McDowell led all scorers with 10.

GAME 8 DEC. 21 SITE:WEBSTER GROVES HIGH SCHOOL

GAME BY QUARTERS

KIRKWOOD 11 19 8 7 = 45

WEBSTER 6 6 15 10 = 37

The Kirkwood-Webster rivalry renewed again as the Pioneers got their first taste of the affair. The young Pioneers showed no fear as the jumped out to an 18 point lead at the half, holding Webster to just twelve total points. Mike McDowell had 12 and Andy Robbins added 9 first half points. The Pioneers went into the locker room feeling confident. The second half started with some controversy. A technical foul was committed when Webster brought down one of their Freshman from the Sophomore team. After missing the free throws, the Pioneers played their way into trouble as Webster fought back scoring 15 third quarter points. The fourth quarter continued to be dramatic as the Pioneers could not convert from the free throw line. Missing ten free throws in the quarter, The Pioneers leaned on the scoring of Demetrius Terry to carry them to the finish line. Kirkwood pulled out the win, 45 to 37, but you can bet that this was only the first of many more intense meetings to come.

The Pioneers traveled to Mehlville for a conference showdown with the Panthers. Kirkwood got off to a fast start with their full court pressure creating turnovers and then converting those turnovers into points. Mike McDowell scored 8 of the Pioneers 18 in the quarter and Charlie Warden came off the bench to hit a three. The two teams traded buckets in the second quarter, each scoring ten, but the young Pioneers held onto their 12 point lead at the half. The third quarter became a defensive battle as both teams locked down, however the Panthers were only able to muster 4 points against the Pioneer defense and the freshman continued to build upon their halftime lead. The Panthers would not go away quietly, as they knocked three big treys’ in the fourth quarter, and scored 20 overall. However, learning from their mistakes in the South game, Robbins, McDowell, Lavata Berry, and Quincy Sharp combined to go 5 for 7 from the free throw line to secure the victory and improve to 6 and 1.

The Pioneers met the Parkway South Patriots at their old stomping grounds, North Middle School, for a very intense showdown. Both teams struggled to find their rhythm early as the Patriots took an early 8 to 5 lead. The Pioneers woke up in the second quarter led by a pair of three’s from Charlie Warden and Andy Robbins as well as four big points from Quincy Sharp coming off the bench. Much of the same occurred in the third quarter as the bench continued to rise to the occasion. Both Chris Mitchell and David Kennedy came in to score a couple of buckets, and Mike McDowell led all scorers in the quarter with six. South went on the defensive in the fourth quarter, as they began to really turn the heat on the young Pioneers. Missing ten free throws kept the Patriots in the game, but Robbins six big points in the quarter as well as going 2 for 3 from the line sealed the Patriots fate as Kirkwood went on to win 54 to 48. The bench really came through as they scored 26 points. Robbins led all scorers with 13 and the Pioneers went on to improve their record to 5 and 1.

Playing in their first home game of the year, the Freshman Pioneers took on the Lafayette Lancers. Kirkwood found themselves down early but created many turnovers in the second quarter to take a two point lead into the half. Lafayette came out shooting in the third scoring fifteen points. Andy Robbins kept the Pioneers in it, scoring six of the Pioneers seven. Once again, the Pioneers would be the better fourth quarter team, creating turnovers and turning them into points. Demetrius Terry finished off the Lancers scoring two big buckets down the stretch and grabbing the winning rebound. He finished with thirteen, JuJu Marable added nine, and Robbins led all scorers with fifteen.

The Pioneers traveled to Eureka for their first regular season game. Kirkwood started off slow, falling behind early, as Eureka’s disciplined offense began to carve up the Pioneer defense. However, after applying some tough, defensive pressure and contributions from Demetrius Terry and Montrell Jones, the Pioneers found themselves up at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter Charlie Warden stepped up and scored four points while Quincy Sharp added three with some big rebounds, but Eureka began to pull away. With Eureka up eight with only seconds to go, Stephan Moore stepped up and hit a big three at the buzzer to cut the deficit to five. The second half started off quickly as Kirkwood really began to battle. Diving for loose balls, fighting for every rebound, and applying suffocating pressure, the Pioneers scratched and clawed for everything they got. However they were only able to take one point off their deficit and still found themselves down going into the fourth quarter. The pace continued to quicken in the fourth. Led by strong defensive performances from Warden, Michael Toigo, and Demetrius Terry, the Pioneers began to force Eureka into many bad passes and turnovers. When it was all said and done, the Pioneers had their biggest scoring output of the season in this quarter, scoring fifteen, and notching another victory. Stefan Moore scored seventeen in his final Freshman contest before moving up to play with the Sophomores.

For the second year in a row Ladue and Kirkwood would face each other for the consolation championship at the Webster Groves tournament. Both teams came out shooting in the first quarter but the Pioneers found themselves down early after one. A balanced scoring attack in the second quarter in which six Pioneers scored paved the way to a two point halftime lead. The third quarter was defined by defense as the Pioneer pressure stifled Ladue, holding them to five points and multiple turnovers. The freshman were off and running, turning many of those turnovers into easy buckets and began to pull away. The fourth quarter was much of the same and when the buzzer sounded the Pioneers were the Consolation Champions. Mike McDowell and Stefan Moore were the high scorers, putting up eighteen and fourteen points respectively.

After suffering an overtime loss the night before, the Pioneers were ready to take out some frustration on their next opponent. The Pioneers again came out strong in the first quarter scoring sixteen first quarter points while holding their opponents, Cleveland, to zero. The second quarter was a much more balanced quarter as the two teams traded buckets throughout. Kirkwood used its deep bench, getting scoring contributions from Chris Mitchell, Tanner Olsen, Lamont Chester, and Eric Worley. The Pioneers continued to coast through the second half and left with a 39-26 victory. Mike McDowell led all scorers with nine points. Eleven Pioneers scored this game and the deep bench contributed seventeen.

The Kirkwood Freshman Pioneers opened their season by participating in the Webster Groves Freshman tournament. Drawing the Vianney Golden Griffin’s, the Pioneers traveled to Mehlville High School, the site of the opening round. The Pioneers sprinted out of the gate outscoring the Griffins 12 to 4, led by the tough post play of Mike McDowell and Demetrius Terry. The teams went back and fourth in the second quarter as Vianney found some momentum sending the teams into their locker rooms at half time with Kirkwood nursing a six point lead. The Pioneers leaned on McDowell in the third quarter as he scored five of Kirkwood’s six points, but Vianney continued to chip away at the fragile Pioneer lead cutting the deficit in half. The fourth quarter became an intense affair as the Pioneers came out swinging building a ten point lead on the strength of Stephan Moore’s five point outburst. However, some timely forced turnovers and clutch shooting by the Griffin’s drew them back into the game that set up a buzzer beating shot that sent the game into OT. In overtime things just would not go the young Pioneer’s way as they gave up a quick lay-up and Kirkwood’s leading scorer, McDowell (10), would foul out. Andy Robbins hit a big three late but Vianney hit their free throws down the stretch to seal a victory. The Pioneers left everything out on the court but it was just not to be this day.