MELVERN – The Altoona-Midway High School basketball teams wrapped up their first tournament of the season with final day action of the 2024 Valley Tip-Off Classic here Saturday.
The AMHS squads split a pair of contests with Southern Coffey County. The Jet boys rolled past the Titans 85-19, while the SCC girls escaped with a 43-36 decision over the Lady Jets.
The AMHS boys (2-2) and the girls (0-4) will close out the pre-Christmas portion of their schedule on Tuesday, Dec. 17, when they host Flinthills High School. The first game is slated to tip off at 5 p.m. at Milo Peterson Gymnasium.
AMHS BOYS
After three tough games to open the season, AMHS head coach Dave Vance was hoping for a game in which his squad could build a big lead and let his reserves see plenty of playing time.
Despite a sluggish beginning, the Jets granted his wish Friday, as they tallied 64 points over the middle two quarters and were never threatened against Southern Coffey County.
The Titans did stay within striking distance for a quarter, trailing just 10-5. But Altoona-Midway poured in 29 second-quarter points to build a 39-13 halftime cushion. The Jets then scorched the nets for 35 points in the third stanza to make it 74-17 before cruising to the 85-19 final score.
“We had trouble getting our motors running to start the game, but finally picked it up towards the end of the first quarter and then maintained a good pace throughout the rest of the game,” Vance commented.
SCC actually led 2-0 midway through the first period, and it was 4-4 late in the opening round.
“Our pressure defense kicked in and we really got rolling the rest of the game,” Vance said. “We scored a lot of layups in putting up 29 in the second quarter and 35 in the third. Once the boys got out and running, the energy level went up and everybody on the team scored.”
Five Jet players reached double-digits in the scoring column. William Stackhouse tossed in 23 points to lead the balanced attack, followed by Joey Lamendola with 14, and Kage Beck with 12. Taj Chism fired in 11 points and Aaryn Maple found the range for 10.
Additional offensive production was provided by Chance Mustain with five and Kieran Foster with four, while Kenny Smith and Nolan Lampe each tossed in three.
Stackhouse swept 14 boards and had an impressive 12 steals. Beck had 11 rebounds while Chism hauled in nine and Lamendola eight. Chism and Lamendola also added six and five steals, respectively, as the Jets finished with an amazing 36 pilfers. Chism had a team-high five assists and Foster dished out four.
“It was a team effort on defensive pressure and rebounding. Those two areas are improving, and we cannot slack off at any time,” Vance added. “With a very tough Flinthills team coming in our place on Tuesday, we are going to need superior energy, effort, and attitudes from everyone on the team.”
AMHS GIRLS
There’s an old saying that one player can’t win a game by themselves … but Southern Coffey County’s Karley Ohl came about as close as possible in Friday night’s opener.
The Lady Titans outlasted a feisty Altoona-Midway unit to notch a 43-36 victory in the rough and tumble contest. Ohl poured in 34 points for SCC, including 7-of-8 from the free throw line in the deciding fourth quarter when she scored all 10 of her team’s points.
Ohl tallied 25 of the Lady Titan’s 27 points over the final three periods of the game.
“(Ohl) is really good. She had an unbelievable night,” said AMHS head coach Jessica Porter. “We tried different things, but we struggled to keep her from scoring. We just didn’t have an answer for her.”
SCCHS jumped to a 16-6 lead after one quarter, but the Lady Jets refused to fold, staying within 20-11 at halftime and 33-24 entering the last period, when they managed to cut two more points off the final deficit.
“The girls played really hard last night,” Porter said. “At first we couldn’t get our shots to fall, and we tried to press, unsuccessfully. After some adjustments we brought it back to a three-point game at one point.”
Emmalynn Pupanek paced the Lady Jets with 14 points, including 10 in the second half. Freshman Sandra Morales found the range for 11 points, and sophomore Mika Parsons chipped in seven points, all coming in the fourth quarter.
Chantal Morales and Jasa Pankaskie rounded out the AMHS scoring with two points apiece.
Pupanek hauled down 17 rebounds and grabbed five steals, while Sandra Morales totaled 13 boards and three blocks.
One big discrepancy occurred at the free throw line. Southern Coffey County enjoyed a whopping 31 attempts, sinking 16 of them. (Ohl was 15-for-23). The Lady Titans toed the line 18 times in the second half alone, while for the entire game the Jets were just 1-of-3 at the charity stripe.
“I’m not blaming the refs because I know that they have a hard job,” Porter sighed, “But when the foul count is 8-0 and they only call a foul on the other team with 10 seconds left in the game, it makes it extremely difficult to win.”
For the game, Altoona-Midway was whistled for 24 fouls, compared to 11 for SCC. Pupanek and Autumn Raymond both fouled out.
“We’ll continue to improve and be ready for them next time we play them,” Porter added.