BUFFALO – Losing your final game before Christmas may not equate to getting coal in your stocking, but it definitely doesn’t leave you feeling festive and merry, either.
Unfortunately, that was the mood for the Altoona-Midway High School basketball teams Tuesday, as they dropped a pair of varsity contests to the visiting Flinthills Mustangs here at Milo Peterson Gymnasium.
Flinthills rallied in the second half to post a 63-42 win in the boys’ contest, while the Lady Jets played one of their better games of the still young season but still fell 63-39 to the Lady Mustangs.
The AMHS boys (2-3) and the girls (0-5) will now take a break for the holidays. Both squads will resume play Friday, Jan. 3, when they open Three Rivers League play by hosting the Yates Center Wildcats.
AMHS BOYS
It was a tale of two halves in the boys’ contest. Altoona-Midway led by seven after one period and still held a 25-22 advantage at intermission.
But Flinthills stormed out of the gates in the third period, pouring in 26 points. The Jets went ice cold at the same time and were able to only add six to their total, leaving them trailing 48-31 entering the final period, which the Mustangs also won 15-11 to complete the 63-42 victory.
“Flinthills was on fire in the third quarter, especially from three-point range,” noted AMHS head coach Dave Vance. “Instead of sticking to what we had done to stay in the ball game, it was like we tried to match them from behind the arc, and it did not work.
“At one point, Flinthills made three 3’s in a row and one two – and at the same time, we missed three 3’s and a two. That was the game right there. We’re going to have to figure out that attempting more threes than twos is not a good thing,” Vance added.
William Stackhouse had a solid outing for the Jets, scorching the nets for 22 points (including 16 in the first half) while hauling down 13 rebounds, dishing out four assists, and grabbing five steals.
Kieran Foster also reached double figures with 11 points, but he and all of the Jets could not find the range from behind the arc. For the game, Altoona-Midway connected on just 6-of-25 three-point attempts.
Kage Beck added four points, Taj Chism three, and Chance Carter two to round out the Jet scoring totals.
Beck and Carter each had five rebounds while Foster and Joey Lamendola grabbed four apiece.
Flinthills enjoyed a balanced scoring attack with four players reaching double figures. Farris led the way with 17, Hunter notched 15, while Scribner and Randall each tallied 13.
“We might be getting worn down in the second half because we’re not substituting enough, and that’s on me,” Vance said. “Over the break, we’ll re-evaluate where we think we get the starters a little rest. We have a lot of inexperience on the bench, but they are going to have to go into the fire real soon.”
AMHS GIRLS
Being on the short end of a 63-39 final score may not seem like anything to write home about, but the Altoona-Midway girls actually played one of their better games of the season against a talented Flinthills team.
“We played so good tonight. This is definitely a game we can build on heading into the new year,” said Lady Jets head coach Jessica Porter. “Flinthills is an amazing team with phenomenal shooters, but we had a lot of bright spots tonight.”
The Lady Mustangs shot their way to an 18-3 first quarter lead, but Altoona-Midway responded with a great second period, outscoring FHS 18-15 to make it 33-21 at halftime.
Flinthills expanded the lead to 45-27 in the third stanza, despite being limited to 12 points during that stretch.
“One thing we definitely could have done much better is boxing out,” Porter said “They killed us on second chance points and we would get one shot and be done. They are good shooters and we had a hard time getting out on all of them to begin with.
“But at halftime, we switched to a 1-3-1 and it worked much better. It’s the best we’ve done playing that defense,” Porter added. “Offensively, I was really pleased that seven of our 10 girls scored. Last year we only scored 10 points against them as a team – so we’re definitely showing improvement.”
Emmalynn Pupanek rattled the nets for 20 points, despite being held scoreless in the first period. Sandra Morales tallied nine points, all in the first half. Meanwhile, the Lady Jets got two points apiece from Chantal Morales, Autumn Raymond, Mika Parsons, Brooklyn Collins and Keyleigh Clines.
Pupanek also grabbed nine rebounds while Ava Tindle seized eight. Sandra Morales collected five boards while Chantal Morales and Parsons clutched four apiece.
Carter led Flinthills with 25 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter after the game had already been decided.