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BUFFALO – Despite losing three starters due to being disqualified by fouls, the Altoona-Midway High School boys’ basketball team fought tooth and nail all night long against the Oswego Indians here Friday night.

 

In the end, however, the extraordinary effort did not translate to the scoreboard, as Oswego managed to post a 55-46 triumph in the Three Rivers League battle held at Milo Peterson Gymnasium.

 

The victory gave the visitors a sweep of the TRL doubleheader, as Oswego also claimed a 51-30 victory over the Lady Jets in the preliminary contest. The girls’ game featured two completely different halves, with AMHS holding a 20-16 lead after an inspired first-half performance.

 

Both Altoona-Midway squads now gear up for three games each at home during the upcoming week, as AMHS will host the annual Milburn G. Apt Memorial Tournament. A four-game tourney slate is planned each evening on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

 

AMHS BOYS

 

A solid Oswego squad weathered an early onslaught by the Jets, pulled even by halftime, took slim lead in the second half and then hit their free throws down the stretch to win the TRL matchup 55-46.

 

With the win, the Indians ran their winning streak to five games and now stand 7-3 overall. Altoona-Midway fell to 3-5 overall and 1-2 in TRL play.

 

Despite the loss, AMHS head coach Dave Vance was pleased with his team’s performance, and referred to a popular quote: “F-E-A-R has two meanings: ‘Forget Everything and Run’ or ‘Face Everything and Rise.’ The choice is yours.”

 

“I think that perfectly describes our situation after our previous game,” Vance said. “After and uninspired performance Tuesday night, we came back tonight with great energy and teamwork. Even though we did not get the victory, we did face everything and rise.”

 

The Jets came out firing on all cylinders before the large home crowd, racing to a 16-7 lead after one period. But Oswego kept its poise and battled back to knot the score 22-22 at halftime.

 

“We got off to a great start playing with a lot of energy and sharing the ball,” Vance said. “But as ball games often go, Oswego had an answer.

 

“It was a well-played game, with inspired play by both teams,” he added. “Our place was packed to the hilt, with the little jet-set kids performing at halftime. Needless to say, with all those people, it was hot and steamy in the gymnasium.”

 

Oswego climbed ahead 37-32 after three periods and hit seven big free throws in the final period to hold off the Jets.

 

AMHS starters Kage Beck, Taj Chism and Kieran Foster were all forced to the bench due to fouls.

 

“We were fierce on the boards, played good defense, and played inspired basketball for most of the game,” Vance noted. “In the end, just a few missed shots, and missed free throws were the difference. Oswego hit their free throws down the stretch, to keep us from taking the lead.”

 

William Stackhouse and Foster led the Jet offense with 12 and 10 points, respectively, while Joey Lamendola tossed in nine, Beck added seven, Chance Carter chipped in six and Chism netted three.

 

Stackhouse also dished out six assists and added five blocks, three steals and 11 rebounds, while Beck hauled down 10 caroms.

 

“It was good to return to playing Altoona Midway basketball,” Vance said. “If we keep our heads up and play like this every game, it will bode well for the rest of the season.”

 

Oswego also won the jayvee game 23-15. Chance Carter tallied six, Chance Mustain five and Kage Beck four for AMHS.

 

AMHS GIRLS

 

It took quite a while for the Oswego to get untracked in the preliminary game Friday, but the Lady Indians eventually pulled away to post a 51-30 victory in a game that was closer than the final score would indicate.

 

The girls’ matchup was definitely a tale of two halves. The Lady Jets, playing some of their best basketball of the season during the first two quarters, forged a 20-16 at intermission.

 

“We played a phenomenal first half,” noted AMHS head coach Jessica Porter. “We moved the ball well and also drove the ball to the basket. I was really, really happy with the way we played that first half.”

 

Unfortunately, the good fortune for AMHS failed to last. Oswego regrouped and outscored the Lady Jets 15-2 in the third period to grab a 31-22 lead, then won the fourth period 20-8 to win going away, 51-30.

 

“As good as we played in that first half … then the second half happened,” sighed Porter. “Talk about night and day. It was like we left our brains in the locker room. We turned the ball over so many times and didn’t hardly score. But I’m going to focus on that impressive first half instead of the bad.”

 

Trailing 7-6 at the quarter, freshman Sandra Morales keyed the second period surge for the Lady Jets, pumping in eight points during the stanza to give her 10 at the half. Morales finished with a team-high 13 points.

 

Emmalynn Pupanek chipped in seven points for AMHS, while Autumn Raymond added four points and Ava Tindle, Chantal Morales, and Mika Parsons netted two apiece.

 

Madison Foster scored 26 points to pace the Lady Indians. They also got 14 points from Jaycee Schulz, with 10 of those coming in the final period.

 

Oswego continued its recent surge. The Lady Indians won their fourth consecutive game after an 0-5 start to begin the season. Despite the spirited performance, the Lady Jets fell to 0-7, 0-2 on the year.

 

“All in all, those first two quarters definitely was a bright spot,” Porter noted. “The take away from all this is that if we can play the way we did the first half, we should do pretty well next week.”

 

APT MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT

 

Altoona-Midway will host the annual Milburn G. Apt Memorial Tournament this week, with four games slated Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. The first-game each evening will tip-off at 4 p.m., with a 15-minute warm-up between each game.

 

The tournament schedule is as follows:

 

Tuesday, Jan. 21

Tyro Christian vs. Altoona-Midway (Girls)

Chetopa vs. Altoona-Midway (Boys)

Liberty Homeschool vs. Southern Coffey County (Girls)

Liberty Homeschool vs. Southern Coffey County (Boys)

 

Thursday, Jan. 23

Liberty Homeschool vs. Tyro Christian (Girls)

Liberty Homeschool vs. Chetopa (Boys)

SCCHS vs. AMHS (Girls)
SCCHS vs. AMHS (Boys)

 

Friday, Jan. 24

SCCHS vs. Tyro Christian (Girls)

SCCHS vs. Chetopa (Boys)

Liberty Homeschool vs. AMHS (Girls)

Liberty Homeschool vs. AMHS (Boys)

 

Captain Milburn G. Apt was a 1942 graduate of Buffalo (Kansas) High School. Captain Apt was honored locally with "The Jet" chosen as the mascot of Altoona-Midway High School in his honor.

 

Apt was a Captain in the United States Air Force at the time of his death in 1956. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 2007 and his accomplishments have been highlighted in numerous books.

 

On December 22, 1954, Captain Apt was flying a chase plane during a test at Edwards. The test aircraft crash-landed on the dry lake and caught fire with its pilot trapped inside. Apt, with his bare hands, rescued the other test pilot, saving his life. For this courageous act, he was awarded the Soldier's Medal.

On September 26, 1956, he was the first pilot to exceed Mach 3 when he flew the Bell X-2 Rocket plane to Mach 3.196 (2,094 miles per hour/3,377 kilometers per hour) at 65,589 feet (19,992 meters). Just seconds later, the X-2 began uncontrolled oscillations and came apart. Mel Apt was unable to escape from the cockpit and was killed when the X-2 hit the desert floor.