BUFFALO – In the opening round of a tournament named in honor of a pilot who once held the title “fastest man alive,” Captain Milburn Apt undoubtedly would have been proud of the speed exhibited by each of the host teams here Tuesday night.
Both varsity squads of Altoona-Midway High School demonstrated superior team speed and quickness against outmatched opponents and rolled to a pair of lopsided wins as the third annual Apt Memorial Tournament got under way at Milo Peterson Gymnasium.
In the tournament opener, the AMHS Lady Jets stormed to a 50-18 triumph over Tyro Christian School, snapping a seven-game losing streak and recording their first victory of the season in resounding fashion.
The Altoona-Midway boys took the court next, and raced past the Chetopa Hornets 63-27 to begin defense of the tournament title the Jet cagers captured a year ago.
In the final two games of the night, Southern Coffey County and Liberty Homeschool Alliance split a pair of opening-round battles.
The Lady Titans of SCCHS defeated the Lady Arrows 39-21, but in the boys’ matchup, Liberty Homeschool was a 37-22 victor over Southern Coffey County.
The Apt Memorial Tournament continues Thursday and Friday of this week, with four more games each night.
AMHS BOYS
Altoona-Midway scorched the nets for 29 points in the first quarter as the Jets breezed to a 63-27 victory over Chetopa.
The Jets, primed to defend the Apt tourney title they won last year, upped their overall season record to 4-5.
“Although we didn’t play our best or most consistent game overall, it was great to get back in the win column,” said AMHS head coach Dave Vance. “The boys all gave great effort, we had a few too many turnovers, but the teamwork and efforts were great.”
William Stackhouse hit a three-pointer and a deuce to open the game, and fellow senior Kieran Foster connected on back-to-back treys as AMHS raced to an 11-0 lead over Chetopa and never looked back.
“William and Kieran got us off to a great start, but the most impressive stats that stick out to me from tonight are the assist totals of those two seniors,” Vance noted. “Kieran finished with nine assists and William had seven.
They were also our top two scorers – so to also lead in assists in the same game says a lot about these two,” Vance continued. “Their leadership was excellent tonight.”
Stackhouse tossed in 14 points in the opening stanza alone as Altoona-Midway stormed to a 29-8 advantage. Both teams hit a lull in the second quarter, netting just five points each, making it 34-13 at intermission.
The Jets came out of the locker room and were again on fire, putting up 21 points in the third quarter, extending the lead to 55-19 before the Hornets tallied the final two baskets of the period. Reserves saw plenty of action and a running clock resulted in the 63-27 final.
Stackhouse finished with a game-high 27 points. Foster also reached double figures with 11. The Jets also got nine points from Kage Beck, eight from Chance Carter, and four apiece from Joey Lamendola and Aaryn Maple.
The Jets had 16 steals, many of which led to fast breaks. Stackhouse had eight of those, along with a whopping 17 rebounds. Beck grabbed eight caroms, Carter hauled down six, and Chism swept five, adding a couple of blocks as well.
“We had many guys contributing offensively, defensively and rebounding, and they were all very supportive of each other,” Vance said. “It’s fun to watch when you have guys that enjoy the game and enjoy playing together. Hopefully we’ll be prepared to provide that same energy, teamwork and support with two more tough games this week.”
Lawrence Holt was the only Hornet to reach double digits, finishing with 12 points, Harrison Carter chipped in eight.
AMHS GIRLS
Good things come to those who wait – and the Altoona-Midway girls had to wait until their eighth game of the season to find the victory column.
But the Lady Jets did so in spectacular fashion, firing on all cylinders as they breezed to an impressive 50-18 victory over the Lady Eagles of Tyro Christian School.
“We really needed a win to boost the morale of the team, and this game tonight did just that,” said AMHS head coach Jessica Porter. “It was great to see the girls all play well, and to see a bunch of smiling faces in the locker room afterwards.”
Fast breaks and some great teamwork between Sandra Morales and Autumn Raymond got AMHS rolling in the opening period. Morales netted nine points and Raymond added four as Altoona-Midway jumped to a 15-8 lead.
Grace Cosgrove almost single-handedly kept Tyro in the game for a quarter and a half, as scoring a dozen points to pull the Lady Eagles within 16-12 three minutes into the second period.
But Cosgrove picked up her fourth foul and was forced to the bench at that point. The Lady Jets proceeded to rattle off 25 unanswered points over the next 12 minutes to build a 41-12 lead. By that point, the only thing in doubt was the final score, which ended up 50-18.
Emmalynn Pupanek was held scoreless in the opening period, but then came alive and finished with a game-high 17 points. Morales and Raymond also hit double digits, netting 13 and 10 points, respectively. Chantal Morales accounted for seven points, Keyleigh Clines had two and Mika Parsons added one.
“I’m glad we don’t have to rely on just one person to contribute offensively – they all can,” Porter said. “That’s a huge advantage for this year’s team.”
Cosgrove finished with 16 of the 18 points scored by Tyro. Julia Heady accounted for the Lady Eagles’ final bucket.
The Lady Jets pilfered 24 steals, led by Pupanek with six, Sandra Morales with five and Chantal Morales with four. Ava Tindle led AMHS in rebounding, pulling down 11 boards while Pupanek grabbed nine and Chantal Morales eight.
“We were aggressive on defense tonight and it turned into several fast break opportunities for us,” Porter said. “Certainly I’d love to see us win the tournament this year (the girls finished second in the Apt classic a year ago), but we are aware we have tough competition still facing us. Hopefully we’ll be ready mentally and physically and we can win this.”
The remaining tournament schedule is as follows:
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)