BUFFALO – Both Altoona-Midway High School basketball teams picked up easy wins here Thursday, each moving – truly at breakneck speed – one step closer to hoisting the championship trophy of the third annual Milburn G. Apt Memorial Tournament.
The lopsided victories gave both Jet squads 2-0 tourney records heading into Friday’s final round of the classic being held at Milo Peterson Gymnasium.
Thursday’s wins came at the expense of Southern Coffey County High School. Altoona-Midway flew past the Titans 92-10 in the boys’ contest, while the Lady Jets blasted SCC 61-13.
Liberty Homeschool Alliance - which will square off against AMHS in the tournament’s final two games Friday - picked up a pair of victories as well on Thursday.
The Liberty boys notched a 54-32 triumph over Chetopa, while the Lady Arrows defeated the girls from Tyro Christian School 43-40.
The Apt Memorial Tournament concludes Friday with four more games, beginning at 4 p.m.
SCCHS vs. Tyro Christian (Girls)
SCCHS vs. Chetopa (Boys)
Liberty Homeschool vs. AMHS (Girls)
Liberty Homeschool vs. AMHS (Boys)
AMHS BOYS
Altoona-Midway ran off 25 unanswered points to begin the game and never looked back. The Jets racked up their 92-10 victory despite the fact the entire second half was played with a running clock.
Taj Chism swished a pair of treys and Joey Lamendola canned two field goals as AMHS jumped to a 10-0 lead. The offensive barrage continued with every single Jet player reaching the scoring column by hitting at least one bucket.
Altoona Midway led 29-2 at the end of the first quarter, 53-4 at halftime and 66-10 after three. A 26-0 fourth quarter produced the 92-10 final.
“The boys gave full effort for the entire 32 minutes tonight,” said AMHS head coach Dave Vance. “It was good get everyone a lot of playing time, and all 10 young men played hard.
“We have been discussing playing hard every game, every play of every game. If we mess up, there’s another play coming right now, so be ready,” Vance continued. “Tonight, every player on the team gave his all and shared the ball with each other in great fashion.
“We scored a lot of points, many on layups, so the shooting percentage was good. Most of those layups ended with one player assisting a teammate, instead of being selfish and taking it all the way himself.”
Four Jets reached double figures, led by William Stackhouse with 27 points. Kieran Foster fired in 13, while Lamendola and Aaryn Maple each netted 10.
Also contributing to the offensive explosion were Kage Beck with nine, Chism with six, Kenny Smith and Chance Mustain each with five, Chance Carter four, and Nolan Lampe with three.
Foster also dished out 11 assists, while Stackhouse aided seven buckets and Maple helped with four others.
Chism hit double digits in rebounds with 11, while Stackhouse hauled down nine and Lamendola cleared six. The Jets collected 20 steals, topped by Stackhouse and Foster with seven and four, respectively.
“Taj was a beast on the boards,” Vance noted. “We really need this from him to be successful, and tonight he was dominant. Our defense was relentless, as it needs to be every game. Overall it was a great effort tonight, and we’ll need another one Friday against Liberty.”
The Jets evened their season record at 5-5 with the win.
AMHS GIRLS
The host school put on just as remarkable of a performance in the earlier game of the evening, as the AMHS girls also stormed out of the gates and never looked back, posting an impressive 61-13 victory over the Lady Titans.
The Lady Jets, utilizing their notable team speed and quickness, harassed SCC all over the court, crashed the boards and raced down the court on several fastbreaks throughout the contest.
After building a formidable 19-6 first quarter lead, AMHS rattled off 11 more unanswered points to begin the second quarter. Emmalynn Pupanek tallied buckets to bookend the streak, while Sandra Morales netted five points and Autumn Raymond two during the onslaught.
By halftime the Lady Jets led 36-10. Reserves played nearly the entire second half, with nine of 10 players on the roster reaching the scoring column.
“Wow, watching these girls play has really been fun the last two nights,” said AMHS head coach Jessica Porter. “We are finally clicking as a team and finding our energy out on the court. If they keep it up, I believe we can win quite a few more games this season. I’m very pleased with how they are playing.”
Pupanek was the leading scorer with 14 points, while Chantal Morales connected on a half-dozen buckets and finished with 12. A pair of freshmen, Sandra Morales and Keyleigh Clines, were next on scoring charts with eight and seven, respectively.
Rounding out the offensive salvo for AMHS were Autumn Raymond and Mika Parsons with six points apiece, Jasa Pankaskie with four, and Ava Tindle and Peyton Drake with two each.
Parsons led the team in steals with six, while Pupanek, Clines and Chantal Morales each swiped four. Pupanek topped the rebounding chart with seven.
After beginning the season on the short end of seven contests, the Lady Jets have now won two in a row.
“I feel like all of the team is really beginning to figure out our 1-3-1 defense, and we are all scoring and contributing offensively,” Porter said. “It’s great to see their confidence growing.”