MOUND VALLEY – After scoring seven points in the opening quarter, the Altoona-Midway Middle School basketball team could only manage eight more points over the final three periods. The result was a 42-15 loss to the Mound Valley Mustangs in a Mineral Belt League contest played here Thursday.
Mound Valley led 12-7 after the first stanza, and the lead remained around that margin until a late surge put the Mustangs up 23-11 at halftime. But Mound Valley blanked the Jets 11-0 in the third period, and went on to post the 42-15 triumph.
Zach Good led the Jets with 12 points and six rebounds. Cameron Johnson had three points and nine rebounds in a breakout performance on the boards.
“Turnovers continue to be our Achilles heel,” said AMMS coach David Batzer. “We continue to make the easy passes look hard. This game should have been much closer. We were bigger down low for the only time this year and failed to use that to our advantage. We had a couple of kids battling a lingering cold, but it was disappointing to see our lack of effort on the defensive end for most of the game.
“We did a good job battling back from an early first-quarter deficit, but we fell apart for the last 60 seconds of the second quarter and went into half-time down by double-digits,” Batzer added. “Zach was shooting well tonight, but we still struggle with offensive continuity. CJ finally had a big game down low. I am super proud of his progress these last few games. He’s starting to gain confidence every game.”
On the bright side, the AMMS “B” team recorded its first victory of the season with a 12-4 triumph.
Thaddeus Tindle paced the winning attack with four points. Easton Matlock, Hunter Reaves, Noah Ray and Alex Lockhart each had two points for the Jets “B” squad.
It was great to see the B-team get their first win of the year, and I was pleased we had five different kids score,” Batzer noted. “They played scrappy for both quarters, and I love seeing their progress.
Some of those kiddos are about to earn some time on the A-team.”
The Jets 1-6 on the year, were slated for a busy week, with three games scheduled. AMMS was headed to Parsons on Monday for a game against St. Patrick’s, and back home on Tuesday for a make-up game with Thayer. On Thursday, the Jets are scheduled to host Edna.
We’re definitely in a mid-season slump, but I’m confident we’ll respond when we play 3 games in 4 days,” Batzer said.