BUFFALO – The Altoona-Midway basketball teams enjoyed sweeping their opponent so much on Thursday evening, they decided to do it again on Friday.
Liberty Homeschool Alliance was the foe invading Milo Peterson Gymnasium on Friday, and AMHS took both ends of the non-conference matchup.
Kage Beck fired in 14 first-half points, Kieran Foster dropped 14 in the second half, and William Stackhouse calmly went 4-for-4 from the line in the final minute as Altoona-Midway squeezed past LHA 57-54 in the boys’ game.
Earlier, the Lady Jets blanked Liberty for the first 11 minutes of the contest as they breezed to their second lopsided victory in 24 hours, this time by a 43-18 count.
The AMHS Winter Homecoming was also held Friday night. Representatives of the basketball teams also swept the crown selections as well, with Autumn Raymond being chosen as Queen and William Stackhouse was named King.
Altoona-Midway’s boys’ ledger now stands 10-9 for the season, while the surging Lady Jets improved their overall log to 6-11.
The Lady Jets will travel to Moran for a game against Uniontown on Tuesday, Feb. 18. It was a late addition to the schedule since the girls did not have a full slate this year.
Both AMHS squads will close out regular season play on Friday, Feb. 21. The AMHS boys will square off against Chetopa while the Lady Jets will face Tyro Christian School. That twinbill will be an afternoon affair, with the first contest beginning at 2 p.m.
AMHS BOYS
Beck started the Jets’ motor with nine points in the opening quarter, and Foster took the reins with an 11-point outburst in the third period. Still, the game was not decided until the final seconds.
With Altoona-Midway clinging to a one-point lead, Stackhouse calmly hit two free throws with 46 seconds and left and another pair with 24 seconds remaining, putting the Jets ahead 57-52.
But Liberty’s Judah Stockebrand cut the gap to 57-54 and after a turnover, LHA retained possession with a chance to tie. The Arrows had three chances from behind the arc in the final 13 seconds, but none connected and AMHS escaped with the win.
“It was a knockdown drag out,” said AMHS head coach Dave Vance. “The second half was back-and-forth all the way, and I would have to say for once we actually won a game at the free-throw line.
Behind Beck’s early offensive outburst, the Jets jumped out to a 22-12 lead. But Liberty responded with 10 unanswered points and surged ahead 26-23 at halftime.
The Arrows extended their lead to 29-23, but Foster drained six straight points to knot the score at 29-29. Liberty pulled ahead 33-29, and Foster once again responded with a trey and a deuce to put AMHS up 34-33.
The game was nip-and-tuck the rest of the way. The Jets also benefitted from key contributions from two freshmen, Chance Carter and Chance Mustain, who combined for 10 important second-half points.
“We had to play shorthanded once again (senior Joey Lamendola missed his second straight game due to illness and starters Beck and Taj Chism fouled out), but we got good contributions from everybody and managed to come out on top. We hit the buckets when we needed to, limited our turnovers (9), and we were able to come away with a solid team victory.”
Foster finished with a team-high 17 points and Beck notched 14. Stackhouse added 16 points and 15 rebounds in recording his 13th double-double of the season.
Carter chipped in six points and Mustain finished with four to round out the Jet scoring.
Stockebrand led Liberty with 20 points while Noah Gleue and Wyatt Bohansen added 12 apiece.
“I also want to also give a shout out to our band and their instructor,” Vance noted. “Mr. Becker has done a wonderful job and the band really adds to the atmosphere at the ball games.”
AMHS GIRLS
From all appearances, the Altoona-Midway Lady Jets are peaking at just the right time.
For the second consecutive night, the Lady Jets stormed out of the gate and built a massive lead before their opponent could get on the scoreboard. AMHS blanked Liberty 16-0 in the opening quarter Friday and breezed to a 43-18 victory.
After an 0-7 start to the season, the Lady Jets have now won six of their last 10 games.
“It was another good game for us,” said AMHS head coach Jessica Porter. “The girls are really coming around. They’re enjoying themselves and having fun.”
Sandra Morales fired in nine points in the opening quarter – including a trey at the buzzer – to jump-start the Lady Jet attack, while Emmalynn Pupanek added three points and Ava Tindle and Chantal Morales chipped in two each.
Another fastbreak basket by Morales built the advantage to 18-0 before the Lady Arrows broke the ice on basket by Kaleigh Hardy. Jasa Pankaskie then took over, canning eight points – including two three-pointers – as AMHS built a 28-7 halftime cushion.
Coach Porter substituted freely throughout the game. It was 33-10 entering the final period. Eight of the 10 Lady Jet players found their way into the scorebook.
“Last night was great,” Porter said. “Everyone had a great game, and what excites me the most is that so many girls are now scoring. That’s a huge improvement over the first of the year.”
Sandra Morales tallied 15 points to pace the Lady Jets. Pupanek and Pankaskie fired in eight apiece, while Tindle finished with four. Chantal Morales, Mika Parsons, Autumn Raymond and Brooklynn Collins each netted two points.
Pupanek pulled down 14 rebounds while Tindle grabbed 10 caroms. Raymond and Chantal Morales came up with six steals apiece.
Only two players scored for Liberty. Hardy and Katie Spaulding each managed nine points for the Lady Arrows.