ST. PAUL – While the results of the Mineral Belt League Tournament did not turn out as they had hoped, there was little doubt that the Altoona-Midway Middle School basketball team made great strides throughout the course of the 2023-24 season.
Winless in their first seven games of the year, Altoona-Midway steadily improved, picked up some wins in order to qualify for the middle bracket of the MBL Tournament – and had high hopes of picking up another win or two during the postseason event here Saturday.
Unfortunately, that was not to be the case for the Jets, as AMMS came up short in both tournament contests, losing 50-27 to St. Paul and 50-39 to Edna.
Altoona-Midway closed out the season 2-11, but that record far from tells the entire story, according to AMMS head coach David Batzer.
“We didn’t close out the season like we were hoping, but I definitely think we improved over the course of the year, even if we didn’t win as many games as we could have,” said Batzer.
“I was proud of how our 8th graders played in their final middle school game. Chance Carter was his usual self down low, and even displayed some nifty ball handling skills at times. Chance Mustain continues to grow each and every game, and he has a bright future ahead as well. We will definitely miss them next year,” Batzer continued. “With that being said, I’m really looking forward to what next year’s team brings to the table. If the kids continue to improve upon the same trajectory that they did this year, we could have a pretty solid team.”
AMMS vs. St. Paul
Altoona-Midway entered Saturday’s action having played their best basketball in recent games, but host St. Paul jumped all over the Jets early and coasted to a 50-27 victory.
“We played the first quarter like we were stuck in quicksand. By the time we woke up the game was out of reach,” Batzer said. “St. Paul did a good job of not letting us find a way to get back in the game. By the time we started scoring there just wasn’t enough time left in the game to affect the outcome.”
Plagued by turnovers, AMMS was down 11-0 before Carter broke the seal with a bucket with under a minute left in the first quarter off of a pretty assist from Eliot Ard.
Carter led the Jets with 16 points and 14 rebounds, while Mustain had seven points and six boards. Zach Good had four points and five boards. Ard led the team in assists with three while also grabbing three rebounds.
“The one thing I’ve been proud of all season is that the boys never give up,” Batzer said. “Even when we were down 30 to start the fourth, they kept playing hard. Early in the second half we lost CJ Johnson to a bad migraine, and that shortened our bench. Even as tired as we were, I felt we finished the game with a strong fourth quarter, and that definitely carried over into our second game.”
Aday of St. Paul led all scorers with 20, including three treys.
AMMS vs. Edna
In the third-place matchup, Edna and Altoona-Midway battled for four quarters, but the Wildcats forged a lead after one period and managed to keep the Jets at bay throughout the rest of the contest.
Edna used a late 9-0 run to go up 17-9 at the quarter and led 23-16 at half. AMMS closed to within three late in the third quarter before the ’Cats regrouped for the 50-39 victory.
“Just like our first matchup with Edna, this was a very competitive game,” Batzer noted. “They were missing their leading scorer the first time around, and he definitely impacted the game on the offensive end of the court. Still, we had a chance to go into the fourth only down by three. Unfortunately, we turned the ball over three times in 30 seconds and the lead ballooned to nine.”
Carter led the Jets with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Mustain had 12 points and 11 boards. Zach Good had seven points and four boards. Caden Sicka had three rebounds.
Zane Garton of Edna led all scorers with 21, while Vinny Mullin and Casen Voelzke each had 10.
Carter had multiple coast-to-coast layups, including a steal late in the fourth quarter ending in a nice finish at the rim. Mustain helped the Jets cut the lead to three near the end of the third with a strong drive and finish with the “and-one” before Edna ended the quarter with six straight points.
“It was a game of runs. Unfortunately for us they had the last one,” Batzer commented. “We were up 9-8 in the first before being outscored 9-0 to end the quarter, and they ended the third quarter the same way. Other than those two runs the game was a stalemate. The boys don’t have any reason to hang their heads. They played hard and got better every game, and in the end that’s really what it’s all about at this level.”