THAYER – The Altoona-Midway Middle School boys basketball team opened the January portion of its schedule Thursday afternoon at Thayer.
The results were not what the Jets had hoped to begin the new year, as the Flyers came away with a 49-12 victory in the Mineral Belt League contest.
“It was a very physical game on both ends of the court,” noted AMMS head coach David Batzer. “The players were really going at it and there were numerous ‘hard fouls’ throughout the game. At times it was more like a wrestling brawl than a basketball game.”
AMMS fans were also disgruntled when Chance Carter, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, was whistled for a couple of fouls when the offending player was obviously a different Jet teammate. Carter sat out much of the second quarter and fouled out midway in the third stanza.
Batzer, usually positive and calm on the sideline, was whistled for a technical for “addressing” some of the calls.
“It was an intense night,” Batzer admitted. “This was originally scheduled as a home game, but a scheduling error prompted the move to Thayer. I thought that impacted us more than it should have to start the game.”
Thayer raced to a 21-2 lead after the opening quarter. The Flyers led 29-5 at halftime and 37-12 after three quarters. Thayer outscored the Jets 12-0 in the final period.
“After getting down by double digits early, our defense responded in a big way, especially during the 2nd quarter,” Batzer noted. “There were stretches where Thayer struggled to score, and we did a good job of forcing turnovers.
“On the offensive side, we had quite a few scoring opportunities slip through our fingers with passes that were slightly off the mark or thrown just a second late. We’ve got to be quicker with our decision-making, but we keep making positive strides,” the coach added.
Zach Good led the Jets with seven points. Carter, the team’s leading scorer, managed just four points due to his limited time on the court, and Chance Mustain, who also fouled out, added a free throw for AMMS.
Thayer was paced by Thornton, who topped the charts with 12 points, while John and Spaulding chipped in nine apiece for the Flyers.
Altoona-Midway, 0-5 on the year, will try to grab a win Monday when they square off against St. Paul. Game time is slated for 5 p.m. at Milo Peterson Gymnasium.
“It was a tough first game coming back after the Christmas break, but I can confidently say we are a much better team than the one that started the season,” Batzer said. “It’s frustrating not to be able to point to results on the scoreboard, but fundamentally the kids are improving from game to game.”
Photo courtesy: Cherokee Nalley