BUFFALO – If Friday night was any indication of how the rest of the season is going to play out, fans of Altoona-Midway High School basketball are in for an exciting first few months of 2024.
The AMHS boys’ squad captured an impressive 39-35 victory over the Crest Lancers in an intense Three Rivers League battle here at Milo Peterson Gymnasium.
In an earlier contest, the Lady Lancers took care of business against a willing-but-overmatched Altoona-Midway girls’ unit, as Crest posted a 72-27 triumph.
The games were the first home contests of the season for the AMHS squads.
Altoona-Midway will remain at home on Tuesday of next week when the Jets play host to Oswego.
AMHS Boys
Playing in the friendly confines of Milo Peterson Gymnasium for the first time this season, the Altoona-Midway Jets put together four full quarters of solid basketball to edge the Crest Lancers 39-35 in a TRL thriller.
“These young men played a great game from start to finish, especially on defense,” said AMHS head coach Dave Vance. “We knew they had a very talented post player (junior Ryan Golden) and we set up our defense to try to deny him the ball inside.
“Well, the guys executed the game plan to perfection,” Vance added. “I can’t say enough about our effort. It was great team defense.” The game was a nip-and-tuck battle throughout. Altoona-Midway led 10-8 at the quarter and 17-16 at halftime. The Jets took a 25-22 advantage into the fourth quarter, managed to build an eight-point lead and then survived a couple of late treys by Golden for the final four-point margin.
We managed to have the lead at the end of each quarter, but not by very much. More importantly, we managed to have the lead at the end of the game,” Vance said. “This should give us a lot of confidence heading into the rest of the season. We are seeing improvement in our game play and in our mental focus on the game.”
While the Jets’ defense was the highlight of the night, the offense came up big down the stretch, posting 14 points in the pivotal fourth quarter.
Kieran Foster canned a three-pointer and a free throw in the period, William Stackhouse hit a bucket and four key free throws, and Lane Poeverlein connected on two crucial baskets in the paint. The Jets built a 37-29 advantage before Golden knocked down a pair of shots from behind the arc in the closing moments.
“We did set more screens this game, which is something we have been after,” Vance pointed out. “Our ball movement was good, and that led us to higher shooting percentages than we have been getting in the past.
“Our rebounding was also really good, and we saw a lot more blocking out than usual.” Stackhouse finished with 10 boards, Jacob Meigs pulled down six rejects, Blaine Collins grabbed four tough rebounds, Poeverlein finished with three, and Joey Lamendola and Taj Chism got one carom each.
Stackhouse fired in 18 points to give him a double-double and also played a stellar floor game, as did several Jets. As a team, AMHS had 10 steals while committing a total of just nine turnovers. Meigs led the winners with three assists, while Stackhouse had two and Chism one.
Foster chipped in nine points on the evening, including a pair of treys. Poeverlein finished with six points, Meigs contributed four, and Lamendola connected on his only attempt on the night for two points. Collins, Chism, and Kage Beck did not score but contributed some tough minutes defensively.
Golden finished with 21 of Crest’s 35 points. Jacob Zimmerman tallied eight for the Lancers.
Crest managed a 23-15 victory in the two-quarter JV contest. The younger Jets played very well but could not get their shots to fall.
Beck and Lamendola each netted five points for the AMHS jayvee, while Chism finished with three points and Aaryn Maple added two.
The Jet varsity now stands at 4-3 overall and 2-0 in the TRL heading into Tuesday’s encounter with Oswego.
“We are trying to have the mental philosophy of ‘next play’ this year, and we are managing to get better with that mindset,” the coach added. “If we can play like this consistently, we will have a lot of success down the road.”
AMHS Girls
The Crest girls’ team used a high-pressure full-court defense and a fast-break offense in rolling to a 72-27 victory over AMHS, but the Lady Jets showed heart and battled hard until the final buzzer. “We were well aware that going into this game it was going to be a tough one,” said AMHS girls’ head coach Jessica Porter. “Crest has a good team and they play very aggressively.” Summer Raymond canned an early three-pointer to actually give AMHS a short-lived 3-2 lead in the contest. But Crest quickly pulled ahead and led 20-5 at the quarter and 48-8 at halftime before finally calling off their press in the second half.
“We knew they would press us the whole time and we worked hard to get ready for that,” Porter said. “We did a pretty good job handling the pressure from their defense, but now we just need to learn that after we get it past half court, we need to change pace, slow down and not rush our offense.”
The Lady Jets were much more competitive in the second half, finding the range for 19 points while limiting Crest to 24 after intermission.
“The first half was all rushed offense and shots. We made some adjustments at half time, and we came out and played so much better,” Porter noted. “I told the girls not to worry about the scoreboard – we had set our own personal goals, and that’s what we were going to think about. It helped with our spirits and mentality, and we had a much better second half.”
Emmalynn Pupanek paced the Altoona-Midway attack with 10 points. Chantal Morales knocked down five points while Ava Hufford and Ava Tindle tallied four apiece. Raymond added three points and Peyton Drake connected on a free throw.
The Lady Lancers placed four players in double figures, led by Kinley Edgerton, who finished with 18 points. Kayla Hermreck fired in 13, Christen Allen had 11 and Aylee Beckmon chipped in 10.
Raymond and Hufford were each credited with five assists. Raymond led the Jets with eight rebounds while Morales and Pupanek hauled down seven apiece.
Crest also won a two-quarter JV game 30-6, but Porter was very encouraged by the play of her younger girls.
“I was really happy with our effort in the JV game,” Porter said. “These girls played as a team, and stayed calm under the pressure. It was like night and day compared to the first JV game we had. That first game had them nervous and they froze under the pressure … sometimes literally. Last night they didn’t do that! They actually did what we’ve worked on in practice and applied it to the game. I’m proud of them!
Jasa Pankaskie netted four points and Mika Parsons had two for the AMHS Jayvee.
Photo courtesy of Deb meigs