BUFFALO – One host team enjoyed a cakewalk while the other survived an overtime thriller, but in the end, both Altoona-Midway High School basketball teams picked up victories in the opening round of the second annual Milburn G. Apt Memorial Tournament held here Tuesday.
Despite an incredible 38-point performance from William Stackhouse and another 20 points from Jacob Meigs, the Jet boys were required to battle through an extra four-minute period before squeezing past Liberty Home School Alliance 66-63 in the exciting tournament nightcap.
The boys’ donnybrook followed a girls’ matchup between the same two schools in which the Lady Jets got 22 points from Emmalynn Pupanek and rolled past the Liberty HSA Arrows 42-22.
In earlier action Tuesday at Milo Peterson Gymnasium, Tyro Christian Academy picked up a pair of victories over Chetopa High School, both by wide margins. The Eagles defeated the Hornets 56-28 in girls’ action, while the Tyro boys raced to a 67-30 victory.
The tournament will resume Thursday with a doubleheader between Liberty and Chetopa, followed by a twin bill pitting Tyro against the host Jets. First game begins at 4 p.m.
AMHS GIRLS
The Lady Jets caught fire in the middle two quarters and rode that wave to their second victory of the season, posting an impressive 42-22 win over Liberty Home School Alliance.
“This was a fun game and much-needed win. The girls were very excited about the victory,” said AMHS girls’ coach Jessica Porter. “All-in-all, I was very happy with the way we played.”
Deadlocked 5-5 after one quarter, Altoona-Midway rattled off 13 unanswered points to build a 17-5 lead.
Liberty narrowed the deficit to 17-9 at the break, but three baskets by Emmalynn Pupanek – sandwiched around one by Summer Raymond – ballooned the lead to 25-9. Chantal Morales hit a buzzer-beater to put the Lady Jets up 33-13 after three quarters.
Pupanek had a stellar night for the Lady Jets, pouring in 22 points, while pulling down 17 rebounds and grabbing 10 steals.
“Emmalynn finished with a triple double, and I’m proud of the way she played,” Porter said.
Ava Hufford knocked down seven points, while Summer Raymond and Chantal Morales garnered six each for the AMHS attack, while Peyton Drake added a free throw.
Ava Tindle grabbed 11 rebounds and had three steals, while Raymond claimed six boards, dished out eight assists and notched eight steals, and Morales grabbed seven rebounds.
Only two players found the scoring column for Liberty, as Bella Spaulding netted 13 points and Ashley Riebel tossed in nine.
It was the second win of the season for the Altoona-Midway girls, who now stand 2-7 overall.
“There are still things to improve on,” Porter noted. “We missed nine fast break lay ups, and made some silly mistakes that cost us turnovers. But I feel like the second half we found our rhythm and energy and played much better. Overall, it was a great evening.”
AMHS BOYS
If the current trend of exciting home games continues, area pharmacies may see a rush of requests for heart medication from fans of the Altoona-Midway Jets.
For the third time in as many outings at Milo Peterson Gymnasium, the Jets battled their opponent to the wire – and for the third consecutive time, Altoona-Midway came away as the victor. Tuesday’s 66-63 overtime nail-biter over Liberty Home School Alliance marked the second consecutive home game that required an extra period to determine a winner.
“I think we will just nickname ourselves the Cardiac Kids,” joked AMHS head coach Dave Vance. “These late-game theatrics are very hard on a couple of old coaches – but we really like the growth we’re seeing in this squad.
“Our players are learning to stay positive even when behind in the game. They’re gaining confidence, and we are not giving up regardless of the situation,” Vance added. “We are beginning to understand that there is always a next play and a next game to get ready for.”
The game was nip-and-tuck the entire way as the teams see-sawed small leads back and forth. The Jets were up by three at the quarter, but Liberty held a slim 23-21 advantage at halftime. The Jets were ahead 41-38 entering the final period, built the lead to seven but then saw the Arrows fight back to knot the score at 53 after regulation.
Much to the delight of the home crowd, Altoona-Midway outscored Liberty HSA 13-10 in the overtime period to claim the win and move to 6-4 on the season.
“It was another back-and-forth, grind-it-out game for us,” Vance said. “Thank heavens the two teams were alternating winning quarters, as it was our turn in the overtime and we managed to win the game by three. I think we’re giving the fans their money’s worth.”
Stackhouse had an incredible game, pouring in 38 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. Meigs also came up big, pouring in 20 points, hauling down five rebounds, and dishing out three assists.
But it was far from a two-man show. Saddled by early foul trouble, the Jets got important contributions off the bench from Kage Beck, Taj Chism, and Joey Lamendola, and key moments after returning to the game from starters Kieran Foster, Blaine Collins, and Lane Poeverlein.
“Kage gathered five rebounds, which is his top rebounding game for the season thus far,” Vance said. “Taj had a big bucket in overtime, and Blaine had three rebounds, one of which was very crucial towards the end of overtime.”
Rounding out the offense for the Jets was Foster with four points and Chism and Collins with two apiece.
Liberty’s Josiah Stockebrand was a thorn in the Jets’ side all night long, scorching the nets for 33 points. Stockebrand poured in 20 points after intermission but was limited to a single bucket in the extra period. Noah Gleue also fired in 15 points for the Arrows.
“We played very good defense once again, and tonight we really took care of the ball, committing only six turnovers,” Vance noted. “We also had six assists and nine steals.
“All the guys played with great desire and effort to enable us to come out victorious. Now we must get ready for a very tough Tyro team on Thursday evening.”