BUFFALO – For the second outing in a row, the Altoona-Midway varsity teams completed the high school basketball version of a “Daily Double.”
Fresh off a sweep of the Chetopa Hornets earlier in the week, the AMHS cagers continued their winning ways here Friday night, sweeping both ends of a doubleheader against the Southern Coffey County Titans.
In the first contest, the Lady Jets enjoyed a 37-21 victory over SCC. The Altoona-Midway boys followed that up with a hard-fought 42-37 triumph in the nightcap at Milo Peterson Gymnasium.
The pair of victories moved both AMHS squads to identical records of 3-7 overall and 2-2 in Three Rivers League play.
The schedule now gets tougher, however, as Altoona-Midway is slated to travel to Colony to face Crest High School on Tuesday, before returning home to host Jayhawk-Linn on Friday, Jan. 16.
AMHS BOYS
Despite going scoreless for nearly four minutes in the final period, Altoona-Midway went on a 9-3 run to close out the game and earn a hard-fought 42-37 win over Southern Coffey County.
Trailing 34-33 following the drought, Taj Chism swished a trey with 3:40 to play to give the Jets a lead they never relinquished. Kage Beck followed with a free throw, a steal, and a basket to make it 39-34, and from there each team managed just one basket and one charity apiece to close things out.
“It was not a thing of beauty, but having to battle tooth and nail when things are not going your way will hopefully build some character,” said AMHS head coach Dave Vance.
“We had a night where we just could not knock down shots (28 percent on field goals, 29 percent on threes, and 10-for-25 from the line),” Vance added. “We shot a few too many threes, but missing layups, putbacks, and free throws were really what was holding us back. If we had made just a decent percentage of our shots, we could’ve walked away with a 20-point victory.”
Chism led the Jets with 10 points, including three treys in the second half. Chance Carter tallied nine points, while Beck and Chance Mustain each finished with eight points. Nolan Lampe chipped in six, and Caden Sicka added a free throw.
“Taj had his first double-figure point game of the season and everyone else shipped in nicely,” Vance said. “Kage led us in steals with seven, while Kage, Taj, and Chance Carter had six rebounds apiece.
“Nolan Lampe gave us a boost with two three-pointers, Caden Sicka played some aggressive defense, and Zach Good got in his first action of the season after being sidelined until now with a broken foot.”
Southern Coffey County, which held a five-point lead in the third quarter, was led by Cyrus Nickel with 15 points, while Kaden Boling tossed in eight, but did not score in the second half.
“A win is a win, and we did not quit playing despite the fact we could not throw the ball in the ocean,” Vance said. “We need a good practice on Monday, as our schedule for the upcoming week is very tough.”
SCC did manage a 34-19 victory in a two-quarter junior varsity game. Eliot Ard led the Jets JV with six points, while Caden Sicka had five. Zach Good and Kenny Smith three each while Nolan Lampe added two.
AMHS GIRLS
The Altoona-Midway Lady Jets jumped to an early lead and were never really threatened as they defeated Southern Coffey County 37-21.
It was the second consecutive win for the AMHS girls, who rolled past Chetopa 47-20 on Tuesday. The latest two games mark the two best offensive outputs on the season for the Lady Jets.
“I was so proud of the way we played,” said AMHS girls’ coach Jessica Porter. “Things have started clicking for us these past two games. We looked really good this week, and hopefully we’ll be able to build on this momentum.”
SCC was completely outclassed in the first half, as the Lady Jets jumped to an 11-1 advantage and increased the margin to 19-5 at intermission. Foul trouble in the second half plagued AMHS, which began the game with only six girls in uniform.
After building a 27-9 lead after three quarters, the Jets watched SCC go on a 10-1 run, closing the gap to 28-19 midway in the period. But Altoona-Midway regrouped and allowed the Lady Titans just two more points the rest of the way.
“We persevered through our foul trouble, and that was impressive,” Porter said. “Our ball movement and reading the floor have also improved tremendously.”
Brooklynn Collins had an outstanding performance for the Lady Jets, scoring a career-high 15 points and controlling the boards. Jasa Pankaskie also reached double figures, pouring in 13 points.
AMHS also got three points from Keyleigh Cline and two each from Ava Tindle, Destiny Raymond, and Peyton Drake.
“It was the second game in a row that every player suited we up was able to get into the scoring column,” Porter said.
Brooke Marlow had 10 points and Hailey Honn seven for the Lady Titans.