Joshua Meigs

SATURDAY, Dec. 5, 2020

ALTOONA-MIDWAY HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

         BUFFALO – Nice start, coach.

         Lane Huffman, in his first season as head coach of the Altoona-Midway High School boys’ basketball team, saw his troops turn in a well-rounded performance in a 46‑42 victory over Hartford, providing the Jets new coach a victory in their season-opener here Friday night at Milo Peterson Gymnasium.

         In the meantime, the Lady Jets will have to wait to get their season under way. There was no girls’ contest Friday due to a quarantine issue with the Hartford Lady Jaguars.

         Altoona-Midway and Hartford were knotted at 18 at the half. The Jets went up by six after three periods, and then withstood a couple of late runs by the Jags.

         Senior Josh Meigs poured in 20 points to pace the AMHS attack, while junior  Jackson Ashmore also reached double figures with 10, and junior Dalton Smith added seven points.

         “Our offense and defense were led by our captains, Josh and Jackson,” said Coach Huffman, an AMHS alum who served as an assistant coach before taking over the reins this season. “They both hit big shots and got steals when it mattered.”

         But Huffman was quick to add the victory was a total team effort.

         “We got into early foul trouble, and I was impressed with our bench play,” Huffman noted. “We truly had a “next-guy-up’ mentality. Everybody stepped up and made a play.

         “Chase Nalley hit a shot to tie the game just before halftime, Alex Troutman hit a three during the key third-quarter surge, and sophomore Andy Tiger came off the bench and provided some great minutes late, hitting a shot and grabbing some important rebounds,” Huffman added.

         After Hartford closed the gap to 40-37 with under three minutes remaining, Meigs took the game over.

The senior captain, who played every minute of the game, made three-of-four free throws and then added an old-fashioned three-point play to put the Jets up 46-37 with less than a minute to play. Despite the Jaguars scoring the final five points, AMHS claimed the four-point win.

         The teams also played a two-quarter jayvee contest, with Hartford winning 17-7.

         The Marais des Cygnes Valley Tournament slated Dec. 8-11 has been cancelled, so the Jets next action will come Thursday, Dec. 10, at Leroy, where they will square off against Southern Coffey County. Tipoff is slated for 5 p.m. with a boys’ JV half, followed by the girls’ varsity and then the boys’ varsity.