Joshua Meigs

Saturday, February 27, 2021

ALTOONA-MIDWAY HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

Jets advance to sub-state semis

         BUFFALO – The Altoona-Midway High School boys basketball team closed out its 2021 home season in style, rolling past Marmaton Valley 77-31 in an opening round Class 1A, Division II sub-state game played Friday night at Milo Peterson Gymnasium.

         The Jets hope to continue to fly above any turbulence as they now take their postseason show on the road, moving into the sub-state semifinals next Friday at St. Paul.

         Altoona-Midway (6-11), the No.2 seed in the sub-state, will square off against third-seeded Southern Coffey County (6-12) in an 8 p.m. tipoff Friday, March 5.

That contest will follow the first semifinal matchup pitting top-seeded Waverly (9-9) against No.4 seed Chetopa (5-12).

         Southern Coffey County advanced to face AMHS by virtue of a 46-42 win over Marais des Cygnes Valley. Chetopa opened postseason play by defeating St. Paul 64-45, while Waverly received a first-round bye.

         The sub-state championship game is slated for 5 p.m. Saturday, March 6, at St. Paul.

         AMHS Boys

         Fittingly, Altoona-Midway’s two seniors led the way as the Jets made the most of getting an extra home game this season by virtue of their No.2 seed in the sub-state.

Josh Meigs poured in a season-high 29 points to lead all scorers while also grabbing six rebounds. Fellow senior Alex Troutman dropped in 12 points and pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds.

“This was a great final home game for our seniors Josh and Alex,” said AMHS head coach Lane Huffman. “I'm happy the season will continue and I feel as if we are about to make a special run.

But Huffman was also quick to point out contributions were widespread.

“It was a complete team effort. Every player on our nine-man roster played, and every player scored at least two points,” Huffman mentioned.

Jackson Ashmore also reached double digits, netting 10 points while also dishing out nine assists.

Dalton Smith added six points, Lane Poeverlein, Jacob Meigs and Andy Tiger chipped in four apiece, while Chase Nalley and Blaine Collins each scored two.

Marmaton Valley, winless on the season, actually held a 14-12 lead after one period. But the Jets used a 24-5 second-quarter run to go up 36-19 halftime.

“Our slow start was due to foul trouble and unforced turnovers. Thankfully, our freshman stepped up in the second quarter and helped us build a lead going into half,” Huffman said. “Our transition offense was moving well, and our effort picked up as the game went along, but we failed to move the ball quickly in our half-court offense.

“That is something that has to change if we want to continue our postseason run.”

The semifinal pairing will provide a rematch of a game played way back on Dec. 10 at LeRoy. In that early-season contest, Southern Coffey County defeated Altoona-Midway, 55-47.