Wednesday, Feb.9, 2022
ALTOONA-MIDWAY HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
LEROY – A pair of heart-stopping close games – with some controversy thrown into the girls’ game for good measure – was the rule of the day when Altoona-Midway High School traveled here Tuesday to square off against Southern Coffey County High School in a Class 1A-DII doubleheader.
In the boys’ game, a free throw by Andy Tiger with just 2.2 seconds left lifted Altoona-Midway to a rousing 53-52 victory.
That game followed an overtime thriller in which the host Lady Titans squeezed out a 50-46 triumph over AMHS girls. The controversy did not develop until afterwards, when it was discovered the official scorebook did not match the scoreboard, and that perhaps the Lady Jets should have won the game in regulation.
Altoona-Midway activities director Jeff Almond and Lady Jets head coach Randy Almond both said the discrepancy was not noticed until after the overtime period, and that the rule book states that once a game ends and a winner is determined, it is not possible to go back and remedy the situation.
“You hate to see what was a terrific game come down to a controversy like that,” AMHS coach Randy Almond noted. “It’s disappointing, but what’s done is done, and I sure don’t want to take anything away from Southern Coffey County. It was a great ballgame.
“I just feel sorry for my girls because they battled so hard from start to finish.”
Both Altoona-Midway teams are slated to return home on Friday for a twinbill against Marmaton Valley.
AMHS Girls
The scoreboard read 41-41 at the end of regulation. However, the official scorebook listed a total of 12 points for AMHS in the fourth quarter, but only 10 points were recorded on the electronic box.
Trailing 37-36, Mariah Stackhouse hit a trey to put AMHS ahead 39-37, and Ava Hufford hit two free throws to give the Lady Jets a 41-37 advantage with just 30 seconds left. But SCC hit a free throw and late three-pointer to send the game into overtime.
The Lady Titans scored the first four points in the extra period, and despite a heroic effort by the Lady Jets freshman Emmalynn Pupanek, who scored all five of the team’s points in overtime, SCC hit some late free throws to salt away the victory.
“We played SCC back in December (the second game of the season) and lost by 24 points (59-35), so that shows you what kind of improvement these girls have made,” Almond said. “It goes down as a hard-fought loss, but I am very proud of the way we played.
“Summer Raymond and Ava Hufford played a great game of defense on the perimeter, while Mariah Stackhouse, Emmalynn Pupanek, Kyra O’Connor and Autumn Raymond took care of business down low on defense,” he added.
According to the official scorebook, Stackhouse led the Lady Jets (2-12) with 17 points while Hufford and Summer Raymond each had 10. Pupanek finished with eight points and O’Connor chipped in three.
Weers poured in 25 points for the Lady Titans, including seven in overtime, while Ohl tossed in 11.
AMHS Boys
Tiger’s free throw allowed the Jets (4-11) to escape with a narrow win after AMHS almost led victory slip through its fingers. The Jets held three separate five-point leads in the final two minutes, the last one with under a minute to play. But SCC rallied with a quick trey and then hit a mid-range jumper with 15 seconds to play to tie the score and set up the exciting finish.
“We knew tonight was going to be a great battle between two teams trying to get back to winning. Both of us had three wins heading in, and we’re in the same sub-state bracket,” said AMHS head coach Lane Huffman. “This was a revenge game for us as we lost to SCC (55-38) back in December. The game was extremely tight the whole way, and we got lucky a few more times than they did at the end.
“Andy Tiger was fouled at the end, stepped up and made one to win the game,” Huffman said. “After an errant pass we had the ball with 1.8 seconds, ran our in-bounds play perfectly, giving us a chance to run out the clock risk free.”
Senior Jackson Ashmore fired in 21 points to lead the Jets offensively, while Tiger and Dalton Smith chipped in eight points apiece, Jacob Meigs tallied seven, William Stackhouse scored five, and Harley Lopeman added two.
SCC led 9-7 after one period, and AMHS was up 22-21 at halftime. The Titans regained a slim 38-37 advantage entering the fourth quarter. Smith hit a pair of free throws early in the final stanza to give the Jets a lead they never relinquished.
“I’m proud of our guys and their focus,” Huffman said. “We said that defense and focus would win us this game, and I think our guys locked in during the fourth quarter and there was no stopping us.”
It was the second win in three outings for the Jets varsity. AMHS also won the two-quarter junior varsity game, marking their second consecutive win.