BUFFALO — A young and short-handed Marmaton Valley High squad has taken its lumps on the basketball court this season.
The Wildcats saw their season ended Friday at the Class 1A-II Substate Quarterfinals, falling 75-31 at Altoona-Midway.
As has been the case in previous losses, turnovers and a lack of depth proved costly.
But much like previous contests, the Wildcats didn’t go down without a fight.
Altoona jumped out to a 10-1 lead when Marmaton Valley’s Quincy Adams embarked on a personal 13-2 in a 2½-minute stretch to give the Wildcats a 14-12 lead.
“We played a great first quarter,” Wildcat head coach Gavin Cole said. “Unfortunately, foul trouble and turnovers in the second quarter led to some easy baskets.”
The Jets out-scored the Wildcats 24-5 in the second period to take control.
Altoona-Midway extended its 36-19 halftime lead to 53-28 by the end of the third, and then closed the game with a 22-3 run.
Adams continued his sterling play to the end, winding up with 23 points for Marmaton Valley.
“Quincy played extremely well again tonight and put a ton of pressure on Altoona to defend dribble penetration,” Cole said, pointing to the 10 fouls he drew, primarily from attacking the rim. “We played with a lot of heart and I’m proud of that.”
Evan Kent added six points for the Wildcats.
Josh Meigs led all scorers with 29 points, 21 after halftime. Alex Troutman added 12 and Jackson Ashmore scored 10.
“We obviously were young and short-handed throughout much of this season but we gained some very valuable experience and I am happy with the improvement we made,” Cole saidl. ‘I’m excited to work with these boys throughout the offseason to come back stronger, faster, and improved next season.”
Marmaton Valley (14-5-9-3—31) (FG/3pt): Cook 0-0-1-0, Adams 7/1-6-3-23, Ensminger 0-2-4-2, Kent 2-2-5-6, Kale 0-0-3-0. TOTALS: 9/1-10-16-31.
Altoona-Midway (12-24-17-22—75) (FG/3pt): Jo. Meigs 11/1-4-4-29, Ashmore 6-0-3-12, Smith 3-0-0-6, Ja. Meigs 2-0-3-4, Collins 1-0-0-2, Nalley 1-0-2-2, Troutman 4/1-1-2-12, Poeverlein 2-0-2-4, Tiger 2-0-1-4. TOTALS: 32/2-5-17-75
