(Avoca) AHSTW is 6-0 in boys basketball for the first time more than a decade. The Vikings picked up a 75-59 win against Audubon Friday to better the 5-0 starts held by the 2006-07 and 2016-17 squads.**
The Vikings rarely trailed and used a 26 point 3rd quarter to really bust the game open against the Wheelers Friday night at home. They had 14 points apiece for Michael Mantell and Clayton Akers while Joey Cunningham splashed in four 3’s and finished with 13 points. Brayden Lund and Raydden Grobe each scored 10. The third quarter saw AHSTW turn a 36-23 lead into a commanding 62-34 edge.
A Mantell 3-point play took the team from down one at 12-11 to up two at 14-12 late in the first quarter and they never trailed after that. The team, which scored 29 3rd quarter points the previous night in a win over Shenandoah, was up to their high scoring start to the 2nd half again. The 3rd frame brought 7 made 3-pointers with Akers and Cunningham each hitting three and Kyler Sternberg burying one. Sternberg had 7 2nd half points.
Audubon got some three’s to fall in the 4th quarter to make snug up the final to 75-59. Skyler Schultes led the Wheelers with 17 and Kaiden Smith scored 15.
**The ‘Quikstats Era’ tracks back to the 2006-07 season. In 2016-17 they went 21-3 and played for a trip to state.
AHSTW Scoring: Michael Mantell 14, Clayton Akers 14, Joey Cunningham 13, Brayden Lund 10, Raydden Grobe 10, Kyle Sternberg 7, Sam Porter 5, Coel Scheffler 1
Audubon Scoring: Skyler Schultes 17, Kaiden Smith 15, Gavin Smith 8, Marcus Olsen 7, Joel Klocke 6, Joey Schramm 6
