(Atlantic) Toby Bower scored 24-points, and Avery Phillippi scored 18 to lead Nodaway Valley over Atlantic, 67-61, in a non-conference boy’s basketball game at Atlantic on Saturday night.
Nodaway Valley knocked down six three-point shots in the first quarter to open up a 22-11 lead. Bower and Boston DeVault, splashed in two, of the long-range bombs, and Matthew Weber and Avery Phillippi joined the party with one each. The visitors pushed the lead to 39-21 at the break.
“We missed about seven or eight close-range shots inside in the first half, and you can’t do that against a well-coached team like Nodaway Valley,” said Atlantic Head Coach Jeff Ebling. “I have to give them credit; their coaching is phenomenal; they shot the ball extremely well in the first half and built a big lead.”
Despite the large deficit, the Trojans kept battling and found their rhythm in the third quarter outscoring Nodaway Valley 23-13. Skylar Handlos drew the “hot hand.” The senior shooting guard scored 14-points to give the home team a fighting chance down the stretch. The Trojans narrowed the lead to 52-43 with 1:47 to play in the third quarter. The Trojans kept chipping away in the fourth quarter, but time wasn’t on their side, and neither was Toby Bower, who knocked down seven points late in the final frame to seal Nodaway Valley’s 67-61 victory.
“I give our guys credit; they battled back and gave us a chance down the stretch; we just couldn’t make enough plays when it came down to it,” said Ebling. “I thought our ball movement and spacing were better in the second half, and we moved Skylar down to the short corner, which opened up some other things on the outside.
“We don’t like losing, but I’ve seen a lot of teams down 18-points at halftime pack it in and call it a night, and we didn’t,” said Ebling. ”
Besides Bower and Phillipi’s offensive prowess, Boston DeVault scored 10-points, Mason Menefee added 9, and Matthew Weber came off the bench and tossed in six points to help the cause.
Skylar Handlos finished the night with 27-points for the Trojans. Grant Sturm scored 13, Dayton Templeton, 7, Ethan Sturm and Craig Alan Becker, five points each, Ethan Williams, 4, and Garrett Reynolds 2.
“Grant Sturm had a good night shooting the ball, and Skylar Handlos had a good game, and Ethan Sturm did some other things for us that won’t show up in the scoring column,” added Ebling. “Dayton Templeton played well, and you always know what we’re going to get from Craig Alan Becker and Ethan Williams.
“It wasn’t our night,” said Ebling. “We’ll evaluate ourselves, regroup, and come back on Monday and get ready for Shenandoah on Tuesday.”
Atlantic falls to 2-3 on the season. Nodaway Valley moves to 4-3.
