(Guthrie Center) Energy brought on the defensive end by seldom used reserves Brock Littler and Austin Kunkle helped ACGC overcome a seven point fourth quarter hole in 49-46 win against Woodward-Granger on Friday. A pressure defense in the final few minutes quickly trimmed the gap from 44-37 to 44-42. The lead changed hands three times in the final two minutes in front of the first “full” crowd allowed at ACGC this season.
The Chargers are enjoying the best start in school history. Their fourth straight win has moved them to 7-2 overall. Eli Kading who scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half said afterwards, “I knew this was a game we knew we could or should win so when we came out in the second half I had to turn up the energy for us to make sure we got it done. This is the best start in our school history and it’s very exciting to be a part of.”
Clayton Wardyn hit a big three during a 5-0 stretch that got the team back into the game in the final few minutes. He also came away with a steal with 3.5 seconds remaining to diminish Woodward-Granger’s chances. “We were concerned, but we knew we were the better team and we were going to come out and play like we were supposed to be. Everybody was a little bit nervous, but we came out and fixed it.
Neither team led by more than four points up until the final minute of the second quarter. The visitors broke a 21-all tie with the final five points of the half to lead 26-21 at the break.
ACGC’s quick 6-0 surge at the start of the third quarter gave them a brief lead. Woodward-Granger controlled the tempo and got a lot of good looks in the half court to reclaim the lead and would go up by as many as six in the third quarter.
The Hawks played with a lead most of the fourth quarter until ACGC finally got results from their press in the last few minutes. In addition to 16 points from Eli Kading, Ben Marsh scored 9, Clayton Wardyn 8, and Miles Kading 7. Woodward-Granger had Walker Deputy and Dylan Backe in double figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
