(Carroll) Atlantic held off Kuemper’s late-game rally to salvage a 65-58 win in a boy’s Hawkeye Ten Conference Basketball game at Kuemper on Friday night.
Three players scored in double figures for the Trojans. Grant Sturm posted a season-high 18-points, Skyler Handlos, 16, and Dayton Templeton scored 14-points. Michael Pottebaum came off the bench and scored 13-points, Mitchell Badding netted 13-points, and John Mayhall recorded 12-points for Kuemper.
Dayton Templeton’s layup at the end of the first quarter sparked the Trojans. The junior dribbled the length of the floor and banked in a layup at the buzzer to give the Trojans a 16-14 first-quarter lead.
Skyler Handlos sparked the Trojan’s offense in the second quarter with three long-range buckets and a two-point shot. Grant Sturm added fuel to the fire with two-three point baskets, and Brother Ethan Sturm buried one, to boost the Trojans to a 39-27 lead at the break.
Grant Sturm and Handlos kept the “hot hands” in the third quarter. Sturm splashed in two deep shots, and Handlos netted one to help boost the score to 60-44.
But the Knights battled back, and held the visitors to a stingy five points, and scratched and clawed back within four points late in the contest. Michael Pottebaum knocked down two key three-point shots, and Mitchell Badding was a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line. While the Trojans earned a big lead on 10-three point baskets during the game, they couldn’t cash in on the free ones late in the contest, missing eight free throws down the stretch, which allowed the Knights to come within striking distance late in the contest.
Besides the three players in double figures for Atlantic, Craig Alan Becker scored seven points, Garrett Reynolds, 4, and Ethan Sturm and Caden Andersen each scored three points.
The win places the Trojans at 2-1 in the Conference, and 3-3 overall. Atlantic hosts Clarinda on Tuesday. Kuemper falls to 2-6. The Knights travel to Van Meter on Monday night.
