(Atlantic) Atlantic advances to the Substate Final with a 63-59 win over #6 Glenwood in a Substate semifinal boys’ basketball game at Glenwood on Thursday night.
Atlantic started the regular season with a 3-5 record and has now won 11-out-of –their last 12-games. Glenwood entered the contest with 11 straight wins.
“The guys put a lot of effort into practice with only two days to prepare, and I thought our guys did a tremendous job,” said Atlantic Head Coach Jeff Ebling. “The defense picked it up in the second half. I am proud of the boys; they did a phenomenal job, and they get rewarded with one more chance to play, and we’ll see if we can get to Des Moines.”
Skyler Handlos scored 22-points, Grant Sturm scored 13-points, Dayton Templeton 10, Ethan Sturm 8 points, Ethan Williams 7, and Garrett Reynolds finished with three points for Atlantic.
Ryan Blum led Glenwood with 37-points, Ben Hughes, 8, Jayme Fritts, 6, Silas Bales, 4, and Caden Johnson and Logyn Eckheart chipped in 2 points each.
The Trojans jumped out to a 20-14 first-quarter lead. Skyler Handlos paced the Trojans with nine points, Dayton Templeton knocked down two long-range shots, and Grant Sturm buried another three-point bucket. But, the Rams turned the table in the second quarter outscoring the visitors 21-12 and led 35-32 at the break.
The ebbs and flows continued in the second half. Atlantic came back in the third quarter and grabbed a 46-43 advantage. Glenwood led 50-49 with just over 4:00 minutes left in the contest and Atlantic came roaring back to take a 53-49 lead on Ethan Sturm’s two-free throws and a three-point basket. Atlantic held the lead for good and made enough free throws down the stretch to seal the 63-59.
“We reviewed the scouting report again before the game, and the boys knew what needed to be done,” said Ebling. “It wasn’t always pretty, but we kept battling, and to beat the #6 rated basketball team on their home floor is a big win for us.”
Atlantic matches up against #4 Dallas Center-Grimes on Monday night. The tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. We will have the broadcast on 95.7 FM.
