(Glenwood) Glenwood notched their fourth straight win with a 68-55 win over Atlantic at Glenwood on Tuesday night.
Four players scored in double-figures for the Rams. Caden Johnson and Risto Lappala finished the night with 17 points each, Logyn Eckheart, 13, and Zak Kelsey, 10. Caden Andersen led the Trojans with 15 points, Carter Pellett, 13, Colton Rasmussen, 12, and Jackson McLaren chipped in eight.
“Caden Andersen was the best player in our Christmas break practices,” said Atlantic Head Coach Derek Hall. “He got rolling in our two wins over Nodaway Valley and Shenandoah. He has been playing well, so I inserted him in the starting lineup. Defensively, he set the tone during the break. From the first day of practice, he could smell blood in the water and knew he would get another chance.
“I thought Nolan Waters played good tonight, and he and Caden Andersen were our two best players over the Christmas Break,” said Hall. “Nolan flies around, does all the dirty work, wants to rebound, and is one heck of a shooter. So credit those two for playings big for us tonight.”
Glenwood knocked down four three-point shots in the first quarter and rolled out to a 16-7 lead early. Atlantic senior Carter Pellett found his rhythm knocking down two long-range shots and a field goal to rally his team within three points, 21-18 at the end of the first frame.
The Trojans rallied, outscoring the Rams 7-2 early in the second quarter, knotted the game at 23-23, and grabbed a 27-26 lead midway through the stanza. But the Rams always had an answer; they closed out the second period on a 13-to-5 run and led 39-32 at the break. Glenwood senior forward Risto Lappala powered the offense with 14-first half-points.
“Glenwood’s four three-point baskets were big shots for them in the first half,” said Hall. “We didn’t have a high hand on some guys that don’t normally hit those shots. But credit to them, they worked on their shooting.
“Defensively, we had some defensive miscues in the second half, and we need to understand that we aren’t going to outscore people and have to rely upon our defense to keep the score down. We have to understand that and get better at playing defense.”
Atlantic made one last run at it early in the final quarter with a 5-0 run, closing within two, 52-50. But Zak Kelsey answered with a baseline three vaulting the home squad on a 15-1 run, closing out the game 68-55.
Glenwood extends its record to 7-2 and plays Shenandoah on Friday. The Trojans fall to 3-6 and travel to Kuemper, Catholic on Friday night.
