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TMS boys playing well

The middle school boys basketball teams took on Lovell Saturday with the eighth grade boys having home court advantage and the seventh graders playing in Lovell.

Even though the eighth grade A team lost in a close one, 31-36, coach Ryan Shaffer said, “This was a good game to see if the changes we made and the things we worked on would actually pay off, and overall, I believe it did.”

Shaffer said the boys came out with a strong first quarter and really stayed in it during the second quarter.

“Our biggest issue was the third quarter where our defense got a little slack,” he said. “We allowed 14 of the 36 points in the third, giving them an eight point lead going into the fourth. We came back, though, and near the end of the fourth had the ball down to just three points.”

After a few misses, the boys started fouling to get the ball back and Lovell stayed strong from the foul line to put the game out of reach.

“Overall we played well and made it a good game til the end,” he said. “Had some better shooting, just haven’t been able to get to the foul line and make a difference there.

“Lovell shot 13 free throws to our four, so that was a big difference in the game for sure. We have to work on getting to the hoop with contact.”

Kanyon Gerber led the team with eight points, followed by Andrue Howell with six. Ethan Music and Jhett Longwell each added four to the scoreboard, Will Coale dropped in three points, and Sean Slagle, Jeffrey Lewis and Porter McCumber each scored two.

The eighth grade B team had a close one too, falling to Lovell 24-30.

Coach Shaffer said this game was definitely decided at the free throw line, adding, “we did a great job at getting to the hoop, making contact and getting to the line, however, we struggle actually making the hard work count.

“We had a lot of guys with chances, but in the end, we missed more than 10 free throws, and in a game that was decided by six points, that hurts a lot.

“We will continue to work hard in practice, and hopefully the wins will start coming.”

Slagle and Jessen Basse were the high scorers with six points each, followed by Trenton May with five, Ethan Crow with four and Mason Reese with three points.

This week they will be taking on Shoshoni and Burlington and Shaffer hopes to see how a few changes play out in a game.

The seventh grade teams didn’t have a whole lot of luck against Lovell either, with the A team dropping 17-46 and the B team, although a tight game, lost 20-22.

The A team had a rough one against a very tall Lovell team.

“We continue to be very tentative at attacking the rim on offense,” said coach Daniel Webber. “This is something we will be working on in practice. We will also work on installing a new defense so we can mix it up when we have bad matchups like we did in this game.

“We have a chance to get right back at it and recover with a home game against Shoshoni.”

Dennis Korte and Hayden Overfield held high score honors against Lovell, each young man scoring four points. Ellis Webber knocked in three while Ryan Arends, Nolan Collins and Bridger Peil each had two points.

“Our B team fought hard in the game against Lovell,” Webber said. “I was pleased with our overall effort and intensity, however, a few untimely turnovers and defensive lapses got us down the stretch.

“We’re are going to focus this week in practice on taking better care of the ball and being ready on defense every possession.”

Webber took top scorer for the game, tipping in 11 points. Cody Bomengen scored four and Peil and Stone Pebbles each dropped in two. Overfield added one more point with a free throw.

 

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