The Aplington-Parkersburg boys basketball team achieved a program record, and the girls fell at #10 (2A) Hudson in an NICL-Central split Friday, as aired on 99 The Wave. The boys won 67-18 and the girls lost 51-45.
The 18 points given up in the boys game is a single-game program record, surpassing the previous low of 23. The Falcons dominated from the start, jumping out to a 21-4 lead after the first quarter. In the second quarter, Hudson was held scoreless until the 0:29 mark. The team shot a sizzling 56 percent, led by Benny Waller with 23 points and Caleb Campbell with 13.
“Impressed with our guys, just their focus and intensity tonight,” Head Coach Aaron Thomas says. “They came in really ready to play, and I knew Hudson had a lot of new players, so wasn’t 100 percent and our guys did a very good job on the scouting report. I thought our defensive intensity and our rebounding was was off the charts tonight. We were up the passing lanes, really contained the ball well, and then I thought we moved it and shared it a lot better. We started a little stagnant against that zone, but I thought we really picked up and we got the ball moving. Just a really nice team win, to get all 15 guys on the court, 11 guys scored. That was a fun night.”
AP is 5-0 and 2-0 in the NICL-Central.
In the girls game, the Falcons were frigid in their shot attempts, but held strong defensively for a 17-14 halftime deficit. While the Falcons had a much better second half in increasing their shooting percentage to 33.3, they couldn’t cash in on key scoring opportunities, going 1/15 from three-point range. The Falcons cut a double digit deficit down to six, but Hudson sealed the game at the free throw line. Head Coach Brady Driscol says it was a game of missed opportunities.
“Especially early on, we thought kind of right away from the tip, and then the first maybe four or five possessions, you could have had three or four buckets there too,” Driscol says. “I remember thinking right away, like, it could be 8-0 right now early. I mean, it might have been like 4-0 them or something, so definitely had our chances, especially early on, and we kind of talked about that. In late game situations in the second half, fourth quarter, when we need a rally, it’s hard when they’re up eight and then you cut it to six, and you cut it to one and then things are a lot different. But it kept bouncing back between eight and six. We could never get it back. And I think especially early opportunities hurt that.”
Peyton Klooster scored 16 points and Quinnlyn Schultz added 11. AP is 4-2 and 1-1 in the NICL-Central.
The Falcons will return to action Tuesday by hosting Dike-New Hartford in NICL-Central action on 99 The Wave.
Aaron Thomas interview:
Brady Driscol interview:
