Falcons struggle to stop ‘Jays, Greyhounds, ‘Bucs
The Abbotsford Falcons varsity boys basketball team is still searching for consistency. There have been times when the Falcons have had multiple players score in double figures, but it’s doing it on a nightly basis that is eluding Abby.
Those offensive struggles resulted in a pair of road losses to Athens and Loyal last week that extends the Falcons’ losing skid to nine straight.
It was to the Athens Bluejays that the Falcons suffered the first of last week’s losses, falling in Athens on Tuesday, Jan. 25 by a final score of 77-35.
The Falcons struggled to take care of the ball, gifting the ‘Jays with 23 turnovers that allowed Athens to enter the break up 52-20. Those extra possession allowed Athens to attempt 75 shots from the floor, while the Falcons had a mere 32 field goal attempts. Abby also had a hard time stopping the ‘Jays’ balanced offense.
Kody Lepak, Aidan Janke and Cooper Diedrich did the heavy lifting, scoring 22, 16 and 12 points against the Falcons. The Falcons shooting woes followed them into the second half. Abby had just 15 points while Athens added 25 points.
Brandon Hawkey was Abby’s leading scorer, tallying 13 points on a very effi cient five of seven shooting. Esteban Gomez added seven points. Adam and Brandon Diedrich both finished with five points, and Preston Bunkelman and JV Castillo rounded things out with three and two points.
The Falcons turned in a more polished performance two days later, travelling to Loyal to take on the Greyhounds in a non-conference tussle between Marawood and Cloverbelt squads.
The Falcons discovered the Greyhounds had a fearsome bite, and despite putting up 42 points, Loyal did better, scoring 62 points to hand the Falcons their ninth straight loss.
Esteban Gomez had a tremendous game against Loyal, scoring a team high 14 points and hauling in 10 rebounds. Brandon Diedrich finished with 11 points and seven boards. Adam Diedrich finished with ten points and seven rebounds, and a game high four blocks.
Brandon Hawkey nearly joined his teammates in double figures, notching eight points. Sophomore Blake Bargender was the only other Falcon to score on Thursday, hanging two points on Loyal.
Prentice, 77-44
Abbotsford was back at home on Tuesday night, but could not notch the upset over the Prentice Buccanners.
Prentice raced out to a 39-23 advantage in the first half, and carried that momentum into the second half for the 77-44 victory. Brandon and Adam Diedrich scored 13 and ten points in the loss.
Esteban Gomez added another eight points. Brandon Hawkey scored four points. Preston Bunkelman and Jacob Hirsch chipped in with three points and Blake Bargender scored two points.
The Falcons will next play a road game in Marathon City on Friday. Tip-off against the Red Raiders is 7:15 p.m.
