Abby bounced in pair of non-conference games

By Nathaniel Underwood

The Abbotsford boys basketball team was dealt two losses over the past week, falling to the Loyal Greyhounds on the road and losing to the Edgar Wildcats at home. The pair of defeats dropped the Falcons to 3-13 this season.

Loyal, 65-36

Abbotsford could not keep pace with the three-point shooting of Loyal in the two team’s non-conference matchup on Monday evening. The Greyhounds shot 42.9 percent from deep and held the Falcons to 15 second-half points as they cruised to a 65-36 victory over the visiting Abbotsford squad.

The Falcons never led in the contest, but kept things close for much of the opening period. After falling behind 7-0, Abbotsford closed the gap to a single possession on numerous occasions. Evan Reis’s transition basket closed the gap to three points early, as would Koren Decker’s left handed layup later in the period, but Loyal notched three-point shots following each to keep the Falcons at an arm’s length.

A three from Preston Bunkelman made the score 16-14, but once again the Falcons were held from potentially tying the game or taking the lead. Another make from beyond the arc from Grayson Totzke brought the Falcons back within two a few possessions later at 19-17, but the Greyhounds began to inch away as the half moved towards its conclusion. Loyal went on a 13-4 run to finish out the first period and took a 32-21 lead into halftime.

The Greyhounds continued to build out their advantage in the opening minutes of the second period. Abbotsford struggled to find any consistency on the offensive end of the floor over the stretch and was outscored 18-4 to fall behind 50-25. The visitors were never able to recover from the deficit and ultimately fell 65-36.

Totzke led the team with seven points and 10 rebounds. Blake Bargender and AJ Brodhagen had five points apiece, Decker and JV Castillo finished with four points each and Bunkelman had three points. Reis, Miguel Bautista, Noah Schraufnagel and Irvin Aguilera all ended the game with two points.

Edgar, 85-45

The Falcons invited Edgar into town last Thursday for a Marawood-North/South matchup. The visiting Wildcats continued to roll, extending their win streak to eight with an 85-45 win over Abbotsford.

The first 10 points of the contest went to Edgar and set the tone for the rest of the contest. The Falcons found themselves outmatched on the blocks, giving up 56 points in the paint while scoring just 14. Meanwhile, Abbotsford had just 23 rebounds, compared to 48 for Edgar. The Wildcats’ ability to control the area around the basket allowed them to be highly efficient on offense, shooting 52.3 percent over the course of the game and averaging 1.19 points per possession. While the Falcons shot somewhat better from beyond the arc, making seven three-point shots to Edgar’s four and with a better shooting percentage, it was not enough to make up for the visitors’ dominance in the post.

There were points where Abbotsford was able to play evenly with the Wildcats, but they could never mount a rally to get back into the game. The closest came later in the first half, where the Falcons went on a 9-4 run to draw back within 12 of their opponents. A three from Payton Schreiber started the small rally and another three courtesy of Koren Decker followed by a free throw from the sophomore on the Falcons’ next possession capped off the run.

A 9-2 stretch for the Wildcats immediately followed, however, and Edgar was able to take a 42-23 advantage into halftime. Abbotsford was not able to turn around their fortunes in the second period and the resulting score line for the half was nearly identical to that of the first. The Wildcats outscored the home team 17-6 in the first eight minutes of the half, putting Abbotsford in a 30-point deficit that all but sealed the game for Edgar as both teams turned to their benches to finish off the contest.

While nine Falcons scored on Thursday, none finished in the double digits. AJ Brodhagen led the team with eight points, Decker followed with seven and JV Castillo had six. Bargender, Preston Bunkelman and Grayson Totzke all had five points and Schreiber, Irvin Aguilera and Carlos Lara put up three points each. Castillo had a team-high four rebounds and three assists.

Abbotsford will look to get back into the win column when they host Rib Lake next Tuesday, Jan. 30. The last time the two Marawood-North teams clashed, the Redman came out on top, 66-40. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.

SURVEYING THE COURT - Koren Decker looks to pass in the Falcons game against Edgar.

STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD