Abby boys come up short against Athens, Bucs
By Nathaniel Underwood
The Abbotsford boys basketball team mounted two comeback attempts over the past week but came up just short in both of them, losing at home to the Prentice Buccaneers last Tuesday before falling on the road at Athens on Friday evening.
Athens, 62-60
The Falcons have had a number of late comeback efforts over the season, from a victory over Newman-Catholic to a close loss to Spencer, and they added two more last week against a pair of Marawood-North conference foes. Unfortunately for the Abbotsford squad, both resulted in losses, the most recent of which was when a 15-point second half rally fell just short for Abbotsford last Friday in Athens. The Bluejays’ Jordan Frahm sank a short basket with a second left on the clock to break the 60-60 tie and dealt the Falcons their fourth straight loss.
A similar shot from Frahm gave the Bluejays their largest lead of the game, a 59-44 advantage with 5:34 left to play. The play capped off a 16-6 run for Athens, one that had appeared to permanently shift control of the contest towards the home team.
However, the Falcons full court defense continued to put pressure on the Bluejays, forcing short possessions or turnovers. AJ Brodhagen notched three straight points for Abbotsford to start the visitor’s late game push and Grayson Totzke hit two consecutive three-point shots to keep the momentum rolling. Baskets from Brodhagen and Payton Schreiber brought the Falcons back within one possession and a steal from Totzke turned into a short-range jumper on the opposite end to tie the game at 60-60 with a minute-and-ahalf left to play.
Abbotsford had an opportunity to take the lead on their final possession of the game, but could not come away with points. After Athens missed two free throws, the Falcons took over the ball and poked at the Bluejays defense along the perimeter on their next possession, looking for an opportunity and draining the clock. Not able to find a chance to strike, Abbotsford called a timeout with eight seconds left to regroup. The following inbound play ended in a turnover for the Falcons, however, giving Athens the final possession of the game.
Though the visiting Abbotsford squad outrebounded the Bluejays 37-30 and narrowly outshot their opponents, ending the game with a 42.0 shooting percentage compared to Athens’ 41.4 percent, the Falcons’ 18 turnovers to the home team’s 11 gave the Bluejays a few more possessions to work with.
Totzke and Schreiber both had 15 points and Schreiber brought down eight boards as the team’s leading rebounder. Brohagen had nine points, five rebounds and three assists, Irvin Aguilera notched eight points and three
STAFF PHOTOS/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
assists and Koren Decker had six points. JV Castillo added five points and Evan Reis rounded out the scoring with two points.
Prentice, 58-52
The loss in Athens was not the only close contest Abbotsford had over the last week. The Falcons were close to pulling out an upset of the Prentice Buccaneers in their second matchup with their Marawood-North foes last Tuesday, but the visiting Bucs were able to outlast Abbotsford in the game’s final moments, dealing the home team a 58-52 defeat.
Down 50-41 with just over three minutes left, the Falcons mounted a furious comeback effort. In such a closely contested game, the deficit matched the largest Abbotsford had found themselves in, but they were not through. Grayson Totzke hit a baseline jumper to start things off for the Falcons, AJ Brodhagen followed with a tough basket underneath and Totzke connected on a threepoint shot that capped off the 7-0 run for Abbotsford.
Back within a single possession and with under a minute to play, the Falcons employed a full court press to try and force a turnover, but instead fouled, resulting in two made free throws from Prentice’s Evan Lord, who had a game-high 21 points. A steal by the Bucs’ Andrew Murphy on the subsequent Abbotsford possession turned into a fast break basket on the opposite end and suddenly the visitors held a 54-48 lead.
Koren Decker drove to the basket and connected on a layup for the Falcons on their next time down the floor, cutting Prentice’s lead back down to four, but the Buccaneers connected on all four of their final free throw attempts to seal the game.
The Falcons led for much of the first half, with a basket from Totzke giving Abbotsford a 20-13 lead with seven minutes left in the period. However, Prentice was able to limit the Falcons to just four points over those final seven minutes and was able to head into halftime with a 27-24 advantage.
While Prentice was able to come through with clutch shots from the charity stripe in the game’s closing moments, the Falcons inability to convert similar opportunities into points may have been a difference maker. The Buccaneers went 9-for-13 from the free throw line, whereas Abbotsford was only able to make four of their 14 free throws over the course of the game.
Totzke led the team with 16 points while adding seven rebounds. Brodhagen also finished in double digits with 10 points and three steals. Payton Schreiber hit two threes and finished with eight points and a teamhigh eight rebounds, JV Castillo had six points and led the team with three assists and four steals, and Preston Bunkelman had three points. Decker and Irvin Aguilera had two points each.
WORKING IN THE PAINT - AJ Brodhagen, left, and Payton Schreiber, right, pictured fighting points down low against Rib Lake, were a big part of the Falcons’ rallies over the past week.
