Falcons lose the plot in loss to Assumption
There’s no sugar-coating it. It’s been a rough season for the Abbotsford Falcons boys basketball team. The wins have been hard to come by, with their last victory all the way back in late Decemeber.
And if you’re judging a team by wins and losses, the Falcons are riding a 13 game losing streak, and are 3-18 overall and 1-13 in the Marawood Conference.
But a deep dive of the Falcons’ games does a better job of telling the true story of the 2021-22 season. Abby has been solid in many of their games, but what’s been killing them is self-inflicted wounds.
On Friday, the Falcons showed their talent, but also showed their faults, as they hosted the Assumption Royals (9-11; 5-9 MSC) of the Marawood - South.
Abby began the game on the attack. Brandon Diedrich buried a three, followed by several baskets from Brandon Hawkey and Adam Diedrich that gave the Falcons an early 9-1 lead with just under thirteen to go before halftime.
The Royals soon responded, snapping off a pair of threes to make it 9-7, but the Falcons played some stingy defense and used some nice cuts and shot selection to grow their lead to 13-7 with 5:55.
But from there, the Falcons committed several sloppy turnovers and had trouble keeping the Royals off the glass. The Royals ground down Abby’s lead, closing out the game on a 11-5 run late in the first half that cut Abby’s lead to 20-18.
That momentum carried into the second half, and Abby traded ties and lead changes with the Royals through the first ten minutes. The Falcons defense remained steady, holding Assumption to just 29 percent from the floor as the Royals converted just 16 of 56 field goals.
Ordinarily, this would be enough to win a game, but the Falcons fell apart at the seams late in the game. Abbotsford simply could not hang onto the ball, and a disastrous stretch gifted the Royals with six straight possessions.
The Falcons finished the game with 26 turnovers to just 37 field goal attempts. Abby converted on 14 of those, shooting almost 40 percent from the floor.
But each turnover led to more time bled off the clock, and the Royals turned the screws on the Falcons, building their lead to 38-33 with under seven to play.
The Royals burned more time off the clock, forcing Abby to foul, and Assumption showed some ice in their veins as they shot 20 for 24 from the charity stripe, including making 12 of their 14 second half free throw attempts.
Abby tried to put up some quick threes, but Adam Diedrich was the only Falcon to sink more than one basket in the second half as the Falcons dropped another heart-breaker at home, 54-39.
Adam Diedrich led Abbotsford with 18 points, and Brandon Diedrich finished with seven points. Esteban Gomez and Brandon Hawkey each had six points, and Gatlin Faber recorded two points.
The Falcons will have an excellent opportunity to put an end to their losing streak this Friday when they host the Rib Lake Redmen at 7:15 p.m.
