Abby can’t find wins in Crandon, Prentice
Despite shooting 10-of-18 from beyond the three-point line, the Abbotsford Falcons could not keep pace with the Crandon Cardinals on the road. The home team held against a strong second half offensive performance by the Falcons to defeat Abbotsford 85-68.
Both teams entered the non-conference matchup looking to snap significant losing streaks. The Cardinals had yet to win in 2023, their last victory coming on December 28 against Suring. Since then, Crandon had lost six in a row, all of which came by doubledigit margins. Meanwhile, the Falcons brought an even longer streak into the game. After beating Greenwood in their third game of the season, Abbotsford had not notched a win in the 14 straight contests leading into the game against Crandon. A win would likely serve as a boost of confidence going into the final stretch of the season for the victors.
Things largely went the Cardinals way in the first period, with the home team putting up 36 points over the course of the half, a total that Crandon had barely met over the course of an entire game in three of their last seven contests. Meanwhile, the Falcons were held to just 24 points, putting them in a double-digit deficit that would be difficult to overcome.
In some ways, Abbotsford improved in the second half. Their 44 points scored over the period nearly doubled their first half output and would have put them within striking distance if they could hold back Crandon’s offense. Unfortunately for the Falcons, the Cardinals scored a season high 49 points in the second half, keeping Abbotsford at bay and giving them the 85-68 win.
Brandon and Adam Diedrich led Abbotsford in scoring, putting up 25 and 19 points respectively. Esteban Gomez had eight points, Noah Schraufnagel ended the game with six, Jacob Hirsh had four, Grayson Totzke came in with three and Blake Bargender rounded out the scoring for the Falcons with two.
Abbotsford also lost 77-37 to the Prentice Buccaneers on Tuesday evening. The loss dropped them to 0-8 in the Marawood-North conference and 1-18 overall. The Falcons will host a 14-3 Marathon team this Monday. If Abbotsford is hoping to play spoiler and claim their second win of the season, they will have to try to stop the Red Raiders’ Grant Warren, who is averaging 23.1 point per game this year. The game will be the first part of a varsity boys and girls double-header and is set to start at 5:30 p.m.
