Falcons struggle against Marathon, Loyal
The Abbotsford boys basketball team fell in two home games over the past week. The Falcons could not find the offensive firepower to keep pace with Marathon or Loyal, losing both games by double digits.
51-33
Abbotsford’s defense held Loyal to just 51 points on Tuesday night, the Falcons’ second lowest total of the season and only one point more than they gave up to Greenwood. In their game against the Indians, Abbotsford scored 62 points and was able to claim the victory.
Unfortunately, the offense was unable to find as much success against the Greyhounds. Despite a solid defensive effort, the Falcons were only able to score 33 points, leading to the 51-33 loss.
Brandon Diedrich and Grayson Totzke combined to score two-thirds of the Falcons’ points on Tuesday evening, both contributing 11 in the effort. Noah Schraufnagel added seven points and Evan Reis and AJ Brodhagen had two points each.
Marathon, 73-35
The Falcons could not match Marathon’s height and prowess on the blocks during Thursday evening’s home matchup between the two Marawood teams. Riding 58 points scored in the paint, the Red Raiders cruised to a 73-35 win over Abbotsford.
Short one of their biggest presences down low in Adam Diedrich, the Falcons struggled to find any way to stop Marathon from attacking the blocks. Combine that with solid defensive play from the visitors and the Red Raiders were able to take a 20-5 lead by the midway point of the first half. Marathon continued to stifle Abbotsford’s offense as the period continued, widening the gap to 33 points by halftime.
With both sides turning to their benches for significant portions of the second period, the Falcons fared slightly better. They outscored the Red Raiders 18-10 over the final 12 minutes of the game, making the final slightly closer than the 63-17 deficit they found themselves in before that run.
Esteban Gomez led the Falcons with 12 points and two steals. AJ Brodhagen ended the game with seven points and four rebounds, Brandon Diedrich had four points and a team high five rebounds and Uriel Ochoa added four points and two blocks. Also scoring for Abbotsford were Blake Bargender with three, Grayson Totzke and Noah Schraufnagel with two and Gatlin Faber with one. Totzke led the team with four assists.
Abbotsford’s next game will be this Friday, Feb. 10 at Assumption. The Royals are 8-12 this season but are coming off a 53-34 victory over Tigerton. Tipoff is set for 7:15 p.m.
