Central boys endure loss, but learn in the process
Ashton Burroughs once again led all of Central’s bench players with three points, two assists and one steal. (Photos by Bev Hamann)
CJ Polkinghorn edges past MFL MarMac’s Carver Blietz-Bentien in the Warriors’ 64-41 loss to the Bulldogs. Polkinghorn had seven points, seven rebounds and one steal in the game.
By Willis Patenaude, Times-Register
The Central boys basketball team suffered another defeat last week, losing 64-41 to MFL MarMac on Dec. 22. The game came down to the Bulldog defense and missed opportunities for the Warriors.
“MFL played solid man defense throughout the game. While they made our job difficult by taking away easy shots, there were also shots that we missed that frankly were quality looks,” coach Brady Stramer said.
Central’s offense was stifled, shooting only 23.4 percent from the field and 17.2 percent on three pointers, which comes out to making only five of 29 attempts. Conversely, MFL MarMac shot over 40 percent in both categories.
When asked about the low percentage of three pointers made, Stramer stressed that, while the Warriors don’t shy away from shooting the three, it’s also not something they want to force.
“It is not about the number of three pointers that we shoot, but the kind of threes we take. Generally speaking, we need to do a better job of getting the ball into the paint and attacking the hoop. Doing so will lead to drive and kick three-point shots, which are the ones that we want and the ones that we shoot the best percentage on,” he said.
The Warriors fell behind early in the game, trailing by 16 at halftime, before settling down and limiting the Bulldogs in the second half.
“As has been the case in several of our recent games, we had one stretch that put us in too big of a hole to climb out of. We allowed MFL MarMac to go on a big run to close the first half by not locating their perimeter shooters. I thought, generally speaking, our defense did a lot of good things, but we need to put together a complete 32-minute effort and not have a quarter that sets us too far back,” Stramer said.
The team was led in scoring and rebounding by Hazen Loan, who had 12 points and nine rebounds. He was followed by CJ Polkinghorn with seven points, seven rebounds and one steal, while Parker Vaughn had five points, two assists, two rebounds and two steals. Evan Pensel picked up four points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. First-time starter Abenet Lammers scored five points, one rebound and one steal.
Ashton Burroughs once again led all bench players with three points, two assists and one steal. The rest of the bench was limited to five points, one steal and four rebounds.
Asked about the production from the bench, Stramer said, “The reality is that the majority of our shot attempts are being taken by our starters, which will obviously lead to more scoring with that group. However, the guys coming off the bench have been and will continue to help us in a variety of areas. Rebounding, defense and distributing assists are all areas of need that are of great importance for the team.”
Some of the team’s struggles came from being out-rebounded 39-27 and on fouls, where the Warriors committed 21 to the Bulldogs’ 12. The fouls led to 25 free throw attempts and 15 points for the Bulldogs.
Two areas of success for the Warriors were in turnovers and steals. They finished with eight steals and a season-low nine turnovers.
“One big positive for us on the offensive end was our ability to limit turnovers. We had our lowest turnover number of the season, which is a huge positive for us heading into break,” Stramer said.
The 2-7 Warriors return to the hardwood on Jan. 4, kicking off the new year on the road against 5-3 Edgewood-Colesburg. They follow that with a home game on Jan. 8, against 0-4 Postville.
