BUFFALO – What could be better than the host school raising the championship trophy at the conclusion of a basketball tournament?
Easy – when both the boys’ and girls’ teams proudly hoist the coveted prize the same evening.
Such was the electrifying setting Friday night at Milo Peterson Gymnasium, as the Altoona-Midway Jets swept first-place honors to conclude the third annual Milburn G. “Mel’ Apt Memorial Tournament.
On the boys’ side of the bracket, AMHS defended its crown and claimed the tourney championship for a second consecutive year with a 63-48 victory over previously unbeaten Liberty Homeschool Alliance.
Earlier in the evening, the Lady Jets continued their recent surge with a stirring 51-40 triumph, also over LHA. The Altoona-Midway girls entered the tournament winless in seven outings, but posted three straight impressive wins to capture the title.
“We are tournament champs. What a great feeling,” said Jessica Porter, head coach of the Lady Jets. “I’m so proud of all of the girls. They played super hard all week and they deserve this.”
“It was a great tournament for both our boys’ and girls’ teams,” said AMHS boys’ head coach Dave Vance. “With the girls playing so well in the games before ours, I believe it helps motivate the boys to play harder. It was great seeing both teams perform up to their capabilities.
And our cheer squad, along with the crowd, we’re all fantastic.”
The AMHS boys now stand 6-5 overall on the season, while the Lady Jets improved to 3-7.
Altoona-Midway returns to the hardwoods for a pair of varsity doubleheaders this week, traveling to Yates Center on Tuesday and to Southern Coffey County (LeRoy) on Friday.
AMHS BOYS
The Altoona-Midway boys had a goal of defending the Milburn Apt Tournament title they won a year ago, and they reached that milestone Friday with an impressive 63-48 victory over Liberty Homeschool Alliance.
“The team I saw play this week is the team I envisioned heading into the season,” Vance said. “We still have plenty areas for improvement, but I like the direction we’re headed.”
Against Liberty, the Jets played a consistent game, building their lead slightly through each period. AMHS was up 18-13 after one, 33-23 at halftime, and 45-33 entering the final stanza. The lead ballooned to 20 late in the game before Liberty tallied the final five points during mop-up time.
“The boys played well again tonight,” Vance noted. “That’s three good games in a row. Hopefully we can keep the string going. We played solid defense and managed to rebound enough to keep Liberty pretty much at arm’s length all night.”
William Stackhouse had another stellar game for the Jets, pouring in 27 points for the third consecutive game. He also had 14 rebounds, eight steals, four deflections and six assists – the final one coming on an amazing play late in the game when he stole the ball near the sideline and while falling out of bounds fired a perfect behind-theback pass for a layup by a streaking Joey Lamendola.
“Our defense came up with a lot of turnovers which led to fastbreaks. As a result, we shot 62 percent from the field, and we only attempted nine three-pointers (making three), which was a plus,” Vance said.
“Now the key is to build on this week,” he added. “We have to keep working, we need to keep improving every play of every game.”
AMHS GIRLS
After struggling to an 0-7 start to begin the season, it was almost as if a lightbulb went on the collective minds of the Lady Jets this week.
In all three games of the Apt Memorial Tournament, the AMHS girls played with increased confidence, moved the ball quickly and efficiently to the open man on offense, and used their notable advantage in overall team speed to harass their opponents into multiple turnovers, turning many of those into fastbreak opportunities at the other end.
The results on the scoreboard were just as impressive. Altoona-Midway routed Tyro Christian School 50-18 and Southern Coffey County 61-13 earlier in the week, then capped things off with a 51-40 triumph over Liberty to claimed the tourney title.
“What a way to win our first three games. Watching these girls play has really been fun this week,” said AMHS head coach Jessica Porter. “We are finally clicking as a team and finding our energy out on the court. I’m very pleased with how they are playing.”
Liberty trailed just 16-15 late in the second quarter, but freshman Sandra Morales hit from the wing and senior Emmalynn Pupanek scored on a pair of fastbreaks to give AMHS a 22-15 lead at halftime.
