By Staff
SALINA – On Thursday on the road in Salina, the McPherson Middle School 8th-grade boys scored a pair of wins over Salina South Middle School with the ‘A’ team gaining a 55-23 victory while the ‘B’ team won by nine at 34-25.
In the Junior Pups 8th grade ‘A’ team game, it was a rout from the opening jump ball until the final buzzer as McPherson dominated the game to the tune of a 32-point, 55-23 win.
With the win the ‘A’ team is now sitting at 5-1 for the season as both 8th grade teams will be at home on Monday to battle with Goddard Eisenhower.
“The ‘A’ team was solid tonight right from the opening jump to the final horn,” said head coach Tyler Brown. “The team was aggressive with our press and aggressive with our half-court trapping which led to an offense I like watching. We had eight guys tonight get in the score box and it was due to how hard we played defense which turned into quick transitions for us.”
Ashton Malm led the Junior Pups ‘A’ team in scoring with 14 as Dane Becker also reached double figures with 13 and Cole Cooper just missed with nine.
Coach Brown concluded his post-game reflections by adding, “Dane (Becker) was a beast tonight. Not only did he play two quarters in the ‘B’ game and lead them in scoring, he dropped 13 points in the ‘A’ game as well. Dane is the type of player that will do whatever you ask and give maximum effort all the time. Ashton (Malm) also was terrific tonight with just relentless pressure. He sets the tone being on the top of our press. He also brings the energy to the team that just gets everyone up and going. Wow, I could probably talk about each person on this team, Carter (Bengtson), Matt (Berger), Cru (Buchman), Finn (Bauer), Will (Domingo), Nolan (Pearcy), and Ben (Bocox). Everyone of these guys that were in the ‘A’ book did a tremendous job tonight.”
8TH GRADE JUNIOR PUPS ‘A’ TEAM:
SCORE > JUNIOR PUPS – 55, Salina South – 23
JUNIOR PUPS INDIVIDUAL SCORING > Ashton Malm – 14; Dane Becker – 13; Cole Cooper – 9; Matt Berger – 6; Carter Bengtson – 6; Cru Buchman – 2; Ben Bocox – 2.
The 8th grade Junior Pups ‘B’ team also scored a win on the day, beating Salina South 34-25.
The win raised the season record for the ‘B’ team to 4-4.
“The ‘B’ team boys found themselves down 10-0 after the first quarter,” pointed out ‘B’ team coach David Goerzen. “Amazingly these guys were able to come together and fight their way back into the game. Eventually we took the lead in the second half and never let up. Overall, I was very proud of the boys and how they played. It was great to see them fight through a little adversity and come out with a win.”
Dane Becker led eight Junior Pups who scored by putting 10 points by his name on the stat sheet while Nolan Pearcy and Ben Bocox each chipped in with seven.
8th GRADE JUNIOR PUPS ‘B’ TEAM:
SCORE > JUNIOR PUPS 34, Salina South 25
JUNIOR PUPS INDIVIDUAL SCORING > Dane Becker – 10; Nolan Pearcy – 7; Ben Bocox – 7; Finn Bauer – 4; Takoda Linn – 2; Jayvonte Body – 2; Will Domingo – 1; Adrian Unruh – 1.
(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)