Maple Lake boys routed by ACGC and Royalton

y Brenda Erdahl

Sports Editor

A strong, aggressive Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City got the better of the Maple Lake boys basketball team, Tuesday, Feb. 6 at home, but the Irish rebounded and played Royalton three days later with determination.

ACGC 81, Maple Lake 40

The Irish were without Pablo Manzanedo for the third game in a row, Tuesday when they hosted the Falcons. By half time, the home team trailed 19-52. ACGC shot over 50 percent including 58 points in the paint while the Irish gave up 21 turnovers.

Leading the Irish in scoring was Wyatt Breimon, 9 points, Bowen Walton, 10 points and Ethan Paumen, 9 points.

Royalton 95, Maple Lake 48

The Irish hosted Royalton on Friday, Feb. 9. It was also Coaches vs Cancer night when the team honors families who have lost a loved one to cancer or are currently battling the disease.

The Irish started off slow against the Royals, getting down 14-2, but they battled back to within 10 with about six minutes left in the first half. The energy of the fans helped the Irish to a 16-7 run to close the gap and Royalton had to call a timeout.

“They played with determination and again a testament of what these guys can do,” Coach Bryan Schleif said. “We are a young team and growing in each situation like tonight. The halftime score didn’t indicate how well we played.”

The Irish fell into foul trouble in the second half and Royalton capitalized.

“It was nice to have Pablo back, he made some early buckets and got his teammates involved. He’s almost 100%. Bowen and Pablo both shot really well. Wyatt worked hard for us inside getting six boards. Nick also had a good game defensively for us,” Coach Schleif said.

Both Walton and Manzanedo scored in the double digits for the Irish. Walton led with 13 points and Manazanedo had 11.

Up next

The Irish hosted North Lakes Academy on Tuesday, Feb. 13. Results were not available at press time. On Thursday, Feb. 15, the Irish travel to Kimball for a 7 p.m. game; on Friday, Feb. 16 they go to St. John’s Prep for a 7:15 p.m. game and on Tuesday, Feb. 20 the Irish go to Eden Valley-Watkins for a 7 p.m. contest.