The Paton-Churdan Rockets split basketball games vs Ar-We-Va (also the Rockets) in Westside Tuesday, Jan. 20.
The girls started the twin bill with a 47-38 Paton-Churdan victory. P-C was ahead by only two points, 15-13, at the end of the first quarter. The home team Rockets scored only three points in the second quarter, but the P-C Rockets didn’t do much better, scoring only six points. Score at halftime was 21-16 in favor of Paton-Churdan. P-C built the lead to nine during the third quarter to finish that frame up 34-25. It was still a nine point margin when the final buzzer sounded, with the guest Rockets winning.
Carleigh Paup lead the P-C Rockets in scoring with 24 points, although Ar-We-Va held her to just eight points in the first half. For the game, Paup made one 3-point basket and was five of seven shooting at the free throw line. Sydney Koch scored 11 points, with a 3-pointer in each half. She was one for three at the line. Kasey Lane scored eight points and Gracie Geisler scored 4 points. Geisler’s points were in the first half – a field goal and two for two shooting at the charity stripe.
The Paton-Churdan girls are now 8-5 in the Rolling Valley Activities Conference while Ar-We-Va is 2-11.
The Paton-Churdan boys were most likely disappointed on the bus trip home. Going into the game, the Ar-We-Va Rockets were at the top of the Rolling Valley Conference with a 12-0 record, while the Paton-Churdan Rockets were in second place at 10-2. A win for the visitors would have narrowed the gap in the conference race. That didn’t happen.
The visiting P-C Rockets led the home team Rockets 22-13 after one quarter and the score was tied at 38 at halftime. The visitors held a two point lead after three quarters, 55-33, but ran into foul trouble in the fourth quarter. Lead player Jake Carey fouled out, as did Joe Towers. Paton-Churdan scored only five points in the fourth quarter and lost the game 72-60.
Ar-We-Va had the advantage at the charity stripe. The home team made six of eight free throws in the first half and of nine of 14 in the second half. The visiting P-C Rockets got only one player, Noah Juergensen, to the free throw line during the game. He shot seven free throws, making five of the them.
Juergensen was the top scorer for P-C with 21 points. Carey scored 15 points, with 12 of them in the first half. He made two 3-point shots that half and one of the long buckets in the second half. Colton Fitzpatrick and Dylan Burgart each made eight points, with Fitzpatrick grabbing two 3-pointers. Joe Towers and Chase Juergensen scored three points each, with their buckets coming from outside the arc.
The Paton-Churdan boys are now 10-3 in the Rolling Valley conference while the Ar-We-Va Rockets remain undefeated at 13-0.
