The Ram basketball teams will be glad to play in their home gym this Friday after being handed another pair of losses on the road Tuesday night by the North Polk Comets in Alleman. They’ve played five games on the road in the past 12 days; the girls won one and lost four, and the boys lost all five. They’ll be at home Friday against Saydel, no doubt happy to put on their white home uniforms.
The Rams lost the boys game by just one point, 55-54. It would have been a win of the come-from-behind variety. The Rams played even-up ball for the first quarter, but with the score tied at 10 late in the quarter, the Comets put up 12 unanswered points and held at 22-10 lead in the second quarter. The Rams fought back and the score at halftime was 27-23. Their comeback included three 3-point shots – two by Tyler Beger and one by Trey Tucker.
The Rams continued to chase the lead in the third quarter. A 3-pointer by Mitchell Gorsuch with one second to play in the quarter made a three point game, 39-42 with the Comets in the lead.
Beger put up another 3-pointer at the start of the fourth quarter to tie the game, and after North Polk went up by two, he made two of two free throws to tied the game again. Tucker shot two for two at the free throw line to put the Rams up by two , and after a Comet field goal he scored a tres and a deuce to put his team up by five points, 51-46. The Comets countered with a 2-point shot and then both teams hit a chill. The 51-48 score was on the board for three minutes of play. Finally, with 1:20 left to play the Rams scored for 53-48, but a win was elusive. The Rams were up 54-52 when the Comets made a 3-point shot with three seconds to play. The Rams made a fast break down the floor but missed a lay-up and took home a 55-54 loss.
The Ram defense worked better than in recent games, as they have allowed an average of 69 points per game this season. The Comets had 24 turnovers for the game, compared to 18 by the Rams, but 60 percent shooting accuracy by the Comets more than compensated. The Rams made 10 3-point shots of 39 attempts for 25.6 percent accuracy, but they shot at only 36 percent for the game. (All statistics are unofficial.)
Tucker led the Rams in scoring with 23 points, including two long shots. Tucker was just a bit shy of his Class 3A leading average of 25.5 points per game. Beger followed his 18-point game against Gilbert last Friday with a 22 point game against North Polk. His output included five 3-point shots. Beger entered the game with a 6.3 point average.
The Rams’ remaining nine points were shared by Landon Braun, Reid Lamoureux and Mitchell Gorsuch, who all scored one 3-pointer each.
The boys are now 6-9 in the Heart of Iowa Activities Conference and 6-11 overall.
The girls fought hard for three quarters but in the end just couldn’t keep up. Both teams committed many turnovers (unofficially 28 for the Rams and 25 for the Comets), but the Comets took better advantage in scoring after a Ram turnover. Shooting percentages were about the same, 34 percent for the Rams and 35 percent for the Comets, but the Comets put up 55 shots while the Rams put up only 38.
The Rams scored first but their 2-0 lead was their only lead of the game. North Polk scored then next 10 points to claim a 10-2 lead, and the best the Rams could do was to play catch-up the rest of the game. The score was 16-11 after one quarter and 23-16 at halftime.
The Rams outscored the Comets in the third quarter to narrow their deficit to four points, 30-26. With about five minutes to play in the fourth quarter it was a three-point game, 34-31 for the Comets. The home team put up the next six points to stretch their lead to 40-31, and the game didn’t get better for the Rams.
Kayla Mobley scored 14 points, very close to her average. Stacy Mears, often the team’s second scorer, scored no points for the game. Tressa Rasmussen scored nine points on three long shots. Hannah Onken scored four points on four of six free throw shooting, and Marissa Promes scored four points. Jolee Wessling, Kenna Marquardt and Sunny Mobley scored two points each.
The Ram girls are now 7-9 in the HOIAC and 7-11 overall.
Both teams will be looking to even the score against the Saydel Eagles on Friday. Their first match up of the season was delayed by the Jan. 6 snowstorm, so they didn’t play until last Thursday. The Saydel girls soundly beat the Rams 60-32, and the Eagles won the boys game by two points in overtime, 66-64.
