Boys game determines second place in Rolling Valley
The Paton-Churdan Rocket basketball teams picked up a pair of wins on the road against Boyer Valley in Dunlap Feb. 6. Both games had their share of excitement for the home crowd and the visitors.
The girls won the first game of the evening 53-48. The Rockets took an early lead and were ahead 15-5 after one quarter and 26-11 at the half. The Bulldogs barked in the fourth quarter, though and worked their way to a tie game 40-40 with five minutes left to play in the game. The score was tied at 46 with just one minute to play, but in that last minute, the Rockets put up seven points while the Bulldogs scored two for the final 53-48 score.
Rocket junior Casey Lane led her team with 19 points before she fouled out. She made seven field goals and was five of five at the free throw line. Junior Carleigh Paup, often the Rockets’ lead scorer, was right behind with 16 points with five 2-point baskets and six of 10 free throw shooting. Junior Sydney Koch scored 13 points with the Rockets’ only 3-point basket, one field goal, and eight for free throw shooting. Her charity shots were all in the second half. Junior Reilly Niles scored five points with two baskets and one of two free throw shooting.
Boyer Valley’s Candace Mefford also scored 19 points in the game, 16 of them in the second half.
The Paton-Churdan girls are now 11-7 in the Rolling Valley Activities Conference. Boyer Valley is 6-15.
The boys game was a battle for second place in the Rolling Valley conference. Paton-Churdan went into the game with a 14-3 conference record and Boyer Valley was 14-5. Ar-We-Va was at 18-0 before playing 3-13 West Harrison Friday.
The Rockets’ twin engines – junior Noah Juergensen and senior Jake Carey – combined for 52 of the Rockets’ 64 points in the boys’ 64-53 win.
Carey led the Rocket cause in the first half, scoring 16 points (with three 3-pointers) while Juergensen scored 10 points, including four of four free throw shooting. The Rockets were ahead at the end of the first quarter 15-9, but they scored only five points in the first four minutes of the second quarter as the Bulldogs put up 16. Those 16 points included four 3-pointers. Boyer Valley was ahead 27-23 with four minutes to play in the quarter and 29-25 with two minutes. The Rockets grabbed the lead in the last minute of the half with a 3-pointer to take a 33-32 lead into the locker room.
Both teams’ shooting was lukewarm coming out the locker room for the second half. The Bulldogs scored only two points in the first five minutes of play and only eight points for the entire third quarter. The Rockets made a long basket in the second minute of play but then hit a freeze of their own. They scored 10 points in the last four minutes to take a 46-40 lead.
The Rockets dominated in the fourth quarter and built an 11 point lead with five minutes to play, 53-42. Eleven points was the final margin, 64-53.
Carey finished the game with 31 points, with a total of five 3-point baskets and eight of 11 free throw shooting. Juergensen finished with 21 points, with no 3-point baskets but eight 2-point baskets and five of seven free throw shooting. Senior Colton Fitzpatrick scored five points, including a 3-point basket, senior Dylan Burgart scored four points, and freshman Joe Towers made a 3-point basket in the first half.
Three Bulldogs scored in double figures, with Cody Thorreson at 15 and Kyle Behrendt and Joe Weber at 10 points each.
The Rocket boys team is now 15-3 in the Rolling Valley Conference, while Boyer Valley is 14-6.
The Rockets host Woodbine for the last regular season game next Monday. The Woodbine girls are 7-13 in the conference and the boys are 2-17.
Post season begins for the girls in Class 1A Region 2 against Rolling Valley foe CAM Thursday, Feb. 12, at 7 pm in Anita. CAM is now 9-11 in the conference.
The P-C boys have a bye in the first round of Class 1A District 13. Their first post season game is Thursday, Feb. 19, at Coon Rapids- Bayard at 6:30 pm. They’ll play either Audubon (now 7-12) or CAM (now 2-16).
