Cub boys split a pair of games

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Leading the Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City Falcons 27-22 after a back-and-forth first half, the Cubs boys’ basketball team opened the second half on a 13-5 run to build its lead to 13, at 40-27. The team’s lead grew to as high as 17 points, at 56-39, and the Cubs held off the Falcons for the 69-55 conference home win on Thursday, Jan. 23.

“We really played hard tonight in a very physical game,” Cubs head coach Jay Klein said via email. “Owen Mortenson had a great all-around game. Our defense did a great job on their top scorer as well.”

Owen Mortenson nearly recorded a double-double performance with 16 points and nine assists, along with four rebounds and three steals.

The Cubs jumped out to a strong start in the first half of this game too, grabbing a 21-9 edge. The Falcons closed the gap to one, at 23-22, behind a 13-2 spurt. The Cubs scored the final four points of the half to go into halftime with that five-point cushion.

After the Cubs built its lead to 17 in that second half, the Falcons answered with a 9-0 run to cut the team’s edge to eight, at 56-48. The Cubs made some free-throws down the stretch to close out the win. 

Besides Mortenson, Jed Spaulding also led the Cubs with a double-double performance of 15 points and 12 rebounds. Bryant Knaus posted 12 points, Andray Stang 11 points, and Brandon Henkemeyer eight points to also pace the Cubs.

Rockford

After jumping out to a strong start in its prior game, the Cubs allowed its opponent, the Rockford Rockets, to grab the strong start this time around. The Cubs fell into an early 8-0 deficit and, according to coach Klein, the Rockets “never looked back.” The Cubs eventually fell by a 70-40 final in a weekend road match-up Saturday, Jan. 25.

“We struggled with their physicality and were not able to make a lot of our easy shots,” coach Klein said via email. “… This was a good wake up call for us that we need to be ready to compete right from the opening tip.” 

Coach Klein also highlighted the Rockets’ strong three-point shooting, sinking 12 three–pointers in the game. The Cubs fell into a 37-19 halftime deficit in this loss.

Offensively, Carl Knaus and Owen Mortenson led the Cubs with 10 points each.

Next action

After hosting Upsala on Jan. 27 and Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa on Jan. 28 to begin a four-game homestand, the Cubs close out the week versus Royalton on Friday, Jan. 31 and, the following week, close out its homestand versus Milaca on Monday, Feb. 3.