It was rough going for the Kimball boys’ basketball team recently. On Friday, Feb. 24, Royalton defeated the Cubs, 72-55 (Royalton 40, Kimball 30 at half-time). Kimball battled Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City on Saturday, and the Falcons emerged victorious by a 73-63 final tally (ACGC 38, Kimball 32 at half-time). With one regular-season game remaining, the Cubs now sit at 8-16 overall on the year.
Royalton game
Kimball stats: Peyton Hooper, 9 points; Bryant Knaus, 1 point; Owen Mortenson, 20 points, 3 rebounds; Austin Schindler, 11 points, 6 rebounds; Spaulding, 8 points, 8 rebounds; Evan Powell, 6 points.
“Royalton shot the ball really well to start the game. They hit six threes and hurt us on the offensive boards. We were able to keep it close by getting to the free-throw line and making 8 of 10. We were never really able to get back in the game in the second half,” said Coach Jay Klein.
ACGC game
Kimball stats: Josh Witte, 3 points, 9 rebounds; Peyton Hooper, 17 points; Bryant Knaus, 3 points; Owen Mortenson, 18 points, 6 assists; Austin Schindler, 14 points, 3 rebounds; Jed Spaulding, 3 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists; Evan Powell, 6 points.
“The game was close the entire first half. We made a couple of mistakes late, and they were able to capitalize, taking a six-point half-time lead. Turnovers and their offensive rebounding hurt us in the second half. ACGC built the lead to 18 at one point. We made a few runs late, but we could never cut the deficit to less than 10,” Coach Klein explained.