Falcons bounced by Spencer, Rib Lake

By Nathaniel Underwood

The Falcons were handed two losses over the past week, falling just short of another comeback victory in Spencer before losing to Rib Lake on Friday.

Rib Lake, 60-44

Abbotsford was on the road for their second Marawood-North game of the season, facing off against Rib Lake last Friday evening. The hosting Redmen never trailed in the contest, jumping out to an 8-0 lead and never looking back, downing the Falcons 60-44.

Rib Lake dominated the game down low, scoring 46 of their points in the paint and outrebounding the Falcons 48 to 33. The Redmen shot 57.5 percent on shots in that area of the court while only shooting 14 percent elsewhere. Meanwhile, Abbotsford struggled to find much offensive consistency, shooting 25 percent inside the arc and 28.6 percent on three-point shots.

The home team slowly but surely built out their lead over the course of the first half, scoring eight straight points at two different points in the period and going on a 10-0 run in between.

After scoring 10 points in the first 14 minutes of the game, Abbotsford found some offensive production at the end of the half, more than doubling their point total by putting up 11 points in the final four minutes. Payton Schreiber connected on a trio of three-pointers and Evan Reis added a layup during the stretch. Rib Lake was able to keep the Falcons at bay, however, scoring nine points over that time and took a 39-21 lead into halftime.

The Redmen tightened their hold on the game in the second period. They scored 16 unanswered points to start the half, putting the Falcons into a 55-21 deficit. The visitors’ offense started to gain some traction late, scoring 16 of their 19 second-half points in the final eight minutes of the game, but it was not enough to overcome their slow start.

Schreiber had 11 points and was the only Falcon to finish in the double-digits. Irvin Aguilera had seven points and two steals, Koren Decker added five points and Grayson Totzke finished with six points, six rebounds and two steals. Noah Schraufnagel ended the game with four points and Evan Reis, Andrew Hirsch and Carlos Lara all had two points. Miguel Bautista added one point.

Spencer, 55-54

The Falcons very nearly had their second big comeback in as many games last Thursday evening when they traveled to Spencer to take on the Rockets. After trailing by 17 points midway through the second period, Abbotsford battled back to take the lead with just a minute-and-a-half left in the game but could not close the deal, falling 55-54 on the road.

When Weston Nieman’s three-point shot found the bottom of the net, it looked like the final dagger in what would be his Rockets’ blowout victory over the Falcons. The basket gave Spencer a 47-30 advantage with a little over 10 minutes left in the game, one that the Rockets had held control over since its opening minutes.

But, just as they had against Newman Catholic earlier in the week, the Falcons launched a second-half recovery effort that very nearly netted them another victory.

A jump shot in the lane from Payton Schreiber kicked off a 14-point run for Abbotsford. Steals and three-point shooting fueled the scoring streak, with Irvin Aguilera netting six points on fast breaks and Blake Bargender and Koren Decker connecting on key shots from beyond the arc.

The run brought the Falcons back within a single possession and with just under two minutes left in the game, the visitors would finally tie the game. Grayson Totzke found Aguilera and the sophomore notched another transition basket to knot the contest at 53-53.

Bargender then sank a free throw to give Abbotsford a one point lead, but Spencer’s Sam Bezlyk was able to answer with a pair of free throws of his own, putting the Rockets back up by one with seven seconds left. The Falcons were unable to score on their final possession and Spencer snuck away with the 55-54 victory.

See ABBY BOYS BB/ Page 10

TEAM DEFENSE - Noah Schraufnagel and AJ Brodhagen team up to keep their Rib Lake opponent from dribbling into the lane. STAFF PHOTO/MATT FREY Continued from page 9

Abbotsford led briefly in the first half, going up 7-2 early, but 11 straight points for the Rockets allowed them to take control over the game.

All ten of the Falcons players that saw the court on Thursday scored, with Aguilera leading the way with 12 points. He also had six rebounds and four steals in the contest. Bargender added 10 points and three assists and three Falcons, Totzke, Schreiber and AJ Brodhagen, had six points. Brodhagen led the team with 13 rebounds, Schreiber pulled down eight boards and Totzke had a team-high four assists. Decker, Preston Bunkelman, Evan Reis and Noah Schraufnagel all had three points, with Bunkelman adding four steals and Reis recording eight rebounds. Carlos Lara rounded out the scoring with two points.

DRIVING WITH AUTHORITY - Irvin Aguilera hits a fast break layup in Spencer last Thursday. The sophomore had 12 points in the loss.

STAFF PHOTO/VALORIE BRECHT