|
 Delavan (12-7) is known for their outstanding shooting and they put
on quite a show from beyond the arc.
Mount Pulaski (10-9) had a show of their own that featured Peyton
Taylor pouring in a career-high 24 points and pulling down 15
rebounds. After the game, the 6'7 sophomore just smiled and shook
his head saying, "I couldn't miss."
The game was off to a fast start and actually looked like neither
team could miss in the first quarter. Noah Jeckel scored the first
three-pointer for Delavan fifteen seconds into the game, but Brett
Huff matched that with his own three seconds later. Delavan held a
small lead over the next couple possessions, until Taylor tied the
game, 9-9, with his first points of the contest.
With just under a minute to play in the first quarter, Taylor made a
nice little hook shot that gave Mount Pulaski an 11-9 lead.
Delavan's big man, 6'6 Joey Matthews answered that with a baseline
jumper that knotted the score at 11-11. Seconds later Dalton
Litterly made a beautiful move towards the basket and as he cut thru
the lane and lost his man he was able to get the lead back for Mount
Pulaski with his bucket. But the Panthers charged right back and
seconds before the buzzer sounded Jeckel knocked down his third
three of the quarter and Delavan was back on top 14-13.
Brandon Huff managed to get the lead back for Mount Pulaski as he
hit a three with 6:43 on the clock in the second quarter.
Unfortunately for Topper fans, that 17-16 lead would be the last of
the night for Mount Pulaski. The three by Brandon Huff would also be
the end of the Toppers scoring from beyond the arc. But the Panthers
were just getting started from 19.9. Teagan Teal drained a three to
put Delavan back on top, 19-17.
The Toppers did manage to tie the score at 19 apiece around the 5:00
minute mark but then it started raining again. Teal, Jeckel,
Matthews and Sam Hodges were all pouring in shots from downtown.
Quite impressive actually.
Surprisingly, the three bug must of bit Mount Pulaski's Taylor, too,
as he decided to swish one from downtown. However, his foot was on
the line so it only counted for two points.
Before it was all said and done in the first half, Delavan had
drained nine threes and held a nice 36-27 lead over the hometown
Toppers.
Mount Pulaski may not have a lot of big men, but they do have a lot
of men who play big and with that you can count on Lukas Aylesworth
to always cause some excitement and generate some offense. He was
off and running with the steal and laid it in for two points around
the 7:00 mark in the third quarter to pull Mount Pulaski to within
five points, 36-31.
Mount Pulaski's luck on this night just meant that for every two
point basket the Toppers got, it seemed like the Panthers got a
couple treys in return. A three by Matthews stretched the lead to
ten points with 3:50 remaining in the third quarter, 45-35 but the
Toppers continued to hustle at both ends of the court. Aylesworth
won the fight for the loose ball at the 2:44 mark and he managed to
make his way to the basket and fight for the two points as well.
Then Taylor decided to pop another jumper that was nothing but net
and as he dropped in his 20th point of the evening the score was
45-40, still in favor of the Panthers. Still it was pretty
impressive that the sophomore for Mount Pulaski had half of the
team's points. As Taylor was pulling down rebound and rebound, he
was also blocking shots to add to his resume. The young man was in a
zone and I know I've said this before, but he was playing another
one of his best games of his high school career.
Hodges, though, was continuing to knock down threes for Delavan and
he, too, was having a great game. Hodges scored ten points in the
third quarter and with help from Matthews, the two managed to score
all of Delavan's points in the quarter. Delavan was still on top
54-42 when the quarter ended.
[to top of second column] |
Entering the final eight minutes of play, Mount Pulaski had their
work cut out for them. It's not that Mount Pulaski ran out of gas,
because these guys hustled all night long, but the Panthers were
simply in a zone all by themselves.
Hodges continued to amaze and his nine points in the fourth quarter
were just too much for the Toppers.
Mount Pulaski got just a little frazzled near the end of the game
and a couple key turnovers dashed the Toppers hopes at overcoming
the ten-point deficit that haunted them for much of the second half.
Finally as the game came to a close, Delavan was on top 65-55 and
the Panthers had earned the Tomahawk Conference win fair and square.
Hodges led the winning team with 22 points while teammates Jeckel
(16), Teal (14) and Matthews (11) also scored in double figures.
Over on the losing side, Taylor finished with a double-double, 24
points and 15 rebounds, while Will Stewart hustled his way to 6
points and 8 rebounds.
The Toppers fall to 10-9 and will travel to Riverton next Friday
night for a 6 p.m. tip-off.
In the Junior Varsity contest Mount Pulaski finished a winner by the
score of 48-16. Seth Huff led the way for Mount Pulaski with 10
points.
Toppers Varsity scoring
Taylor 24
Aylesworth 8
Stewart 6
Litterly 6
Brandon Huff 6
Brett Huff 5
Panthers Varsity scoring
Sam Hodges 22
Jeckel 16
Teal 14
Matthews 11
Vick 2
Toppers JV scoring
Seth Huff 10
Nate Dyer 8
Griesheim 5
Hayes 5
Farris 4
Drake 3
Scassiferro 3
Shehorn 2
Trimmer 2
Panthers JV scoring
Vannaken 8
Bell 6
Griffin 2
In other news the Homecoming Court for Mount Pulaski featured these
fine young men and women who were introduced in between games:
Freshmen: Haley Humberd and Logan DeRight
Sophomores: Fikirte Mott and Hank Hamilton
Juniors: Alyssa Barger and Lukas Aylesworth
Seniors: Hannah Freer and Caleb Przykopanski, Lilly Pickett and Will
Stewart, Elizabeth Siebert and Kurtis Hoock Queen Morgan Kinniard
and King Sam Koehl
[Teena Lowery] |
