The AC/GC Chargers basketball teams were on the road Friday night, and returned home with a pair of well deserved wins against the Madrid Tigers.
The girls started things off by holding their opponent to single digits until the final quarter, starting things off with a 14-3 score at the end of the first, and going into halftime up 35-5. The score was 44-5 at the end of third, and to end the game the Chargers came away with a 51-11 victory. Senior guard Emmerson Van Meter shared what prepared the team to come in and play this dominantly.
“Well, Coach Baudler always does a great job of coming up with a scouting report, and we all feel prepared before every game. We go through offense and defense, everything we need to do, what they’re going to do. So he does a great job of getting us knowledgeable and what to expect.”
The boys game started out a little different, with the Chargers trailing 16-10 at the end of the first, and 28-25 going into the break. Things picked up in the third though, and the teams were tied at 37, before AC/GC grabbed the lead, and barely looked back as the finished up with the 54-47 victory. A key point in the fourth quarter was the Tigers hitting the 5 foul mark with roughly six and a half minutes left, allowing the Chargers to shoot free throws on fouls the remainder of the game. Senior guard Lance Bunde shared some praise for a Tigers post player that made things a little tough for the Chargers before he fouled out, then for one of his teammates.
“We knew that (Jake) Leonard was going to be tough, because he’s big, he’s really physical, and he likes to rebound. That’s probably his main job when he’s in there, and he does a really good job at it. But I could say the same thing about Payton (Policky). He’s super relentless on the boards, always has been. That is one of the biggest reasons why we need him in the game. And when he was able to pull down that rebound, and shoot two free throws of his own, that was a very big motivator for us, that we knew that we could close this thing out with a ‘W.’”
The Chargers start competition this week on Tuesday, as they hit the road once more to take on the Woodward-Granger Hawks.