Up and down week for Cardinal boys’ hoops

The Staples-Motley boys basketball team had a breakout game, over Park Rapids 79-29, on Jan. 12, but slipped back the next day, falling to Mounds View 87-55.

“We played exactly the way we wanted to play,” Coach Micheal Poncelet said about the Park Rapids game. “Our half court defense was so stifling that they really struggled to put together good possessions. Mason Rychner was really our catalyst on defense. When he’s flying around putting good pressure on the ball we can create some turnovers.”

Traveling to Mounds View was a very different type of game. “I started my coaching career there and I knew exactly the type of atmosphere we were going to be in, which is tough,” said Poncelet.  “It’s a very small intimate gym, there were approximately 150-175 kids there and they were on our guys from the tip off.”

The Cardinals struggled offensively in the first half, but the defense held the score close at first, but eventually the team couldn’t keep up.

Poncelet said Mounds View double-teamed Gavin Smith the entire game, but he scored 24 points despite the pressure. In the second half, they sent a third defender at Smith, leaving open shots for other players.

“It was a good  experience to play in that environment, definitely a playoff atmosphere,” said Poncelet.

Team results

Staples-Motley 79, Park Rapids 29

Scoring: Gavin Smith 24, Derek Kennedy 12, Trey Skeesick 10, Mason Rychner 9, Jack Fietek 6, Hunter Carlson 4, Josh Lombard 4, Brayden Losh 4, Travis Eisel 4

Staples-Motley 55, Mounds View 87

Scoring: Smith 24, Kennedy 12, Fietek 10, Skeesick 5, Isaiah Ross-Bahn 2, Losh 2