Boys basketball team improves after dropping first game
The Staples-Motley boys basketball team went 1-1 in their first two games of the season. They suffered cold shooting in a 62-55 to Verndale on Dec. 6, then started clicking in the second half of a 69-35 win over Wadena-Deer Creek.
At Verndale, Trey Skeesick had a good start but then sat much of the game with foul trouble. “Without him we got too one dimensional and struggled to make baskets,” said Coach Micheal Poncelet. “But it was a good start to the season, we saw some encouraging things.”
At home against W-DC, the Cardinals quickly turned a 15 point halftime lead into more than 30 points ahead with steals and fast break baskets. “We played defense at a really high level,” said Poncelet.
Poncelet mentioned a few players who stepped up their game: “Gavin Smith got going and was really distributing the ball well. Max Giza was really efficient scoring and Derek Kennedy hit a couple of threes that were missing from the Verndale game.”
Team results
Staples-Motley 55, Verndale 62
Scoring: Gavin Smith 14, Trey Skeesick 13, Jack Fietek 11, Mason Rychner 9, Hunter Carlson 3, Max Giza 3, Brayden Losh 2
Staples-Motley 69, Wadena-Deer Creek 35
Scoring: Smith 17, Skeesick 10, Giza 10, Derek Kennedy 9, Rychner 6, Josh Lombard 4, Reid Busker 3, Carlson 2, Losh 2, Isaiah Ross-Bahn 2