Wallace boys go 2-1 for the week

The Wallace Wildcats were ready to get back to some basketball competition after having just one game during the holiday break. Their first week back was a busy one with three games on the schedule.

Medicine Valley

Wallace traveled to Curtis Tuesday, Jan. 7 to take on a young Medicine Valley team. The Wildcats were a bit sluggish out of the gate as the Raiders jumped out to an 8-0 lead but the Cats didn’t panic.

Wallace started to find their rhythm midway through the first quarter. Little by little, they chipped away at the Raiders’ lead. By the time the quarter ended, they were only down four points.

The second period had quite a different look for the Wildcats, as the baskets started falling and the defense stiffened up. A number of players put points on the board. The Cats outscored Med Valley by eight to take a 29-25 lead into halftime.

The game remained close through the third quarter as the teams exchanged baskets or scoring runs. Both teams put up 16 points in the quarter, keeping it a 4 point game.

Both teams got into some foul trouble early in the game and as the 4th quarter progressed, the Raiders were in trouble. Their two main scorers fouled out and the young players off the bench lacked the experience to keep the game close. 

Wallace dominated under the basket and their defensive play made things difficult for the Raiders. 

Med Valley was held to just two points in the quarter while Wallace put up an additional 12 points for a 57-43 victory. 

Leading the way for Wallace was Camden McConnell with 20 points, three rebounds, two assists, and one steal. 

Tertullian Nyamakope finished with a double-double, scoring 13 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. He added two assists, a steal and a block.

Kolton Hager contributed 12 points, Alec Messersmith and Tanner Finley each scored 4 with Ethan Bowlin and Trey Robertson each scoring two.

Arthur County

Friday night Wallace had their first home game of the new year as they welcomed the Arthur County Wolves. The Wildcats had a much better start to the game than they did on Tuesday. They established the upper hand early and never looked back.

During the opening quarter, Wallace was able to get points on the board in a variety of ways. They were scoring off of steals and put-backs as well as jump shots, inside shots off the glass and 3-balls. By the end of the quarter, they had established a 20-13 lead.

The pace of the game did not change in the second quarter as Wallace continued to score often. 

The main difference in the second eight minutes was the Wildcats defensive play. They held the Wolves to four points to increase their lead to 43-17 at halftime.

Wallace continued to play relentless defense in the second half. The Cats scored 18 unanswered points before Arthur got their first basket late in the 3rd quarter. The point spread caused a running clock for the remainder of the game.

The fourth quarter resulted in six points being scored by Wallace and two points by the Wolves which led to the Wildcats getting the 69-23 win.

Hager was the leading scorer for Wallace with 22 points, seven rebounds, two steals and an assist. Bowlin finished with 12 points and six rebounds. 

Other scorers included Finley with 9, McConnell 8, Messersmith and Robertson each with 6, Nyamakope 4, and Carson Glunz 2.

Mullen

On Saturday, Wallace headed to Mullen for their third game of the week. 

While the Cats had experienced success on both sides of the ball in the two previous games, they struggled all the way around against Mullen. The Broncos were shooting lights out and defensively, they just shut Wallace down.

“Mullen’s length gave us some problems passing and shooting the ball. They are a tough team that played a good game. We need to continue to improve on our weaknesses as we get further into the season,” Coach Eric Miller said.

Wallace fell to the Broncos by a score of 55-38. Camden McConnell led the Wildcats with 17 points, two rebounds, two assists, and seven steals. Kolton Hager finished with 14 points and eight rebounds.

Messersmith added 5 points with Kyler Flaming scoring two.

Wallace will take the court again on Thursday, Jan. 16 when they host the South Platte Knights. The Wildcats will travel to Paxton on Friday for a rival, conference game.