BUFFALO – They say the “devil is in the details” … but the Devils proved to be everywhere here Friday night as Erie High School easily recorded a pair of victories over the Altoona-Midway Jets.
Erie opened the varsity twinbill by scuttling a shorthanded AMHS girls’ squad 49-17, and the Red Devils completed the Three Rivers League sweep with a 64-29 triumph in the nightcap.
The only bright spot for the hometown fans at Milo Peterson Gymnasium on Friday was being able to celebrate Senior Night at AMHS. Seniors currently performing in their respective final seasons for Altoona-Midway include Kage Beck and Kenny Smith, boys’ basketball; Ava Tindle, girls’ basketball; Eryn Tiger, cheerleading; and Shelbi Bryant, band.
Altoona-Midway is back on the road Tuesday, Feb. 10, traveling to St Paul. The Jets also have back-to-back home dates scheduled with Liberty Homeschool Alliance (Thursday, Feb. 12) and Oswego (Friday, Feb. 13), the latter of which will also be Homecoming at AMHS.
AMHS BOYS
Erie (8-10 overall, 6-4 in TVL) led from start to finish in posting a 64-29 win over the turnover-plagued Jets, who committed 36 miscues during the contest.
“Needless to say, it was a very long night,” sighed AMHS head coach Dave Vance. “We set a team record for turnovers with 36. How do you turn the ball over 36 turnovers in 32 minutes?”
Despite the ballhandling gaffes, Altoona-Midway (5-13, 2-7) stayed within reasonable striking distance most of the first half. Erie led 17-10 at the quarter and 31-17 at intermission. The Red Devils, winners of three straight, made it 46-27 after three and closed things out with an 18-2 fourth-quarter barrage.
“Our defense was not good. Erie scored at will,” Vance said. “Some bright spots would be Chance Mustain going 4-for-6 from the field and Kage Beck handing out four assists. Chance Carter grabbed nine rebounds and Taj Chism had eight.”
Carter led the Jets with 11 points while Mustain finished with nine. Beck was held to six points and Chism added three.
Parker Hughes tossed in 14 points to pace the Red Devils, while Nick Haviland netted 11, all in the first half. Tanner Strathe chipped in 10 and Evan Dillinger added nine.
AMHS GIRLS
In the opening tilt, the Altoona- Midway girls (5-13, 2-7) came up on the short end of things in more ways than one.
Not only did the Lady Jets fall to Erie 49-17, they finished the game with just two players on the court. AMHS began the game with six players suited up, but lost one to injury and saw three girls foul out.
“It was crazy. We were already missing Peyton (Drake), then less than a minute into the second quarter, Brooklynn (Collins) was injured,” explained Lady Jets head coach Jessica Porter. “Long story short, Ava (Tindle), Mika (Parsons) and Jasa (Pankaskie) all fouled out, so we ended the game playing 2-on-5.”
Erie (3-15, 3-7) led 11-5 at the quarter and 21-7 at halftime. It was 35-13 entering the final period.
“That was not one of our better efforts,” Porter said. “We played very lazy defense early and that got us into major foul trouble. Still, I’m proud of the way we continued to battle despite finishing with just two girls on the court.”
Collins suffered a shoulder injury and Porter feared she may be done for the season.
Despite having to play the final three and a half minutes of the contest with just two players, both Destiny Raymond and Keyleigh Clines managed to score baskets during that span for the Lady Jets.
Notwithstanding the early exits, all six Lady Jets reached the scoring column. Pankaskie led the way with five points, Parsons and Clines each had three, and Collins, Tindle and Raymond chipped in two apiece.
Annie Myers fired in 17 points to pace the Red Devil attack.
