The Des Moines Christian basketball teams swept the ACGC Chargers for the sixth consecutive time over the last three plus seasons. ACGC has never beaten the Lions in basketball, but then it is rare that anyone in the West Central Activities Conference does. The DMC girls teams have won 88% of their conference games over the last ten years with a glittering 144-19 won-lost record over that time span. The Lion boys have an ever better record, having compiled a 170-12 record for a remarkable win percentage of 93%. Last night the Lions improved their percentage just a bit with a girls' win of 62-39 over the Chargers and a boys' victory by a 59-48 score.

The Charger girls started out well on the Lions' home floor, taking a 14-13 lead after the first quarter, but were held to just three points on a three point basket in the second stanza to fall behind 23-17 at the halftime break. Still, the Chargers were within striking distance heading into the second half, as they had converted on three of eight three point attempts.

The Lions went on a tear after halftime, outscoring ACGC 23-7 to take a commanding 46-24 lead heading into the final frame. Meanwhile, the Chargers went cold, connecting on only seven of twenty four shots in the second half, and were zero of five on three point attempts. The fourth quarter was virtually even, with the hosts outscoring the visitors by a single point at 16-15. But the one sided third quarter had sealed the Chargers' fate.

Kylie Young was the only Charger in double figures as she scored ten points than included two treys. Alaina Bunde was next with nine points. As a team, ACGC came up with just fifteen rebounds, with Kennedy Young snaring three boards. Jorja Hoover had three assists, and EmmaKay McClain led the team in steals with four.

As a team, the Chargers connected on 14 of 46 shots for 30% that included three makes out of thirteen three point attempts. A bright spot was the teams 80% success at the charity stripe on eight out of ten shooting. The twenty three point margin of defeat equals the closest that ACGC has come to the Lions--a hopeful sign of improvement.

Charger coach Brad Baudler also seemed optimistic in his post game remarks. "I thought our kids came ready to play and played hard. Our game plan worked in the first half. We managed to hold their best player to twelve points for the game. Towards the middle of the second quarter our offense went cold and we quit attacking their zone. Des Moines Christian is a solid and balanced team. We didn't give up, it was a matter of DMC getting a big run in the third quarter that we didn't stop soon enough. This was a learning experience and we will continue to learn and grow. On to the next game."

In the previous five boys' games between the Chargers and the Lions, DMC has won by 16, 30, 30, 39, and 30 points. Last night it was an eleven point deficit for ACGC. The boys hung with the home team but were just unable to get over the hump.

With three minutes remaining in the opening quarter the Chargers held a 6-2 lead only to see the Lions go on a 12-2 run to close out the quarter and take a 14-8 lead that they never relinquished. The teams traded baskets during the second quarter, with ACGC narrowing the deficit by a point to 32-27 at the break. The Chargers shot well in the quarter, making seven of twelve shots, including five of eight from beyond the arc. Quynton Younker and Miles Kading both connected on three long balls in the half to keep the Chargers close.

The third quarter saw the Lions inch ahead just a bit as the Chargers went just three of fifteen from the floor after intermission, giving the Lions a 43-35 lead. The fourth quarter saw continued shooting woes for ACGC, as it failed to score in the first three and a half minutes and DMC increased its lead to 46-35. That eleven point difference proved to be the final margin (59-48) as the teams played evenly over the last four minutes of the game.

Younker and Miles Kading each scored in double figures for ACGC with nineteen and eleven points respectively. Charlie Crawford came up with eight points. The basket seemed to have a lid on it for Bryce Littler, as the senior guard managed only one point for the evening. Younker and Eli Kading led the Chargers in rebounding with six each, while Littler led in assists with three.

The Charger shot 32% from the field on sixteen out of fifty attempts, including nine of twenty six attempts from the three point line. They were seven of ten from the free throw line.

Despite the losses for the Charger teams, their performances were much better than in any previous games with the Lions. There is definitely reason for optimism for both Charger teams.

The losses leave the girls with a 1-2 record (1-1, WCAC) and the boys are 0-2 with both losses in conference play. Next up for the teams will be the home opener versus Ogden this Friday with the girls' game slated to begin at 6 PM and the boys' game to follow. Go Chargers!

Girls' score by quarter Boys score by quarter

ACGC 14 3 7 15--39 ACGC 8 19 8 13--48

DMC 13 10 23 16--62 DMC 14 18 11 16--59

Charger box score: Charger box score:

O-D O-D

FG 3Pt FT REB AST STL TP FG 3Pt FT REB AST STL TP

Campbell 2-5 1-4 0-0 1-0 0 0 5 EKading 1-5 0-4 4-6 3-3 1 0 6

Dorsey 0-1 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 BMarsh 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 2 2 0

Van Meter 1-1 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 2 Crawford 3-6 2-3 0-0 0-1 1 2 8

Hoover 0-0 0-0 2-2 1-1 3 0 2 MKading 3-7 3-7 2-2 2-1 2 0 11

KYoung 4-16 2-5 0-0 2-0 2 1 10 Wardyn 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0

McClain 1-7 0-2 0-1 1-0 1 4 2 Rogers 1-1 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 3

Wheatley 0-2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Littler 0-11 0-3 1-2 2-3 3 0 1

Bunde 4-9 0-0 1-1 0-2 1 1 9 Younker 8-20 3-8 0-0 0-6 1 0 19

KYoung 2-5 0-0 0-0 0-3 2 2 4