It hasn't happened very frequently for the ACGC basketball teams to both win on the same night. In the three plus seasons of Charger basketball it has happened on only four occasions, three of which took place last season with double wins over West Central Valley, Interstate 35, and Southwest Valley. As of last night we can add a fourth sweep for the Chargers as both squads won over Glidden-Ralston in games played on the Charger home court. The girls came away with a 50-44 hard fought victory, while the boys enjoyed a one sided win, 77-36.

The girls' game wasn't decided until the fourth quarter as the two teams had battled to a 35-35 draw after three quarters. In a game that saw nine lead changes and eight ties, the Chargers managed to pull away mid way through the fourth quarter when Taylor Lemke made one of two free throws to give the Chargers a lead at 42-41 that they would not surrender. The Charger defense made its presence known, as it held G-R to just three points in the last three and a half minutes of the game.

After the Chargers went up 17-11 after quarter number one, local fans were hoping that it wold be smooth sailing the rest of the way, but the Wildcats made six of eight field goal attempts including two treys in the second stanza to knot the score at halftime. Emma Kaye McClain had a hot hand for ACGC in the first half, connecting on four of seven shots that included a three pointer to give her nine points at the intermission.

Charger shooting from long range was below par as the team connected on just three of seventeen attempts from beyond the arc, but shot an impressive 60% on two pointers converting on fifteen of twenty five tries. Overall shooting was an acceptable 43% on eighteen makes out of forty two attempts. The team connected on eleven of twenty free throws for 55%. An impressive stat for ACGC was that the team turned the ball over just eight times while forcing G-R into twenty three miscues that resulted in twenty four Charger points.

Two Chargers scored in double figures with McClain leading the team with thirteen points and Kennedy Young netting ten. Alaina Bunde came up with nine scores. Rebounds were few for ACGC, with the team grabbing only fifteen for the night. Young led the team with six. Young and McClain each had three assists, and also led the team in steals with six and five thefts respectively. The win gives the girls an overall record of 4-2 that includes a 3-1 record in WCAC play.

Charger mentor Brad Baudler offered a mixed review of his team's performance. "We came out quick, hit some shots and got a six point lead. But we didn't move the ball well in the second quarter and didn't find their shooters like we should. Neither team could find a way to score in the third quarter. Finally, in the fourth quarter we came alive and got a decent number of turnovers. We also got to the line a lot which proved to be the difference in the game. A good win against a quality opponent."

The boys' game was decidedly different than the girls' game, as the Chargers took the lead at 7-6 on Eli Kading's basket at the three minute mark of the first quarter. It was a lead the locals would not surrender. The Chargers' shooting was the best of the season, as ACGC shot just over 50% for the game that included twelve of twenty treys for 60%.

The Wildcats hung around for a quarter and trailed 17-10 after the first eight minutes. The Chargers lowered the boom in the second stanza when the team erupted for twenty three points and added twenty six in quarter number three. Quynton Younker and Bryce Littler scored twelve and nine points respectively in the first half to pace the Charger offense.

After the halftime break the ACGC offense continued in high gear as the team hit 60% of its field goals and 80% of its free throws in the third quarter. Miles Kading connected on two long balls and a two pointer to pace the team's twenty six point quarter. Reserves for both teams played the bulk of the fourth quarter as the score reached its final of 77-36.

Younker, Littler and Miles Kading all scored in double figures, going for eighteen, sixteen, and fourteen points respectively. Younker added twelve rebounds to give him his third double double of the season. Clayton Wardyn came off the bench to nail three treys for nine points.

Eli Kading distributed the ball for six assists, while brother Miles and Littler led in steals with three each.

Coach Lance Kading saw several positives in his ball club's win. "This was a great team win. We finally shot well beyond the arc and were more conscious of our shot selection. We got nice scoring punch from "Q", Bryce, and Miles and "Q" had another great night on the boards," the third year mentor commented. "Bryce came through at the free throw line, and Miles and Eli did a good job pushing the ball and attacking the paint. We got good performances from Charlie (Crawford), Clayton (Wardyn), and Ben (Marsh) who stepped up in Lucas Marsh's absence."

The win was the first for the boys and improves their record to 1-3 overall that includes an 0-3 record conference play. The Charger teams will not be able to rest on their laurels, as they will be back in action tonight when rival Panorama comes to town. The action begins at 6 PM with the girls' game, with the boys' game to follow.

Girls' score by quarter: Boys' score by quarter:

G-R 11 15 9 9--44 G-R 10 9 13 4--36

ACGC 17 9 9 15--50 ACGC 17 23 26 11--77

Charger box scores: REB REB

FG 3Pt FT O-D A S TP FG 3Pt FT O-D A S TP

Lemke 0-2 0-2 1-2 0-0 1 2 1 EKading 3-8 1-3 1-2 2-2 6 2 8

Campbell 2-8 1-7 0-0 0-2 2 0 5 BMarsh 2-3 0-1 1-1 0-1 3 2 5

Dorsey 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 Crawford 3-6 0-0 1-3 1-1 2 1 7

Hoover 1-4 0-1 3-6 1-1 1 2 5 MKading 5-10 4-7 0-4 0-1 2 3 14

KyYoung 3-5 1-3 0-0 1-0 0 0 7 Wardyn 3-5 3-5 0-0 0-2 0 0 9

McClain 5-9 1-1 2-4 1-0 3 5 13 Rogers 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 1 0

Bunde 4-4 0-0 1-2 1-1 1 2 9 BroLittler 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 0

O'Brien 0-1 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 BryLittler 4-12 2-2 6-6 3-3 1 3 16

KeYoung 3-9 0-2 4-7 2-4 3 6 10 Dickson 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Younker 8-10 2-2 0-0 3-9 2 2 18

A=assist; S=steal