Chargers Use "Long Ball" to Defeat EX-EHK

A barrage of three point baskets proved to be the difference for the ACGC boys' basketball team in its 59-43 win over Ex-EHK in a game played Saturday afternoon in Guthrie Center. The Chargers hit on eight treys for the game, including six in the first half, compared to just a single long ball by the Spartans. That is a 24-3 advantage for the Chargers that the visitors could not overcome. The Spartans didn't help themselves as they made just four of eighteen field goal attempts before halftime.

The home team utilized the three pointer from the get go when Ben Marsh opened the scoring with a three pointer. Additional treys from the younger Marsh and Eli Kading plus Miles Kading's free throw accounted for the ten point Charger first quarter as the team took a 10-2 lead by quarter's end.

ACGC essentially maintained an eight to twelve point lead throughout the first three quarters,

before relying on free throws in the final frame to claim its fifth consecutive victory. Quarter scores reflect how the game went with ACGC leading 22-12 at halftime and 40-28 after three quarters.

Four of five starters--Eli Kading, Ben Marsh, Lucas Marsh, and Miles Kading--and sixth man Clayton Wardyn scored from long range.

Trailing 46-31 with just over five minutes remaining in the game, Ex-EHK was forced to foul which resulted in all of the remaining Charger points coming from the charity stripe. The home team responded by cashing in on eleven of thirteen free throws (85%) to complete the scoring for the afternoon.

Three Chargers scored in double figures, led by Eli Kading's 21 points. Lucas Marsh accounted for 15 points, and Ben Marsh came up with 10. Lucas led the team in rebounds with 6 and also in assists with 4. A trio of Chargers--Charlie Crawford, Lucas Marsh, and Miles Kading--came up with 2 steals each.

ACGC shot 41% for the game, connecting on 18 of 44 shot attempts that included 8 of 27 from beyond the arc. Free throw shooting was improved from previous games as the team cashed in on 15 of 22 tries for 68%.

" I was really proud of our guys," Charger coach Lance Kading said after his team's win. "This was our fourth game of the week and we won it with defense and our ability to get to the free throw line. It was a grueling week, but the buys took care of business." The win improves the team's season record to 8-2 overall which includes a 5-2 mark in the WCAC.

Score by quarter:

Ex-EHK 2 8 18 15--43

ACGC 10 12 18 19--59

Charger individual statistics: (PTS-REB-ASSTS-STLS) EKading (21-3-2-1) BMarsh (10-0-3-1) Crawford (2-3-0-2) LMarsh (15-6-4-2) MKading (4-4-3-2) Wardyn (7-4-0-0) Rogers (0-2-1-0)

Hanson (0-0-0-1)