Game of Contrasts Favors Van Meter Boys, 65-54

It was a game of offensive contrasts last Tuesday in Van Meter. The host Van Meter boys' team relied more on its inside game to score, while the visitors from ACGC depended on its three point shooting to put points on the board. If we were to count only successful three point shots, ACGC wins going away, 30-12. If we count just two point baskets, Van Meter wins in a rout, 42-16. Add up each teams respective points on all field goals, and Van Meter is the winner at 54-46. Once free throws are added the Bulldogs still win 65-54, which was in fact the final score.

After the Bulldogs took a 14 -11 lead into the second quarter, ACGC tied the game at 14 on Ben Marsh's (you guessed it) three pointer. Lance Bunde tied it again at 17 apiece on his first of three treys on the night. The Chargers then went into a three and a half minute scoring drought while the Bulldogs put up five points to take a 22-17 lead.

ACGC rallied in the last three minutes before halftime to get to within one point at 28-27. Bunde, Payton Jacobe, Brock Littler, and Miles Kading all scored during the rally.

The Chargers stayed close through the first half of the third quarter, trailing 37-33 at the 3:57 mark. A 9-4 burst by Van Meter in the second half of the quarter gave the hosts a 46-38 lead heading into the final eight minutes.

Van Meter remained in control throughout the fourth quarter, although the Chargers were within seven points at 57-50 with just under three minutes remaining. When it became necessary for the visitors to foul, the Bulldogs responded by making eight consecutive free throws going down the stretch to seal the win.

Ben Marsh had a big night for the Chargers, leading all scorers with 23 points that included six treys out of ten tries. Kading also hit double figures with 12 points and led the team in rebounds with 6 and in assists with 4. Turnovers were basically even with ACGC committing 16 and Van Meter 17.

"I was really proud of the effort", Charger coach Lance Kading said following the game. "We had a couple of defensive lapses and too many empty offensive possessions in the third quarter. But I really liked how we fought through that and kept fighting until the very end.

"Down the stretch Van Meter was able to answer anytime we started to make a run and they also did a nice job converting free throws in the fourth quarter."

Score by quarter:

ACGC 11 16 11 16--54

VM 14 14 18 19--65

ACGC statistics: (TP-REB-ASTS-STLS) Kunkle (2-2-3-1- Marsh (23-4-0-0) Bunde (9-1-0-1) Kading (12-6-4-2) Jacobe (4-1-0-0) Littler (4-4-3-2) Weinkoetz(0-5-2-1)