The Whiteface Antelopes hosted the #3 ranked Ropes Eagles for a district basketball game this past Tuesday, with the Eagles coming out on top, 63-45.
The Eagles led by 20 points at one time, and the Antelopes would cut the lead down to 10 points in the fourth quarter, but Ropes responded to put the game out of reach in the final minutes.
“Whiteface is a disciplined group that hit shots and played tough in the second half to make it a good ball game,” Eagles Head Basketball Coach Cameron Copley said. “They are well coached, and we knew it was going to be a battle for 32 minutes. I was happy with the way our guys remained calm and found a way to make plays late.”
The duo of Kade Franklin and Cutter Stumbo led the offensive attack for the Eagles on the night, as Franklin had 21 points and Stumbo had 18 points behind three three-pointers made.
Other scorers for the Eagles included Kaden Riker with 10 points, Kolter Dockery with six points, Cason Kucel with five points and Branson Simental with three points.
And while the Ropes offense was good, it was ultimately their stifling defense that led to the double-digit victory.
“We had really good energy and focus early on. Our first half defense was as good as we’ve been on that end of the floor, I thought,” Coach Copley said. “We relaxed some in the second half and they made some good plays. Overall, I was really happy with the way we competed on defense.”
Following the win, the Eagles are now 14-2 overall and 2-0 in district play, meanwhile the Antelopes loss drops them to 8-6 overall and 1-1 in district play.
“Obviously, last night was not the outcome we wanted, but we gained perspective,” Antelopes Head Basketball Coach Brandon Flores said. “We just have to start believing in ourselves more and handle adversity better. Once we finally settled down at halftime, we were fine. However, we dug ourselves in a deep hole and it’s hard to climb out of it against good teams such as Ropes. The best thing we can do is watch this film and be our toughest critic and learn from it.”
They began to really figure things out offensively in the second half and strung together several defensive stops in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late, so they’ll look to learn from the loss and implement that style of play from the start in their next game.
Scorers for the Antelopes in the defeat included Luke Gresham with 12 points, Isaak Soliz with nine points, and Victor Borunda, Ivaniel Gandara and Cesar Chavez all with eight points.