Raiders fall short of state tourney bid
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MStM 46, Mt. Ayr 41
The Raiders season came to an end Saturday night in Creston with a close battle against Martensdale-St. Mary’s.
Mount Ayr trailed for most of the game, but led the second half in scoring, tying the game in the fourth with just a few minutes left on the clock.
“The goal was to get as many fouls as we could,” said coach Bret Ruggles. “Unfortunately, we got tied and they made two big plays and we got some critical calls that didn’t go our way.”
Mount Ayr was unable to close it out, as the Blue Devils took advantage of fouls and hit their free throws with little time left on the clock.
“I think he’s had the same gameplan, but we did a lot better taking away the high-low, we went to man-to-man and I think that stimied him a little,” said coach Ruggles. “Our crowd is fantastic. They travel to anywhere.”
The Blue Devils advanced to their first State Basketball Tournament in school history, while the Raiders will continue the 45 year drought.
Stats
1 2 3 4 F
MA 8 10 8 15 41
MSM 14 12 7 13 46
Full stats were not available at time of press.
Mt. Ayr 63, Sidney 47
The Raiders downed the Sidney Cowboys in their second week of district play Tuesday, February 25.
The Raiders were led by Dawson Frost with 18 points and Jaixen Frost with 13.
Mount Ayr got off to a hot start, leading the Cowboys 20-9 after the first and 36-21 at halftime.
At one point in the matchup, the Raiders only led by five as Cowboy sophomore Garett Phillips began hitting threes. Phillips was seven of 15 on the night with 25 points for the Cowboys.
“He tends to drive a lot and he can be very dangerous driving,” said coach Ruggles. “Those Frost boys [Dawson and Jaixen] can change a game fast. Before I knew it, we were back up by 12.”
Sidney outscored Mount Ayr in the fourth, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Raider lead.
The Raiders would go on to face Bedford in the District Final in Red Oak.
Stats
1 2 3 4 F
MA 20 16 14 13 63
SC 9 12 9 17 47
Offense
Pts FG 3 FT
C.Lambert 3 1-6 1-6 0-0
Klommhaus 1 0-2 0-0 1-2
J.Frost 13 4-7 3-5 2-2
I.Grose 8 2-8 0-2 4-4
D.Frost 18 5-12 2-3 6-7
Z.Doster 0 0-1 0-0 0-0
P.Weehler 8 3-7 2-3 0-0
D.Elwood 8 3-6 0-0 2-2
C.Clymer 4 2-4 0-0 0-0
Defense
R Ast S B
C.Lambert 1 2 2 0
Klommhaus 0 0 1 0
J.Frost 3 2 3 1
I.Grose 9 2 2 0
D.Frost 8 1 3 2
Z.Doster 3 3 0 0
P.Weehler 3 3 0 0
D.Elwood 6 0 3 1
C.Clymer 2 0 0 3
Mt. Ayr 58, Bedford 48
Mount Ayr traveled to Red Oak on Thursday to face the Bedford Bulldogs for the third time this season.
The Raiders won the previous two meetings and coach Bret Ruggles knew it was an uphill battle to defeat a team three times.
The Raiders were down after the first eight minutes, only by two.
By halftime Mount Ayr led the Bulldogs 33-27.
The second half got off to a slow starts with both teams combining for a total of 13 points in the third, but the Raiders kicked it into gear in the fourth to take a 10 point win in what would be a district title for Mount Ayr.
Payton Weehler led the team with 16 points, while Cayden Lambert scored 15 and Cole Clymer saw 12.
“They ran the offense perfectly well tonight” said coach Ruggles. “We established Clymer and Grose early, we had some huge buckets from Cayden Lambert, Dawson Frost took over the game in the fourth quarter at the line. I am very happy with these guys.”
Stats
1 2 3 4 F
MA 12 21 5 20 58
BED 14 13 8 13 48
Offense
Pts FG 3 FT
C.Lambert 15 3-9 2-6 7-9
Klommhaus 0 0-0 0-0 0-0
J.Frost 5 1-5 0-1 3-6
I.Grose 4 2-4 0-0 0-0
D.Frost 6 1-4 0-1 4-8
Z.Doster 0 0-0 0-0 0-0
P.Weehler 16 6-9 4-5 0-0
D.Elwood 0 0-0 0-0 0-0
C.Clymer 12 6-8 0-0 0-0
Defense
R Ast S B
C.Lambert 1 1 0 0
Klommhaus 0 0 0 0
J.Frost 6 1 0 0
I.Grose 5 3 4 1
D.Frost 10 3 4 2
Z.Doster 0 0 0 0
P.Weehler 2 3 1 0
D.Elwood 0 0 0 0
C.Clymer 3 2 1 2
