Mount Ayr begins postseason march
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By DALTON SHADLE
MOUNT AYR, Iowa — Fresh off the regular season and a conference win the Raider boys basketball team moved into the post season with a warm up game for the district tournament with a game last Thursday against the Centerville Big Reds in Mount Ayr.
Although the game ended in a close 72-65 loss coach Bret Ruggles was satisfied with how the team performed moving into districts.
“I tell you right now although it’s a loss, we executed at a very high level,” he said. “We rebounded well. That’s a 2A team. They are the No. 2 seed in their region. We fought them really well. So I’m really happy with tonight.”
After leading the Raiders in points with 27 points scored, senior Jackson Ruggles was feeling optimistic after the game even after battling an eye injury during the latter half of the game.
“I feel good now after tonight,” Jackson Ruggles said. “The first half was a little rough, we’re just trying to get back into the game. But after that second half, I was like, this is the team I want to go with.
“I’m just proud of our guys, that we battled back. Any other team probably would have went down 21 and then they just would have stopped. But I’m proud of the guys that battled and it’s a good loss. You know, going into the postseason, we want that type of game.”
Senior Tate Dugan was also a big contributor in the match up against the Big Red leading Mount Ayr in rebounds with eight. He also scored 12 points.
After the game the Centerville Big Reds coach Tyler Baze left the Raiders with words of encouragement moving into districts.
“You know, we knew when we came in here, what kind of battle we were getting into,” Baze said of the Raiders. “I think Coach Ruggles is a great coach, and you know, we’ve always had a lot of respect for the program. Unfortunately, the last couple years we didn’t get to play, so it’s nice to get them back on the schedule. Every time I felt like we were going on a run, they did a really nice job of hitting some threes and getting themselves back in it. So this was a perfect game for us to get ready for postseason. We wish them nothing but the best.”
