Men's Basketball | 11/28/2017 2:55:00 PM
Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Goodwell, Okla.—Both the Panhandle State women's and men's basketball teams added wins in Monday night matchups against non-conference opponents. The Aggie women defeated Manhattan Christian College 80-41 and the men's team took an 80-59 victory over Ecclesia College.
Addison Munsch and
Tyler Pate emerged as the leading scorers in their respective contests, as Munsch amassed a game-high of 22 points for the women, while Pate totaled 20 for the Aggie men.
The women owned a 37-24 advantage at halftime and came back to outscore the Thunder 43- 17 in the second half. The Aggies averaged 53.4 percent from the field and landed 47.6 percent of their shots beyond the arc.
Monti Regier accounted for half of the team's ten three-point connections, totaling 15 points, all on long-distance shots.
Morgan Latta scored six of her 11 total points on long-distance makes and tied for the game-high in rebounds with seven (all defensive);
Hannah Faulks was also a force at the boards, bringing down seven for the Aggies. Munsch and Latta each offered three assists to share the game-high, and Latta also topped the charts with four steals.
Head Women's Coach
Victor Esparza felt he got a great team effort in Monday night's outing saying, "I'm very proud of this group. We were really good defensively, which is great for us and what we are all about. We are getting better every day and we had a good focus about us." The Aggies outmatched their opponents 44-16 at the boards and totaled 22 points off turnovers and 19 on second chance points. Esparza continued, "This is a special group that doesn't want to let each other down, so they fight so hard throughout each game. I thought we were a lot better on the offensive side of the ball, which is a great sign leading into the conference stretch." The Aggie women remain undefeated with a 6-0 record as they enter league play.
Panhandle State's men held a healthy 20-point lead at the break (38-18), but the Royals battled back scoring 41 second-half points. Pate's 20 points included a game-high of three 3-pointers; the senior guard also offered up three assists, two blocks and four steals for the Aggies. The dynamic duo of
Jace Kerr and
Jaedon Whitfield combined for 32 points and 19 rebounds against the Royals. Whitfield marked his fifth straight double-double performance of the season with 15 points and 12 rebounds; Kerr finished with 17 points and seven boards in the game. Other heavy contributors in the men's matchup were
DK Sumo with 13 points and three assists, and off the bench
Jerrell Doorbal and
Thomas Ellis combined for nine points, four rebounds and four assists.
Pleased with the improved efforts on defense, Coach
Jerry Olson stated after the game, "We've gotten better defensively and, for the most part, I was happy with our performance, especially from the starters. Our second and third groups did not play great and still need some work on defense." Olson was disappointed in what took place in the second half adding, "We missed some easy shots that could have put some separation between us and made some stupid fouls in the second half; it's hard to guard the free throw line." The team committed 16 fouls in the second half, giving up 18 points in free throws. Now sitting 6-1 as they enter Sooner Athletic Conference play this week, Coach Olson concluded plainly, "Now it's real time."
Both coaches look forward to opening SAC action on their home court this week, and hope to see Aggie fans fill Anchor D Arena and provide that extra buzz of energy to help fuel their teams to victory. A conference double-header on Thursday, Nov. 30 against Southwestern Assemblies of God will begin at 6 p.m. with the women's matchup, followed at 8 p.m. by the men's game. On Saturday, Dec. 2 the Aggies will conclude their fall home schedule with another SAC series against Texas Wesleyan starting at 3 p.m.
