Wildcats 9-9 nearing season end
Wallace competed in a couple of tough games last week when they took on the Brady Eagles on Tuesday and the Maxwell Wildcats on Friday.
Brady
Wallace had to travel to Brady to battle with a feisty Eagle team for the first matchup of the week. The Wildcats came out strong and made it look like they could control the game and they did in the first half. The Cats went into halftime with a 35-23 lead.
Brady continued to battle, however, and the longer the game went, the more determined they seemed to be. It looked as if Wallace might keep their 12-point lead going into the final period but late in the third quarter, Brady got a couple of steals that resulted in quick layups. Just like that, the Wildcats lead was down to eight.
The final quarter had all kinds of action. Wallace got off to a good start with a Kaden Hager trey but then the Eagles went on a 9-point run. With just four minutes left on the clock, the Cats were clinging to a 2-point lead.
Wallace came back with a 5-point run but the Eagles responded with a 7-point run to tie the game. Late in the game, Kaden Hager knocked down two free throws but Brady got their chance at the charity stripe as well and they too, were able to get the two free throws to tie the game.
The Wildcats appeared to have more gas in the tank as they were able to control the overtime. Hager once again came up big with a 3-ball. Micah Swedberg added three more points after a couple of opportunities shooting free throws but then Brady came back with a trey.
Wallace went to a slow-paced game which forced Brady to have to foul. Hager and Swedberg were able to knock down the free throws. Of the 12 points scored in the OT by the Cats, nine came from their free throws.
Wallace was able to get on the bus with the 69-62 victory. Leading the way for the Cats was Swedberg with 19 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and six steals. Kaden Hager scored 14 points and had one rebound, two assists and one steal. Ethan Bowlin came in to score 11 points, grab five rebounds, get three assists and one steal. Blake Pelster put up 10 points, grabbed four rebounds and had one assist and two blocks. Kolton Hager had eight points and one rebound, Camden McConnell scored six points and Tanner Finley had one point, nine rebounds, four steals and one block.
Maxwell
Friday night Wallace hosted the Maxwell Wildcats. The two teams had competed in the opening round of the RPAC tournament. Wallace had an exceptional good shooting game in that contest and won handily but Maxwell looked as if they were playing to avenge the loss.
It was clear early on that this game was going to be much closer than the previous competition. The first quarter was low scoring and went back and forth. The second quarter started out in the same fashion but once Wallace tied the game at 18, Maxwell took over and went on a 9-point run to take a 27-18 lead into halftime.
Wallace regrouped and played a solid third quarter but they were still trailing 38-39 going into the final period. Shots had not been falling for Wallace and the dilemma went from bad to worse in the fourth quarter, the Cats worked hard and got some good looks but they could not find the bottom of the net.
Maxwell held on to win the game 49-45. Micah Swedberg led the Wildcats with 23 points, seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block. Kolton Hager had six points, 10 rebounds and two assists and Kaden Hager also scored six points and had three rebounds, one assist and four steals. McConnell and Bowlin each scored five points, Ethan also had two rebounds and three steals.
Next action
Wallace boys will only have one game this week. They were scheduled to play McPherson County on Thursday but the Longhorns had to forfeit due to lack of numbers. Wallace will host Hitchcock County on Friday for their second to last regular season game of the season.