Alva Goldbugs fall to No. 6 Beggs in state quarter-finals

 

March 14, 2021

Desiree Morehead

Inside the Yukon gymnasium Thursday night all you could see was a sea of black and gold as the Goldbug fans shook the house with their spirit.

It's been 15 years since the Alva Goldbugs made it to the state playoffs. The Goldbug bus left town with drives past the middle and elementary schools where students cheered for their success. A large group of fans joined the team in Yukon for the quarter-final matchup with the Beggs Demons.

The Goldbugs played well in the first quarter, leading 14-12. In the second quarter, the Alva team was plagued by turnovers and scored only five points to ten by the Demons to trail 22-19 at the half. The point spread was still close after three quarters with Beggs leading 28-25, but the Demons scored 14 to Alva's seven in the final period to win 42-32 dashing the Goldbugs' hopes for gold.

The No. 6 ranked Beggs Demons were led by Kendal Daniels, a 6-foot-5 senior forward, who displayed plenty of ability on defense while leading the team in scoring. Beggs' starting five included four seniors and one junior. Meanwhile unranked Alva's starting five consisted of four juniors and one sophomore.

First Quarter

Beggs took possession of the ball to start the game but Austin Reed stole it away. On a drive to the hoop by Kyler Penco, Trey Gaines tipped the ball but it went out of bounds. Reed and Penco each tried for a basket that didn't go in.

Daniels sank a basket to put Beggs on the scoreboard first. Reed took the ball to the rim and scored two for a tie. Kaden Stanton answered with two points for Beggs, but Reed scored again. The game was tied at four. Reed scored his third basket to put Alva in front. Jameson Ross missed a basket, got his rebound and scored for the tie at six points.

Braden Hofen hit a basket to give the Goldbugs their first lead at 8-6. Gaines evened it up again with a basket. Jackson Feely sank a three-pointer from deep in the right corner to put Alva on top. Gaines was fouled in the act of shooting. He made one of two tries on free throws. Alva now led 11-9.

Daniels tried for a basket but was fouled. He made one of his two chances to narrow the Goldbug lead to one. Hofen scored on a layup to pull ahead 13-10. Daniels answered with a basket. Hofen's basket attempt didn't go in, but he was fouled and made one of two from the free throw line. A final try by Feely at the buzzer didn't go in, and Alva led 14-12 at the end of the first quarter.

Second Quarter

Kyron Grayson led off the second quarter with a three-pointer from the deep left to give Beggs a one point lead. Feely tries for a basket and a trey missed, and Hofen also missed a basket before Penco sank one from three-point range to put Alva back on top at 17-15.

After some misses by both teams, Gaines scored on a put-back for the tie. Beggs took the lead when Daniels went to the charity stripe and made both shots. Then Daniels picked off the ball and went to the rim for another two points. Freshman Daylon Malone answered with a basket for Alva. Gaines was fouled in the act of shooting and made one of his two tries. That was the end of the scoring, and Beggs led 22-19 going into halftime.

Third Quarter

As play resumed, Gaines scored on a stick-back. Penco missed a basket, got his rebound and put the ball in for Alva. The score was now Beggs 24, Alva 21. Daniels missed a basket but Stanton got the offensive rebound and was fouled. He made one of two free throw attempts. Alva's Jaxon Jones followed that with a layup to narrow the margin to two. After several misses by both teams, Reed drove in for a layup to tie the game at 25.

Blake Gomez sank a three-pointer to take the lead for Beggs. Jones tried for a basket that didn't go in. Feely was hammered in the fight for the rebound but no foul was called. Then Gaines ran over Jones and drew a charging foul for Beggs. Coming out of a timeout, Gaines went for another basket that missed. Alva had possession of the ball in the final seconds of the quarter, but Chuck Shelite's throw didn't go in. At the end of three, Beggs led 28-25.

Fourth Quarter

The Demons led off scoring in the final period with a basket from Grayson. Penco hit a nice three for Alva from the front circle. Gaines hit a basket, was fouled and sank the free throw for a 33-28 Beggs lead. Ross scored to widen the margin. Reed took the ball to the rim, but it wouldn't go in. Reed stole the ball, but Daniels stole it back, went to the rim and scored.

Desiree Morehead

Alva's Charlie Shelite tries to pass the ball to his teammate.

Feely answered with a steal and basket for Alva. Beggs now led 37-30. Daniels was fouled and made one of two free throw attempts. Hofen scored two points for Alva, and Beggs now led 38-32. Gaines earned his fifth foul, left the game, and sent Hofen to the free throw line. Hofen missed the first shot of a one-and-one.

Daniels went to the charity stripe twice more, hitting all four free throws for the final score of Beggs 42, Alva 32.

Wrap-Up

The Alva scoring was led by Hofen with nine points followed by Penco with eight, Reed with six and Feely with five. Slater and Malone each had two.

Daniels led the Demons with 16 points followed by Gaines with 11. Grayson had five, Ross four, Gomez three and Stanton three.

With the loss, the Alva Goldbugs finish their season with a record of 18-11. Beggs now has a record of 18-2 for the season. They will continue to the state semi-finals for a game at 6:30 p.m. today (Friday) at the Big House as they take on Community Christian.

 

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