Alva Review-Courier -

In the first night of the Alva Shootout, the Alva Goldbugs took on the Attica, Kansas, Bulldogs. The Goldbugs are missing some key players due to injuries and other issues. Aiden Kimberlin, Daylon Malone and Lantz Mathers are unable to play. The missing players didn't hamper the Goldbugs in Thursday's game, but it was a different story on Friday.

The Goldbugs quickly established a lead in the first-round game against Attica. At halftime, Alva led 43-12. The final was Alva 71, Attica 29.

Kash Shipley led the Goldbugs in scoring with 24 points followed by Kelan Penco with 15 and Aiden Ruiz with 13. Kyler Martin had eight points, and Cameron Longhurst scored five. Jantz Heaton, Trace Hamilton and Wyatt Tucker had two each.

The Bulldogs were led by Carter Swingle with 17 followed by Talan Kanngiesser with seven while Marc Harnden had three and Chance Schwein had two.

Alva Goldbugs vs Stillwater Pioneers

The win Thursday moved Alva into the winner's side of the bracket to face the Stillwater Pioneers Friday night. Stillwater defeated Cimarron, Kansas, on Thursday 77-28.

The Pioneers jumped out to an early 21-7 first quarter lead, and the Goldbugs just couldn't catch up. Stillwater kept scoring heavily with 19 points in the second quarter while holding Alva to seven. The Pioneers led 40-14 at halftime. The Goldbugs continued to struggle in the second half, scoring just nine points in each quarter. Stillwater continued to widen their lead. At the end of the third, the Pioneers were up 54-23, and the final was Stillwater 69, Alva 32.

First Half

Stillwater jumped out to a lead of 11-0 before Alva could get points on the board. Kash Shipley finally broke the Alva drought with a basket. Trace Hamilton added two points, was fouled and completed the triple for Goldbugs. Adien Ruiz made a basket to give Alva seven points in the first quarter. Stillwater led throughout the quarter with Ryker Martin and Orin Reuter contributing seven points each. The Pioneers led 21-7 at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Shipley managed two more baskets while Cambell Gaisford had one. Kelan Penco scored on a free throw. Stillwater continued their onslaught to post 19 points including three treys from Reuter, Martin and Brevan Watkins. At halftime, the Pioneers were up 40-14.

Second Half

Despite the lopsided score, the Goldbugs continued to persevere. Ruiz was the only Goldbug who scored in the third quarter as he added three baskets and three points from the free throw line. The Pioneers added another 14 points in the third, including two more treys from Reuter and Martin. At the end of three, it was Stillwater 54, Alva 23.

Desiree Morehead

Alva's Kyler Martin (12) breaks away to the goal.

In the final quarter, Alva's Coach JB Kimberlin emptied his bench. Jackson Gerbine scored the only three-point shot for the Goldbugs off the bench. Wyatt Tucker made back-to-back trips to the free throw line, missing the first two but hitting the second pair. Shipley and Hamilton added baskets to the Goldbug score. Meanwhile Stillwater was still hitting threes with Dylan Caroll-Hill, Trace Clark and Sam Waits scoring treys off the bench. Two baskets from Watkins and one from EJ Cornelius completed the Pioneer scoring. Stillwater won the semifinal game 69-32.

Ruiz led the Goldbugs in scoring with 11 points followed by Shipley with eight. Hamilton had five and Gerbine three. Gaisford and Tucker had two points each while Penco had one.

The Pioneers were led in scoring by Reuter with 14 and Martin with 13. Watkins had six and Clark five. Daxton Ridgeway, Waits and Ares Willis had three points each. Cornelius rounded out the scoring with two.

The Stillwater Pioneers moved on to take on Immanuel Lutheran in the championship game on Saturday. The Alva Goldbugs were set to play Jones for third place honors at 5:30 p.m. The Alva game finished too late for press time but will be covered in a later edition.