In their home opener Tuesday night, the Apollo boys’ basketball team couldn’t keep up in the second half, falling 66-45 to Grayson County.
A tough night at the free throw line and playing their second game in as many nights kept the Eagles (1-1) from making a late run. For Grayson County (1-0), Q McHenry led the way with 24 points, hitting nine of 10 from the foul stripe and burying his only three-point attempt.
The Eagles started off strong against the Cougars, facing a 17-11 deficit at the end of the first quarter. Seniors Sam Parm and Nathan Mewes led the way for Apollo in the first, offering some leadership to an otherwise youthful team.
Head coach Steve Barker attributed the loss to simply running out of energy. Playing a second consecutive night, he said the young Eagles looked tired past the midway point.
“We played last night and I think we were a little gassed,” Barker said. “In the second half, we cut the lead to single digits, but we were just out of gas. When you are young like this, consistency is difficult to maintain. We were just thankful to get a win last night on the road. Anytime you can win a region game on the road against anybody, you have to be happy with that.”
Early in the third quarter, the Eagles’ offense used a pair of layups from big man Dan St. Claire to cut the Cougars lead to just nine points. However, Grayson County finished the third quarter on a 12-6 run to jump out to a 15-point advantage. That lead grew in the fourth quarter, with McHenry and Spencer Sharp combining for 14 of the Cougars’ final 21 points.
Though the final score may suggest a blowout, the game was actually competitive for most of the night. By going 12 of 28 from the charity stripe, though, Apollo wasn’t able to keep it closer.
“We got to the line, we just left a lot of points there,” Barker said. “We’re really struggling to score the ball, so we need to find a better way to get some people easier baskets. If we converted even half of our missed free throw attempts, this could have been a different ball game. So, one win and one loss, we’ll chalk it up to experience and we will try to be ready to go on Friday.”
Apollo takes the court again Friday night at home against Warren Central, scheduled for 7:15 p.m.
Apollo Statistical Leaders: Dan St. Claire (12 points), Jaden Kelly (8 points), Sam Parm (7 points), Cameron Frantz (6 points), Landon Hamilton (4 points)
