Written by Philip Myer
The Algona boys’ basketball team is currently 9-5 on the season. They recently had one really good win against a good Forest City team and a really bad loss against a really good Saint Ed’s team.
On Tuesday, January 27th, the Algona boys played Saint Ed’s boys at home where they lost 84-48.The leading scorer for the night was Nathan Manske with 15. Maske also led in rebounds, with seven, while Evan Allie had the most assists, with four. Jackson Jansen, Owen Noyd, Phillip Myer, Logan Alt, and Jorge Contreras got to see action with around 3:30 left in the game.
On Thursday, the 29th, the boys played Forest City, where the whole game was back and forth. Algona eventually pulled out in front of Forest City, with a 57-52 win against a 10-4 Indians team. The Indians’ biggest lead was 11, but that didn’t scare the Bulldogs, they found a way to fight back and win the game, even when it wasn’t going the Bulldogs’ way for a while. The Bulldogs were down by 5 at the half, but midway through the 3rd quarter they were down by 11. The Bulldogs outscored the Indians in the fourth quarter 21-8, which helped the Dogs come out in front with the victory. The leading scorer, Manske, had 18 points, Jacob Burns had 15, and Landon Campe had 12. Leading in rebounds was Manske and Burns, each with 5. Leading the Bulldogs with assists was Burns and Allie, both with four.
“Just because you’re in the storm doesn’t mean the game's over,” says senior player Levi Walker.
On Friday, January 30, the Bulldogs traveled to Webster City and won 47-43. The Bulldogs were down by as much as 7 points but found a way to come back and win. Manske had two dunks in the game, with one being a putback dunk off of Burns’ missed shot. Both of them came in the 4th quarter when the Bulldogs prevailed to win another close ball game. The Bulldogs’ leading scorer was Manske with 14, then Burns with 11, and Campe with 10. For assists, Jaxon Eischen had three. Top rebounders were Manske with 7 and Eischen with 6.
On Monday, February 2nd, the Bulldogs played Clarion and won 69-53. The Bulldogs were down 17-8 when Coach Cecil called a timeout and got the team back on the right track to dominate. The Bulldogs are now 11-5 on the season. Leading scorer was Manske with 16, followed by Burns with 13, Campe with 12, and Evan Allie with 11. Manske added four assists. Top rebounder was Manske with 8, followed by Burns with 6.
The Bulldogs traveled to Charles City on Tuesday, February 3rd. The Bulldogs came out on top 89-79.The Bulldogs led by as much as 23 points. The Charles City Comets cut the lead to 8 at one point and had a chance to come back and win, but the Bulldogs didn’t let that hold them back and got the win to improve to 12-5 on the season.
To wrap up the week, the Bulldogs play Hampton at home on Friday, February 6th.The Bulldogs’ next games are at Humboldt next Tuesday, the 10th, at 7:15. Then the Bulldogs travel to Iowa Falls on the 13th. That game night is just boys, so 9/10 is at 5:00, followed by JV at 6:00 and Varsity at 7:30.