Coyote Boys Roll Into MAC, Girls Struggle

Potter-Dix's Coyote basketball team continued its strong play with three big wins over the week and are looking strong going into this week's MAC Tournament.

The Coyote's started last weeks' action off traveling to Kimball to match up with the winless Longhorns, and a slow start combined with a strong showing by Kimball kept the game close in the early going. But Potter-Dix broke the game open in the second quarter on their way to an 82-26 victory.

The Coyotes had three scorers in double digits, led by sophomore Luke Kasten's 27 points.

Friday's matchup against Leyton in Dalton would prove to be a much tougher task.The game opened with both teams firing from long distance, trading three pointers with Potter-Dix leading 17-13 at the end of the first quarter. Kasten's three point hit to go into the half leading 31-23. The Warriors cut the Coyote lead down to 44-39 going into the fourth quarter. But Leyton junior Jonathan Borges fouled out at the end of the third and Potter-Dix was in the bonus throughout the fourth.

The Coyotes went 6-for-9 at the line in the final period, while the Warriors did not get one opportunity at the line. Potter-Dix held on and pulled out the 58-53 win.

Potter-Dix senior Javon Coyle led the Coyotes with 20 points.

On Saturday, the Coyotes ended the week hosting the 5-2 Hay Springs Hawks, and the teams played hard in a tight battle that had the Coyotes manage a 24-19 lead at the end of the first half. Potter-Dix got their offense in gear in the third quarter, outpacing the Hawks 23-6 in the period to put the game away on their way to a big 54-39 win. Kasten had a double-double in the win with 21 points and 15 rebounds in the game.

Head Coach Cory Michelman's team is playing fast with the ability to go on big scoring runs and should be a tough out at this week's MAC Tournament. After a first-round bye, the top-seeded Coyotes open MAC play Thursday. Potter-Dix Girls

The team's losing streak grew to nine with four more losses.

Potter-Dix's week started with a trip to Kimball to face the struggling Lady Longhorns, and the Lady Coyotes ended up being the opponent Kimball needed to stop its own losing slide.

The Lady Longhorns wasted no time in opening a lead on Potter-Dix, as Kimball seniors Megan Spicer and Sydney Biesecker racked up the points to power the Lady Longhorns to a 22-8 first quarter lead. The Lady Coyotes defense could not contain Kimball while the Lady Longhorns defense smothered Potter-Dix's offense and gave up few uncontested shots.

The Kimball lead expanded to 40-16 at the half, and the Longhorns cruised to a 66-36 win. Kimball had three scorers in double figures, led by Spicer with 17.

The Coyotes then traveled on Friday to Leyton to face a Warrior team short on players, as Leyton only had six girls suited up. Still, the rivals battled hard and even shorthanded the Warriors' experienced outside shooters came through and helped Leyton win, 39-27.

Potter-Dix Head Coach Shannon Wintholz has her team creating pressure on defense, but they still haven't developed effective shooting threats from the outside.

On Saturday, the Lady Coyotes hosted a Hay Springs Lady Hawks team that had only one win, against Leyton, this far into the season. But Hay Springs sophomore standout Samantha Toof was too much for the Lady Coyotes' defense to handle as she poured in 21 points and went 3-for-3 at the foul line to lead Hay Srings to a 59-to-25 win, extending the Potter-Dix losing streak to eight and lowering their record to 1-12 on the season.

On Monday, Potter-Dix lost to host Garden County in the first round of the MAC Tournament. The defeat ousted the Coyotes from the tourney.