MACKSVILLE — It was an offensive battle for the high school boys of Macksville and Cunningham.
Both teams came out swinging on Thursday night, but the Mustangs were able to pull away in the third quarter on their way to an 83-72 win.
“I was pleased with how we played offensively,” Macksville head coach Jeff Kuckelman said. “We didn’t play much defense tonight. We fouled too much, and they did a good job hitting free throws.”
Macksville had a 46-45 lead at halftime, but was able to outscore the Wildcats 20-12 in the third quarter.
Cunningham was 13-for-18 from the free-throw line in the second half, and 19-for-26 overall.
“There for awhile, they didn’t have any points except from free throws in that second half,” Kuckelman said. “Then we put in our JV for a little bit, and they started to hit some shots. We just fouled too much. We’ve got to play better defense.”
The Mustangs had five players in double figures, with Hugo Flores leading with 20 points.
Macksville post player Adolfo Ibarra finished with a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Point guard Tanner Tranbarger also had a double-double, scoring 14 points and recording 10 assists.
“We need that from those guys,” Kuckelman said. “Ibarra’s been great on the boards all year, so we’ve come to expect that from him.
“It’s great to see that from Tanner. He draws a lot of attention, so to see him spread the ball around and get others a chance to score is something we need.”
Jordan Welch finished with 19 points for the Mustangs, and Clayton Wood scored 10.
“Everybody was putting the ball in the hole,” Kuckelman said. “We didn’t force many shots. We need to get to where we’re not forcing any shots, but we’re getting better.
“Still, I thought we played offense great, but we need to play better defense.”
Macksville (3-3) travels to Central Plains after the break on Friday, Jan. 4.

                                                                                       — Kevin Price

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

BOYS

At Macksville

Thursday

Macksville 83, Cunningham 72
CUNNINGHAM
    Nick Huhman 5-15 4-4 17, Jacob Earley 5-5 4-4 14, Cody Huhman 3-15 0-1 8, Tim Patton 0-1 0-0 0, Jordan Schaller 7-13 7-9 21, Zach Chambers 3-4 0-0 6, Dusty Hageman 1-2 4-8 6. Totals 24-55 19-26 72.
MACKSVILLE (3-3)
   Tanner Tranbarger 6-15 1-1 14, Hugo Flores 8-16 3-4 20, Adolfo Ibarra 7-9 3-6 17, Clayton Woods 5-7 0-1 10, Jordan Welch 8-16 0-0 19, Billy Burnett 0-3 0-0 0, Kaden Herman 1-1 1-1 3, Peter Penner 0 0-4 0. Totals 35-68 8-17 83.
Cunningham    21    24    12    15  —  72  
Macksville       23    23    20    17  —  83  
    Three-point goals — Macksville 5-20 (Welch 3-8, Tranbarger 1-6, Flores 1-4, Burnett 0-2); Cunningham 5-22 (N. Huhman 3-10, C. Huhman 2-10, Schaller 0-2). Total fouls — Macksville 19, Cunningham 14. Fouled out — Chambers, Herman.