The Kuemper Catholic Knights made more plays in the second half than Atlantic and came away with a 73-66 win on Tuesday night.  It was a very well played game from the onset as the two top 10 ranked teams traded baskets throughout.

The Knights led by 1 at the intermission 40-39 after the half ended with a missed shot by Chase Mullenix that was put back in by Scott Leonard but officials ruled it came after the horn.  Atlantic’s shooting went a bit cold at the start of the second half which allowed Kuemper to extend the lead. But the Trojans would rally and tie it up later in the quarter before the Knights got a couple buckets from Matt Dentlinger to lead 55-49 at the end of the 3rd.  The Trojans tried to play catch up the rest of the way but couldn’t make up enough ground. Atlantic Head Coach Alan Jenkins thought depth was a difference as the Trojans expended a lot of energy playing catch-up.

Garrett Franken was fouled on a three and knocked down three free throws to cut the lead to 4 with a couple of minutes left but they wouldn’t get closer. Franken missed a three in traffic on the next possession and Kuemper headed to the free throw line to ice it down the stretch. Coach Jenkins thought his team played well, they just ran into a tough opponent.

The Knights were led by Matt Dentlinger with 23 points that included some big shots and free throws late. Parker Badding finished with 16 as the Knights improve to 5-1 heading into the Christmas break.

Atlantic was led by Garrett Franken with 31 points as the Trojans suffer their first loss of the season and are now 6-1.  The Trojans travel to face St. Albert on Thursday before the break. Coach Jenkins says the loss will help them grow as a team.