On Thursday night, the ACGC Chargers boys basketball team earned a hard-fought 57 – 32 win over the Audubon Wheelers. In a game that felt closer than the score implied, the Chargers battled through some physical play. Although Audubon had a very strong showing in the first half, the Chargers were able to pull away and advance to the district 15 championship game.

Out of the gate, the Chargers got out to an early lead. ACGC went on an 8-2 run to start the ball game. Jathan South was excellent. Four of his six first-half field goals came in the first quarter. Noah Kading also had a strong opening half picking up eight points.   Despite being down early, the Wheelers battled back and were able to cut the deficit to as low as two. Throughout the night, but especially in the first half, the Wheelers did a lot of good things. They played good defense, holding ACGC to well under their average. They caused turnovers, played physically, and created opportunities. Brody Schultes was able to knock down a three-pointer as a part of his team-leading eight points. However, they struggled at times to cash in on their opportunities as ACGC started to open up their lead towards the end of the second quarter and took a 29-15 advantage to the locker room.

In the second half ACGC continued to increase their lead. Although the offense slowed down as a whole, the Chargers were able to find their way to the paint causing foul trouble for Audubon. Although Audubon continued to battle, they were unable to cut into the deficit. South hit five free throws in the fourth quarter to finish the night with a game-leading 19-points. He was one of three Chargers (along with Kading and Payton Policky) to finish in double digit points. Head coach Lance Kading was happy with his team’s compete level, especially in a game that was closer than what was on the scoreboard.

Kading also enjoyed the effort of his leading scores and the seniors who put forth another solid effort.

Up next for the Chargers in the District 15 champing game is IKM-Manning and Kading knows his team will have to the next game up mentality to accomplish their goals.

The matchup is scheduled for Tuesday and tip-offs at 7 pm.