On Monday night, the ACGC boys basketball team advanced in the 1A Region 15 bracket with a 78-45 victory over the Exira-EHK Spartans. The Charger offense was excellent throughout the night, finding multiple ways to score. Starting in the paint and then working their way to the perimeter, ACGC showed why they’ve been a difficult team to stop all year. Although Exira-EHK battled throughout the night but were unable to overcome the strong offensive performance as the Chargers advanced to the second round.

The ACGC offense got off to an early start. Mason Wahl scored the first six points of the game for the Chargers as they raced out to an early 12-point lead. It was clear that the paint was the plan of attack early on for the Chargers as Wahl led the Chargers in the first half with four field goals. Although the Spartans finished out the quarter strong closing the gap to nine by the end of the frame, the ACGC defense stepped up in the second allowing just four points. The Charger offense also started to knock down the long ball hitting a trio of threes in the second frame to take a 36-14 lead to the half.

Despite trailing by 12, Exira-EHK had nearly a perfect start to the second half. Seemingly in quick succession the Spartans knocked down four threes including two from Josh Nelson who led the game for Exira-EHK with 14 points.  The only problem for Exira-EHK was that ACGC was just as good from beyond the arc. Jathan South and Tommy Skram each nailed a pair of long balls as the Charger offense kept on rolling. At the final horn five Chargers had reached double digits including a game leading 20-point effort from South. In a team effort ACGC advanced to the semi-finals of the Class 1A region 15 second bracket. Head coach Lance Kading liked his offense’s ability to find the open look and how they got to the inside early.

When asked about South’s ability, Kading said his athletic ability and skills make him a difficult matchup.

The Chargers will continue their postseason schedule on Thursday as the Audubon Wheelers visit ACGC. Kading knows his team will have to continue to battle.

You can catch all the action on KJAN with pregame coverage starting at 6:50 pm with tipoff from Guthrie Center scheduled for 7 pm.