PC basketball teams surrender leads, come up short in playoff openers

Staff Report

The Paton-Churdan boys’ and girls’ basketball teams each suffered defeat in their opening round postseason games last week.
The girls’ lost Thursday, Feb. 10 to Ankeny Christian (48-38) in a Class 1A regional opener, surrendering a first half double-digit lead. The loss punctuated a winless season, as the Rockets finished the year 0-16.
Rocket senior Carmyn Paup tallied a game-high 23 points, helping P-C jump out to a 13-point halftime lead. Ankeny Christian’s defense ratcheted up in the second half, holding P-C to just eight points, out-scoring the Rockets by 25 to capture the valiant comeback.
Paup was P-C’s leading scorer this winter, averaging 13.2 points per game to go with 7.4 rebounds per game, 3.1 steals per contest and 2.3 assists per game.
The P-C boys fell in a nail-biter a few days later, a 49-47 loss to Glidden-Ralston Friday, Feb. 11 in Glidden. P-C had a shot at a buzzer-beating triumph late in the fourth, but a three-pointer fell short as time expired. The Rockets finished the year with just a single win at 1-19.
P-C knocked off G-R 67-24 for their only victory of the year back on Jan. 25. The Rockets led by three at the halftime break (26-23) but a four-point third quarter spelled eventual doom, falling behind by four.  
Three Rockets scored in double figures Friday, with Joe Carey and Justin Stream each chipping in 11 points apiece. Carey led the team in scoring throughout the year, averaging 12.6 points per game.