By Justin Sharp
The Silver Lake Junior High basketball team set off for their 2023-2024 basketball season
against the Kenesaw Blue Devils on Saturday, January 6th. The Mustangs were determined to
come out with a win but they knew it would be tough. The game started off with Silver Lake
trailing by a few to start the first quarter. The Mustang’s 8th grader, Laikyn Krueger started off
the scoring for Silver Lake with a midrange jump shot. The Mustangs started to take lift-off and
added on a couple of points. 8th grader Justin Sharp pulled up for a deep three-pointer followed by 8th grader Tanner Vance who got fouled and took a contested shot for an and 1. The Mustangs went into the half trailing behind by 16. “As a team, we need to work on rebounding and handling pressure,” said Coach Knehans, determined to come out and win the next half. After a rough first half, Silver Lake hoped to get into a groove and get the game closer. 7th grader Graham Karr subbed into the game, immediately made an impact, and scored a quick layup to cut the deficit. On the next possession, Krueger, playing aggressive defense, got a steal to drive in to get fouled on the shot. Laikyn Kruger shot 2 free throws and made them both. The Mustangs continued to fight but their effort wasn’t enough to fight through and win the game. Silver Lake ended up losing the game by 25 with a final score of 41-16.
After a disappointing loss against Kenesaw, the Silver Lake Mustangs Junior High
basketball team was dead set on a win against the Franklin Flyers on Monday, January 15th.
And they did just that. After 8th grader, Justin Sharp fought and won the tip-off, the Mustangs
immediately impacted the game as Noah Lutz posted up for an easy 2-point bucket in the paint. The Mustangs were successful in the first half, leading by 6. Tanner Vance went into the half,
leading the team with 6 points. After a great first 2 quarters, the Mustangs were committed to
coming out and dominating the 2nd half. Starting the 3rd quarter, Silver Lake made an immediate impact and scored for the next 3 possessions. 7th grader Graham Karr impressed
many with his posting up abilities, despite his size, helping him to score 6 points in the 2nd half.
Noah Lutz started to pick up the pace to help the team by getting 6 quick points down in the
paint. “From the first game to the second, we improved on our ball control and making better
decisions with the ball.” said coach Knehans at the conclusion of the game. The Silver Lake boys came out on top with a final score of 24 to 15 and successfully got their record back to 1-1.