By Sophie Butler
On January 30th, the 2-seeded Silver Lake Boy’s Basketball team competed against the 7-seeded Red Cloud Warriors. Previously, the Mustangs defeated the Warriors 46-39 to start their season. However, the young Red Cloud team, starting a variety of sophomores and freshmen, has improved this season, providing a challenge for the Mustangs. The game started off with some quality offensive possessions. Both teams found success, but Silver Lake managed to maintain a four-point lead, 14-10, going into the first quarter break. However, Silver Lake began struggling to put the ball through the rim, only putting up 6 points in the second quarter while Red Cloud stayed in their offensive rhythm to add 10 points and lead 24-20 going into halftime. The Warriors seemed to not miss in the second half, shooting 60% from the field, to add 25 more points to their total, while Silver Lake added 18. The final score ended up 49-36 in the Warrior’s favor. Senior Jordan Faimon had the hot offensive hand, scoring 10 points for the Mustangs, while senior Tayten Menke added 7. Faimon also grabbed 7 rebounds.
After preparing in practice to take on the Kenesaw Blue Devils, the team then traveled to Adams Central on February 3rd. Silver Lake got off to a quick start offensively to lead 17-7 after the first quarter, led by an impressive game from Faimon who scored a total of 25 points. Kenesaw got into a groove in the second quarter to put up 15 to Silver Lake’s 13 in the second quarter. A big component of Silver Lake’s success came from their rebounding. Seniors Famion, Trey Vance, and Keaton Karr controlled the boards for the Mustangs with 6, 6, and 5 rebounds, respectively. The 8-point deficit proved to be too much for the Blue Devils to overcome; Silver Lake outscored them 21-18 in the second half to finish the game 51-40 and earn a TVC victory.