Gobbler boys playing solid ball
By Jackson Cline
Published March 2, 2023
Heading into their game against Staples-Motley earlier this season, Eli Christy (Senior, Guard) said, “We’re going to have to play well. Staples is a tough team. We need to work on not giving up so many turnovers and just show up on defense, that's where we are strong.”
Braedyn Smith, a junior who also plays guard, said, “I think it will be a very competitive conference game. Both of us are good, talented teams with a lot on the line. We’ve been in a lot of close games and come out on the losing end. It's made us battle tested and it's going to be a big factor on Thursday. It would be a huge win to come out on top against a team like Staples. I think our biggest team issue is just not being able to score consistently, it’s been a big struggle for us to put the ball in the hoop at a constant rate. I think our secret weapon would be our bench. We’ve got Nathan (Price), Tanner (Nissen), and Ryan (Alexander), all solid players who can really compete for us and that’ll really help in a close game like this one.
Alex Palm, a Senior Forward, said, “I think I’m going to play good. I would say our biggest issue on the team is finishing easy shots, but the team has really good chemistry so that's going to help us out.”
After Aitkin won against Staples-Motley 63-38, Christy said, “I played great! I think we struggled with equal scoring, but defense was ballin’ up.”
“I played all right,” Palm said. “There's always room for improvement. I think our team did an excellent job staying above all of the obstacles, like trash talking.”
Braedyn Smith agreed with both of those assessments. “I think I played very well,” he said. “We had a slow first half, but fixed a lot of things that we struggled with in the second. I think that's really why we walked away with the W tonight.”
The Gobblers next game against Crosby was a nailbiter where Aitkin won 48-46. Christy and Palm had big moments in the game, Eli with a late three, and Alex with a free throw to bump up the lead to two points. Once again the Gobblers thrived on defense, but could use some work on scoring the easy buckets. Andrew Martinson and Isaac Asmus were also standout players, Issac with 13 points and Andrew with 9. Christy had a very impressive performance with 22 points. When asked what their goal was, the Gobblers said, “Win a playoff game.”
Aitkin will square off with Staples-Motley again in their last game of the regular season Friday.
Published March 2, 2023
Heading into their game against Staples-Motley earlier this season, Eli Christy (Senior, Guard) said, “We’re going to have to play well. Staples is a tough team. We need to work on not giving up so many turnovers and just show up on defense, that's where we are strong.”
Braedyn Smith, a junior who also plays guard, said, “I think it will be a very competitive conference game. Both of us are good, talented teams with a lot on the line. We’ve been in a lot of close games and come out on the losing end. It's made us battle tested and it's going to be a big factor on Thursday. It would be a huge win to come out on top against a team like Staples. I think our biggest team issue is just not being able to score consistently, it’s been a big struggle for us to put the ball in the hoop at a constant rate. I think our secret weapon would be our bench. We’ve got Nathan (Price), Tanner (Nissen), and Ryan (Alexander), all solid players who can really compete for us and that’ll really help in a close game like this one.
Alex Palm, a Senior Forward, said, “I think I’m going to play good. I would say our biggest issue on the team is finishing easy shots, but the team has really good chemistry so that's going to help us out.”
After Aitkin won against Staples-Motley 63-38, Christy said, “I played great! I think we struggled with equal scoring, but defense was ballin’ up.”
“I played all right,” Palm said. “There's always room for improvement. I think our team did an excellent job staying above all of the obstacles, like trash talking.”
Braedyn Smith agreed with both of those assessments. “I think I played very well,” he said. “We had a slow first half, but fixed a lot of things that we struggled with in the second. I think that's really why we walked away with the W tonight.”
The Gobblers next game against Crosby was a nailbiter where Aitkin won 48-46. Christy and Palm had big moments in the game, Eli with a late three, and Alex with a free throw to bump up the lead to two points. Once again the Gobblers thrived on defense, but could use some work on scoring the easy buckets. Andrew Martinson and Isaac Asmus were also standout players, Issac with 13 points and Andrew with 9. Christy had a very impressive performance with 22 points. When asked what their goal was, the Gobblers said, “Win a playoff game.”
Aitkin will square off with Staples-Motley again in their last game of the regular season Friday.