By Brandon Walker
WILSALL — A 22-point, 11 rebound performance from Aidan Jenkins led the Shields Valley Rebels past the Lone Peak Big Horns on Jan. 4 in varsity boys basketball action, 56-39.
For the second consecutive contest, Lone Peak jumped out to a first quarter lead. The Big Horns had a 10-5 advantage over the Rebels after one, but it was short lived as Shields Valley outscored Lone Peak by 12 points in the following quarter to gain a 26-19 halftime edge.
Big Horn head coach John Hannahs is optimistic about the hot starts that his team has been producing. “That is extremely encouraging because we know we can hang with these teams. We are working at how we can string an entire game together that way,” he said.
LPHS junior Nolan Schumacher and senior Frankie Starz reached double figures in the scoring column for the Big Horns. Schumacher led the team with 14 points, corralled 6 rebounds, and blocked a shot, while Starz added 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 2assists.
Once again, Lone Peak finished the game on a high note, scoring their most points as a team in the fourth with 13, but the late effort still was not enough to match Shields Valley’s 15-point performance in the final quarter.
It was a solid showing all around for the Big Horns with many athletes contributing in multiple statistical categories. Senior Nick Brester and junior Michael Romney filled up the stat sheet for LPHS. Romney chipped in 3 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, dished out 4 assists, blocked a shot, and had a steal in the contest. Brester nearly mirrored Romney as he contributed 4 points, hauled in 5boards, and added an assist, a steal and a block to his performance.
“Yes, it is comforting when we know our scoring can come from multiple players. We look more relaxed every week,” Hannahs said. Lone Peak falls to 0-6 with the loss.
Box Score Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total
Lone Peak 10 9 7 13 39
Shields Valley 5 21 15 15 56
Lone Peak: Nolan Schumacher 14, Frankie Starz 10, Austin Samuels 6, Nick Brester 4, Michael Romney 3, Isaac Gilmore 2
Shields Valley: Aidan Jenkins 22, Dylan Flatt 13, Cole Flatt 9, Kaden Acosta 5, Mikey C. 3, Emmett G. 2, Hunter S. 2
