Senior hoopsters handed first loss

The seemingly invincible Muskie senior boys’ basketball team proved beatable Tuesday as they fell 60-55 to the host Kenora Broncos.
The black-and-gold (3-1) had led throughout the match, but found the fourth quarter to be their undoing.
“We did have a lead of 19-18 at the end of the first quarter,” head coach Paul Noonan noted.
“We maintained a lead of 31-25 at the end of the half and led by as much as 10 points at the end of the third quarter, however the fourth quarter we ended up coming out pretty flat.”
Morgan Anderson, one of the team’s top scorers, fouled out midway through the fourth and was unable to help hold off Kenora’s late surge.
“We ended up turning over the ball several times to their pressure defence and, as a result, fell behind late in the game,” Noonan said.
Joey Theriault led the Muskie attack with 17 points. Jeremy Strain added 16 while Travis Stromness netted seven.
The Muskie juniors didn’t falter, however, notching a 53-43 win Tuesday in Kenora to remain undefeated in NorWOSSA play (4-0).
Justin Anderson paced the team with a 26-point effort.
Meanwhile, the Muskie girls’ volleyball teams split against Kenora, with the juniors improving to 3-1 on the season while the seniors dropped to 0-4.
The juniors had to endure a five-set battle with the Broncos, winning the first set 25-13, losing the second one 25-20, winning the third 25-13, and then losing the fourth 25-17.
But they prevailed 15-11 in the fifth-and-deciding set to pull out the victory.
The seniors showed some fight but ultimately were swept. They lost the first two sets by scores of 25-23 and 25-20 before dropping what coach Duane Roen called a “tough” final set 25-12.
All four Muskie teams are back in NorWOSSA action here this afternoon against the Dryden Eagles.
The junior boys and senior girls hit the courts at 3:30 p.m., followed by the senior boys and junior girls at 5 p.m. Spectators are welcome.