The Atlantic boys basketball team picked up an impressive win over Class 2A 7th ranked Treynor on Friday night 63-60 in Atlantic. The Trojans started quick out of the gate and led by as many as 19 in the third quarter before surviving a wild finish to secure the win.

The Trojans led by 10 at the end of the first quarter and pushed the lead to 15 by the end of the half at 29-14. That 14 points for Treynor was their lowest first half offensive output of the season. Atlantic kept the Cardinals at bay in the third quarter with three triples and led 41-33 heading into the final period. The Trojans held a 10 point lead with under a minute to play.

Then things got a bit wild. The Cardinals made some tough transition buckets to inch closer. Jack Tiarks completed a three point play with :26 left to make it a 5 point game. Tyler Moen was fouled immediately on the ensuing inbound and made one of two free throws to make it a six point game. A tough contested three by Jack Stogdill went down to get the Cards within 3 with 12 seconds left. Atlantic then narrowly avoided a five second count with a last second timeout from Head Coach Jeff Ebling. Chase Mullenix was then fouled on the inbound with 10 seconds left. He made one of two and Atlantic led 61-57. Tim Zimmerman then splashed down a three with 2.7 seconds left to get the Cardinals within 1. The Cardinals then fouled Mullenix again with 1.5 seconds left. Mullenix hit one of two to make it a 62-60 game. The Cardinals tried a long pass up the left sideline and Logan Reilly skied to grab the ball but came down with it on the sideline. So Treynor was set to get the ball back with .9 of a second left. As the officials were called over to straighten out an issue at the scorers table, the Treynor coaching staff tried to usher their kids over for a chat near the sideline. Tyler Moen hustled over next to the same area on the floor and Treynor coaches and players pushed Moen away from their gathering. This got a rise from the Atlantic fans, coaches, and players. After discussion about that situation, Treynor’s bench was assessed a technical foul. So Atlantic sent Chase Mullenix to the line where he made one of two again to make it 63-60. The Trojans then got possession from the technical and were able to lob it in to Skyler Handlos to run out the clock.

Atlantic Head Coach Jeff Ebling was excited about the effort from his team.

Atlantic was led by 16 points from Tyler Moen and 15 from Chase Mullenix. The Trojans improve to 9-10 on the season and will next host Harlan on Monday night. That game will be played at the Atlantic Middle School and we’ll have it on KJAN.

The Cardinals were led by 18 from Jack Stogdill and 16 from Jon Schwarte. They finish the regular season with an 18-3 record and will next host a Class 2A District 14 Semifinal on February 14th against the winner of a Clarinda/Shenandoah Quarterfinal game.