T-birds win 44-34 despite slow start

Skyline coach Justin Miltner called it an ugly win, and that’s exactly what it was.
But a win is a win, and though there wasn’t much to be proud of during last night’s 44-34 win over Stafford, the T-birds got what they needed most — a win.
The third meeting of the two teams was much closer than the first, which Skyline won 65-40 and 69-42, and this time Miltner’s team had to rally from an 8-0 deficit three minutes into the game.
Stafford’s Alex Setter came out red-hot to start the game, scoring the first four points of the night. Tanner Newell added a steal and a basket, and Kayne Volker hit a pair of free throws to put the Trojans up 8-0 with 4:54 left in the first quarter.
At the 4:43 mark, Skyline got on the board with a bucket by Brian Moore off an assist from sophomore Easton Burgardt.
The T-birds’ full-court press forced a turnover, and on the in-bounds play, senior Jed Brenner buried a three from the corner to make it 8-5 with 4:30 on the clock.
Skyline forced another turnover, but couldn’t turn that one into points — something that was all too common last night.
A steal by sophomore guard Brandon Broce led to free throws for senior Tristen Hirt, and Trent Befort got a steal and a basket to make it 10-9 Stafford with 2:14 left in the first.
The Trojans went on to lead 12-9 after one quarter as Skyline made just three of nine field goals and had six turnovers in the first quarter. Stafford was five-for-11 from the floor with six turnovers and an 8-4 rebounding advantage.
Skyline senior Jeff Rondeau tied the game at 12 with a three-point play at the 6:24 mark of the second quarter, and Befort’s second-chance bucket with 3:20 left put the T-birds in front for good, 14-12.
Newell got his team within one on a free throw with 2:54 left, but Skyline ended the half on a 6-0 run with back-to-back baskets by Hirt and a putback by Moore to take a 20-13 lead into the locker room.
The T-birds held Stafford to a single point in the second quarter while forcing eight turnovers in the quarter.
Skyline also got their own offense going, hitting five of 14 shots in the second quarter.
Skyline wasn’t really able to lengthen their lead in the second half, but they did hold off the Trojans’ rally attempts down the stretch.
“It’s one of those ugly wins,” Miltner said. “Its tough to get keyed up for a team like this. We’ve had two 25-point victories against them, and despite how much you say you better get focused and you’re vulnerable to anybody, its tough.”
Skyline did get 13 points, seven rebounds and four blocks from Moore while Brenner added eight points and four steals and Rondeau finished with seven points, five boards and three steals.
“We got plenty of turnovers, plenty of steals but we didn’t capitalize on many of them,” Miltner said. “Very few of the steals did we actually convert, especially early in the game, and then we missed plenty of layups.”
Skyline (8-6) also got four steals and three rebounds from Broce, while Brennan Stotts had two steals, two rebounds and two points.
The T-birds, who hit 17 of 49 shots (41 percent) forced 22 Stafford turnovers and held the Trojans to 29 percent shooting on the night, but never really put the game away as Setter fired in 17 points to keep his team close all night.
“They played a good game,” he said of the Trojans, noting that Setter was hot all night. “Their coach made some good adjustments from the previous games, but we got the win and that’s the main thing.”
SHS has won four straight games to get back above .500 after losses to South Barber and No. 9 Pretty Prairie.
Miltner was glad to get the win, but said his team can’t afford a similar performance in Friday’s Homecoming game against Burrton.
“We can’t play against Burrton like we did tonight,” he said. “We’ve got to be ready to play.”
Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. at Skyline.

Skyline 44, Stafford 34
STAFFORD: Alex Setter 4 (2) 3-6 17, Tanner Newell 4 2-4 10, Taylor Newell (1) 0-0 3, Ian Brau 1 0-1 2, Kayne Volker 0 2-2 2, Levi Blevins 0 0-0 0, Dustin McClure 0 0-0 0, Gus Stueve 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 9 (3) 7-13 34.
SKYLINE: Brian Moore 6 1-2 13, Jed Brenner 1 (1) 3-4 8, Jeff Rondeau 3 1-1 7, Trent Befort 3 0-0 6, Tristen Hirt 2 2-2 6, Easton Burgardt 0 2-2 2, Brennan Stotts 1 0-0 2, Brandon Broce 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 16 (1) 9-11 44.
ST    12    1    12    9 — 34
SK    9    11    15    9 — 44