Knights’ offense struggles in 59-31 loss to Underwood

Slow starts offensively in the first and fourth quarters spelled doom for Fremont-Mills at the Mid-America Shootout Saturday in Council Bluffs.

The Knights scored just five first quarter points and went more than seven minutes without a point in the fourth quarter as Underwood pulled away for a 59-31 win at the Mid-America Center. Fremont-Mills’ 31 points were a season-low.

“This was a tough one for us,” said Fremont-Mills coach Steve Raymond. “This was a really good WIC (Western Iowa Conference) team that’s really well coached. I can’t say enough about what they do. We need to learn to grow with experience. Games like this, no matter the score, helps us. It’s a team that’s more athletic than us and gives us the experience of working against pressure defense.

The bottom line is our kids gave great effort the entire game.”

It was a slog offensively for the Knights (4-6 overall, 2-3 in the conference) from the opening tip. They missed their first six shots and did not score for nearly five minutes. But they found themselves down just 29-19 at the half.

Underwood quickly extended their lead to open the half. A 7-2 run by the Eagles made it 36-21 midway through the third quarter.

In the fourth, the Eagles put the Knights away thanks to a 11-0 to open the frame.

Fremont-Mills turned the ball over four times its first six possessions and did not score a point in the fourth quarter until Payten Van Houten’s two free throws with :20 seconds left.

In all, the Eagles out-scored the Knights 16-2 in the final quarter.

Raymond said he liked the improvement he’s seen from his defense but he’s looking for the offense to catch up.

“We need guys to knock down shots with confidence,” he said. “During a season, you get situations where you lack confidence and pass up an open shot for one that’s more contested. It makes you questions what you want to do on the offensive end. Our kids just need to continue to work hard and everything else will fall in place.”

Timothy Conn led Underwood with 12 points. Quinn Kuck added 10.

Shenandoah 42,
Fremont-Mills 39

Shenandoah out-scored Fremont-Mills 20-12 in the final quarter and pulled out a 42-39 victory in a non-conference boys basketball tilt Thursday.

Blake Herold led Shenandoah with 15 points.

Fremont-Mills was led by Cooper Langfelt’s 13 points.

Fremont-Mills 44,
Griswold 36

Cooper Langfelt had a double-double and Fremont-Mills held on in a 44-36 win over Griswold in Corner Conference boys basketball last Tuesday.

The Knights (4-4 overall, 2-3 in the conference) overcame their offensive woes in the win.
“It was a tough game for us,” said Fremont-Mills coach Steve Raymond. “We struggled on the offensive end. Right now, we are just trying to find an identity on the offensive end. We are taking too many contested and forced shots. We need to continue to show patience.”

Langfelt finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Knights.

The Knights shot 43.2 percent from the field but held the Tigers to 29.8 percent shooting while holding a 37 to 19 rebounding edge.

Jayden Amend scored 15 points and Adam Houser chipped in 14 points to lead Griswold.