Diagonal unable to stop Lamoni scoring

DIAGONAL – Diagonal was unable to keep the offense moving on Friday, falling to Lamoni 63-42. The loss is the fourth straight for the Maroons, making them 1-6.

The Maroons started the game shooting well, leading 12-9 in the first from the scoring tandem of Kade Klommhaus and Tyler Jarred.

Klommhaus had 13 points on the night and Jarred scored 15.

The second quarter saw the Demons adjust to their opponent, increasing their tempo while attacking the inside to put them up early in the second 19-16.

The offense adjustment led to Lamoni pulling away from Diagonal as they went on to get 3-pointers from Nicholas Patience and Braydon Olson to extend its lead to 31-21 entering halftime.

With a thin bench and a Demons offense that was running hard in transition, a tired Maroons team quickly saw the drawback of a short bench.

“The guys looked a little wore down,” said coach Matt Warren. “We played six guys the whole game, they were rotating. I still think our effort was there. I don’t think the guys gave in at all and never gave up. That’s what we’re preaching, we’re trying to put 32 good minutes together.”

As the second half progressed, the Demons poured it on, extending their lead to 20.

“When they’re extending the lead we got frustrated a little bit,” said Warren. “Our offense wasn’t getting the ball movement that we want. The times we did do that I thought we (did well). We had our moments.”

The Demons had scoring in the second half come mainly from Stephen Ansong, succeeding from deep and from mid-range. His second half total was 12, and finished the night with a team-high 17 points.

“We were worried about guarding Ansong down in the post,” said Warren. “I don’t think he hurt us that much down there. I think that was a positive for us.”

Despite the loss, the Maroons were efficient from the charity stripe, going 11-14 in free throw attempts. They also had six 3-pointers, three of which coming from Jarred.

UP NEXT –­ The Maroons are hosts to a Lenox team on Thursday that has lost six straight (1-6), and will look to steal a win before heading into the new year.

Lamoni 63, Diagonal 42

Lamoni (63) — 9 22 17 15

Diagonal (42) — 12 9 6 15

LAMONI (63) — (FG FT PTS) Totals — 25 6-12 63. Stephen Ansong 6 3-4 17, Nicholas Patience 4 1-2 12, Landon Gilliland 5 0-0 10, Patrick Savage 2 2-4 6, Hayden Stewart 3 0-0 6, Braydon Olson, 1 0-0 3, Corbin Binkley, 1 0-0 3, Noah Sawo 1 0-0 2, Curtis Robers 1 0-0 2, Javin Evans 1 0-0 2. 3-point goals — 7 (Patience 3, Ansong 2, Olson 1, Binkley 1). Team fouls — 13. Fouled out — None.

DIAGONAL (42) — (FG FT PTS) Totals — 13 10-13 42. Tyler Jarred 3 6-7 15, Kade Klommhaus 4 4-6 13, William O’Connor 5 0-1 12, Will Strange 1 0-0 2. 3-point goals — 6 (Jarred 3, O’Connor 2, Klommhaus 1). Team fouls — 9. Fouled out — None.