A goal the Lynnville-Sully boys basketball team had all season was reached on Tuesday, Feb. 7. After defeating the HLV Warriors 86-25 at home, the Hawks secured the SICL Conference championship.
The win brought the L-S season record to 19-1, with the only loss to Montezuma early in the season.
Junior Tanner Foster puts up a three on the road at Keota on Friday. He finished with five points.
“It was great to see the boys finish it off tonight and earn the conference title. We lost one early in the conference season, but the guys got tough, and we have become a better team and want to keep getting stronger as we head into tournaments,” said head coach Nick Harthoorn.
Leading the Hawks in scoring was junior Tanner Foster with 17 points, going three-for-four inside the arc and three-for-four in three-pointers. Junior Brevin Hansen put up 14 points, including three three-pointers. Sophomore Tyson Vander Linden also scored 14 points. Half of his points came from free throws. Junior Jesse Van Wyk scored 12 points in the paint.
The Hawk defense only allowed six points in the second half, two of them in the fourth quarter. Leading the team in steals was senior Tyler Van Zante with six. Van Wyk had five steals, and Hansen stole the ball four times. Junior Drake Ehresman, senior Ryan Hofer, and Van Wyk each had one block on the night.
Junior Brevin Hansen cuts to the hoop in Friday’s cross-over game against the Keota Eagles. Hansen contributed 11 points to the 54-50 win.
“We have a lot to prepare for, and we have the momentum on our side,” said sophomore Rylan James. “Being back-to-back conference champs feels great, and I feel we are going to make it farther this year.”
Sophomore Rylan James goes up strong for two points in the paint at Keota. He tallied up eight points on Friday.
Van Zante dished out 10 assists, and Hansen had five. Junior Kemper Lukehart and Foster each gave two assists. James and Hofer each hit the boards five times, with three offensive rebounds and two defensive. Ehresman had two defensive and two offensive rebounds, while Van Wyk had three defensive rebounds.
Keota Comeback
By Quentin Thompson
L-S Newspaper I Class
The Hawks pulled off one of their closest games of the season when they beat Keota on the road, 54-50, in the SICL Conference cross-over game on Friday, Feb. 10.
The game had no bearing on conference standings or records this year.
The Hawks started out struggling on offense and only scored eight points in the first quarter while they allowed Keota to put up 13. They improved only slightly by scoring 11 in the second quarter. The Hawks ended the first half with their work cut out for them, trailing by eight, 27-19.
L-S came out of halftime shooting hot and scoring 19 points in the third quarter, taking the lead by one point. The Hawks had another good quarter in the fourth and took the win, 54-50.
“We had a hard time getting it going offensively in the first half,” said head coach Nick Harthoorn. “It’s never easy to get a win at Keota. The guys fought back in the second half and made just enough plays.”
The Hawks were led offensively by Van Wyk and Hansen with 21 and 11 points respectively.
“We struggled in the first half, but then our shots started falling in the second half. We played as a team and had good defense while facing adversity,” said Van Wyk.
James finished the night with eight points, Van Zante ended with six, and Foster had five. Senior John Trettin had three points before leaving the game with an injury.
Foster led on the boards with six, followed by Van Wyk with five, and four apiece from Hofer and James.
Hansen had five assists, and Van Zante and Foster each had three.
As a team, the Hawks committed 11 turnovers to Keota’s 15. Both teams were fairly equal in rebounding with 24 for L-S and 25 for Keota.
Winning the conference last week helped give the Hawks (20-1) a first-round home game in post-season play. They will face Sigourney (6-17) this Thursday, Feb. 16. The winner will play at Montezuma on Tuesday, Feb. 21.
