Games of the Week (Week 2)
MONDAY (Dec. 3) Game of the night: Clear Lake at 3A No. 10 Charles City No Zach Lester? No problem so far for Clear Lake, who rolled to a pair of wins during the opening week behind a more balanced…
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Continue ReadingMONDAY (Dec. 3)
Game of the night: Clear Lake at 3A No. 10 Charles City
No Zach Lester? No problem so far for Clear Lake, who rolled to a pair of wins during the opening week behind a more balanced attack. Lester averaged north of 30 points a game last year for the Lions, and they have three players averaging double figures early this season. They’ll have their hands full with Charles City lead guard Jackson Molstead, one of the best guards in the state. Molstead’s ability to score and distribute should be on full display here, although the Comets could struggle on the glass after giving up 43 rebounds to Aplington-Parkersburg in their opening win. If Clear Lake can control the paint and limit Molstead, they’ll have a chance to pull the upset over the bigger school.
Our pick: Charles City 66, Clear Lake 62
Others to monitor
PCM, Monroe at Pella Christian
TUESDAY (Dec. 4)
Game of the night: 2A No. 1 Western Christian at 3A No. 4 Spirit Lake
This is a key early game in the Lakes Conference, and a fantastic matchup between a pair of dominant big men in Western Christian’s Jacob Vis and Spirit Lake’s Owen Coburn. Coburn is averaging 25 points and 14 rebounds on 80% shooting early this season, while Western Christian hasn’t played a game yet. The experience that Spirit Lake has with two games under their belt could end up being a deciding factor here. The Wolfpack, despite being ranked No. 1 in our 2A poll, have a lot of new pieces breaking into their rotation and it may take them a bit to get it rolling. The Indians should get a big home win here behind another huge game from future South Dakota State big Coburn.
Our pick: Spirit Lake 67, Western Christian 61
Others to monitor
1A No. 3 George-Little Rock at Boyden-Hull
Burlington, Notre Dame at Danville
Don Bosco at Janesville
3A No. 2 Glenwood at Lewis Central
Pocahontas Area at Newell-Fonda
Davenport Assumption at Pleasant Valley
West Branch at Tipton
3A No. 6 Norwalk at Winterset
2A No. 2 North Linn at Prince of Peace
Waterloo East at 4A No. 8 Waterloo West
THURSDAY (Dec. 6)
Game of the night: Aplington-Parkersburg at West Marshall
This is an interesting contrast, as the Falcons have a big, physical group that loves to pound the glass on both ends of the floor, while West Marshall is loaded with shooters and likes to float out to the perimeter and spread the floor. A-P star Carter Cuvelier had a rough opening week, averaging just 7.5 points on 27% shooting. He’s bound to break out in a big way soon, he’s just too talented not to have a big night. The X-factor here will be whether or not West Marshall star guard Peyton Pope is going to play. He’ll re-join the team in practices on Monday, so he may not be ready yet. If he’s good to go, the Trojans can put an unreal amount of shooting on the floor. This should be a very entertaining game, and will likely be decided by rebounding. If West Marshall can keep the Falcons off the glass, they can win. If not, A-P can rack up second chance points.
Our pick: Aplington-Parkersburg 68, West Marshall 62
Others to monitor
East Sac County at OA-BCIG
South O’Brien at 2A No. 7 West Sioux
FRIDAY (Dec. 7)
Game of the night: 4A No. 9 Sioux City West at 4A No. 7 Sioux City East
Few teams in the state had a better opening week than Sioux City West, who dominated then-3A No. 2 Sergeant Bluff-Luton, 75-52, then won comfortably over a solid Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln team, 73-56. And no player had a better opening week than West guard Cliff McCray. The future Southwest Minnesota State guard notched a pair of triple doubles, averaging 17.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 11 assists in their wins. He’s going to be looking to lead the Wolverines to their first win over East since December 5, 2003. That’s right, East has beaten West 32 straight times. The Black Raiders put up 72 in their opening win over Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson, with four players (Javonte Keck, Aidan Vanderloo, Jack Peterson, Sayvion Armstrong) scoring in double figures. They’ll have their hands full trying to neutralize McCray and West’s attack, but playing at home should certainly help. West is going to end the streak this year, I’m calling it now, but it’s not happening here. Circle January 15 on your calendar, when the Wolverines end the streak.
Our pick: Sioux City East 74, Sioux City West 70
Others to monitor
4A No. 1 North Scott at Davenport Assumption
Bolingbrook (IL) at Cedar Falls
Newell-Fonda at East Sac County
1A No. 3 George-Little Rock at 2A No. 9 Sioux Center
Prince of Peace at Edgewood-Colesburg
Cedar Rapids Prairie at Cedar Rapids Kennedy
4A No. 2 Iowa City West at Iowa City High
Dubuque Senior at 3A No. 9 Dubuque Wahlert
Linn-Mar at Cedar Rapids Xavier
Tipton at Northeast, Goose Lake
2A No. 6 Camanche at Iowa City Regina
Ankeny Centennial at 4A No. 5 Ankeny
West Branch at Cascade
PCM, Monroe at Gilbert
Pella Christian at 3A No. 6 Norwalk
SATURDAY (Dec. 8)
Game of the night: 3A No. 6 Norwalk vs. 4A No. 10 Des Moines North
This game is going to be played at the Handle University facility in Urbandale, and if you like points, get to this one. Norwalk led 3A in scoring last year at 77.4 points a game, and North paced 4A at 79.2. A pair of future Division I guards lead the way, with junior Bowen Born pacing Norwalk’s attack and future South Alabama point guard Tyreke Locure running the show for North. Each team suffered a surprising loss in the opening week and will be looking to rebound this week. North’s overwhelming athleticism may overwhelm some of Norwalk’s pieces, and should decide this one. The Born-Locure matchup will be loads of fun, and if you live in the Des Moines area, make your way to Urbandale for this one. It will be endlessly entertaining.
Our pick: Des Moines North 86, Norwalk 76
Others to monitor
DeLaSalle (MN) at Cedar Falls
1A No. 1 Grand View Christian at Don Bosco