Five Takeaways: Western Dubuque at City High
IOWA CITY — An upstart City High team held off Western Dubuque on Tuesday night, escaping with a 51-48 home win. City led by as many as 16 points in the first half, as their athleticism overwhelmed the Bobcats in…
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Continue ReadingIOWA CITY — An upstart City High team held off Western Dubuque on Tuesday night, escaping with a 51-48 home win.
City led by as many as 16 points in the first half, as their athleticism overwhelmed the Bobcats in the first 16 minutes. But turnovers, poor shot selection and missed free throws kept the door open, allowing Western Dubuque to climb back into it. With 4 seconds left, the Little Hawks missed a pair of free throws (their fourth and fifth consecutive missed freebies, including three straight front-end misses), and Bobcat forward Dylan Johnson got off a solid look at a 3 that would’ve sent the game to overtime.
Final: City 51, Western Dubuque 48
After City went 0-2 at the line with 4 seconds left, Dylan Johnson had a good look for a shot at overtime. No dice, Little Hawks escape. #iahsbkb pic.twitter.com/oRzxYewVJ7
— Tony Roe (@tonysroe) January 8, 2020
City (5-2) was led by Keshawn Christian, who had 19 points and 10 rebounds in the win. He was limited in the second half after scoring 17 first half points. Byron Benton added 9 points and Kolby Kucera had 8 points and 8 rebounds for the Little Hawks.
Western Dubuque (2-6) was led by Dylan Johnson, who had 17 points. Payton Quagliano chipped in 13 off the bench, and Garrett Baumhover battled through foul trouble to finish with 12.
Below are five takeaways we had from the Little Hawks win.
Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | F |
Western Dubuque | 6 | 13 | 9 | 20 | 48 |
City High | 19 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 51 |
Western Dubuque: Dylan Johnson 17, Payton Quagliano 13, Garrett Baumhover 12, Ben Bryant 2, Thomas DeSollar 2, Michael Kraft 1, Nicholas Bryant 1
City High: Keshawn Christian 19, Byron Benton 9, Kolby Kucera 8, Keyoun Agee 6, Andre Miller 5, Jamari Newson 4
City High trending up
After going 5-17, 5-17 and 4-18 in the last three seasons, City High won it’s fifth game of the season here. New coach Brennan Swayzer has a lot to do with that. While there is generally a lot of talent at City, it’s not an easy job, but Swayzer has done a great job connecting with the athletes they have and getting them to play hard. While sometimes there are steps back (there was a large difference in play in the first half vs. the second half here, for instance), this is a program that is trending in the right direction and should be a factor throughout MVC play.
Keshawn Christian dominant
Christian, a 6-4 senior wing, has long been one of the more talented players in the 2020 class, and he showed that ability in this one, particularly in the first half. Christian finished with 19 points on 7-11 shooting, knocking down a trio of 3s and showing increased confidence in his jumper off the dribble. A big, physical wing who can get to the rim and finish, if he’s knocking down his jumper consistently, he’ll be tough to defend. In addition to his scoring, he pulled down 10 rebounds and had a pair of assists. If he’s engaged, he can be dominant on both ends of the floor.
Dylan Johnson, combo forward
Western Dubuque’s top player, Johnson is a 6-5 combo forward who can score inside and out. In previous years, he’s been more of a back-to-the-basket type big man, but he’s now handling the ball with confidence, hitting 3s while coming off screens and dishing it out, showing good court vision and passing abilities. As he continues to develop his ball handling and shooting, he could become a dominant player. He finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists in the ‘Cats loss.
Keyoun Agee, bench spark plug
A 5-6 junior guard, Agee came off the bench to give the Little Hawks some solid minutes on both ends of the floor. He chipped in 6 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. While he’s not big, he plays hard consistently, battles for possessions and showed a nose for the ball.
Both teams’ prognosis moving forward
This is Western Dubuque’s second season in the MVC, and you can tell that some of the players are still trying to adjust to the more athletic teams they’re facing on a nightly basis. This is a disciplined team that takes care of the ball and takes good shots, but sometimes they appeared to be overwhelmed by the athleticism across from them. Dylan Johnson is a really solid forward, Payton Quagliano can score it off the bench, and they may have been more successful here if Garrett Baumhover hadn’t gotten into immediate foul trouble, maybe they win this one? They’re going to go as far as Johnson can take them.
City High is a team that could make a run come postseason play. They have a lot of talent, but they’ll need to take better care of the ball (currently have more turnovers than assists) and make free throws if they want to make a real run. The free throw line nearly lost them this game, and in big games when the pressure amplifies, will they deliver there?