Games of the Week (Post-Holiday Break)
THURSDAY (Jan. 2) Game of the night: Harris-Lake Park at George-Little Rock These two teams were trending in the opposite directions heading into the break, as Harris-Lake Park had lost three of the last four before the break, while George-Little…
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Continue ReadingTHURSDAY (Jan. 2)
Game of the night: Harris-Lake Park at George-Little Rock
These two teams were trending in the opposite directions heading into the break, as Harris-Lake Park had lost three of the last four before the break, while George-Little Rock enters on a four-game winning streak. The key matchup to watch here will be between forwards Isaac Ihnen of H-LP and Matt Haken of G-LR. Haken leads the state in blocked shots, but he’ll have his hands full with Ihnen, who is averaging 22.1 points a game and is capable of scoring inside and out. Bubba Sohn (19.7) gives the Wolves another solid scoring option on the perimeter, and he’ll have his own difficult matchup with G-LR’s Payton Mauldin (21.9), who has already made 23 3s and is a big-time scorer. The Haken-Mauldin tandem is better, and playing at home gives the Mustangs an edge here in what could be a postseason preview somewhere down the line.
Our pick: George-Little Rock 68, Harris-Lake Park 58
Others to monitor
Unity Christian at Gehlen Catholic
Crestwood at Forest City
Edgewood-Colesburg at Central Elkader
FRIDAY (Jan. 3)
Game of the night #1: 4A #3 Ankeny Centennial at 4A #6 Dowling Catholic
Ryan RiggsThis is a big one in the CIML, with a pair of top-10 teams battling it out in West Des Moines. Don’t expect to see much scoring here, as these two teams rank 5th and 1st in scoring defense in 4A, respectively. Centennial has been dominant so far, with only one game in their 6-0 start decided by single digits (59-51 over Valley), and they’re winning games by an average of 19.5 points a game. Meanwhile, Dowling has rebounded strong following a season opening loss to Iowa City West, running off five straight wins, each by double digits. Ankeny transfer Jaron Crews has been a welcome addition for Centennial, giving them a scoring, playmaking guard to go with their standout big man duo of Micah Johnson and Cody McCullough. Crews is averaging 16.5 points a game, while Johnson and McCullough combined to throw in just under 22 points a night. They’ve gotten solid production out of Preston Kelling (9.5) and Colin McAleer (8.0) as well. Dowling has plenty of size and length with Ryan Riggs, Drew Daniel, Matt Riedl and Omaha Biliew, and things aren’t going to come easy for any Centennial player on that end of the floor with the way the Maroons have locked down on defense. They’re allowing under 39 points a game, and they’ll need to continue to ride that defense while they figure out the offense and continue to find a way to get freshman Biliew more comfortable and involved. This game won’t be pretty, but it should be tight throughout. We’ll give the Maroons a slight edge playing at home.
Our pick: Dowling Catholic 42, Centennial 40
Game of the night #2: Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln at Harlan
This is an interesting non-conference game between a pair of undefeated teams who are clawing at the doors of the rankings in their respective classes. CBAL has a few impressive wins, and they’ve been led by sophomore guard Josh Dix, who is averaging 16.7 points a game and has made a team-high 15 3s. A sharpshooting guard who can fill it up from all three levels, he’ll be key for the Lynx if they want to stay unbeaten here against a Harlan team that is allowing just 46.2 points a game so far (52.0 if you take out the 17-point effort from Red Oak). While Dix has been the lead scorer for CBAL, Harlan has had a much more balanced attack, with four players averaging in double figures, including three averaging at least 14.3 points a game in Connor Bruck, Michael Heithoff and Jonathan Monson. Harlan doesn’t shoot the 3 very often, rather using their physicality and ball movement to get good looks closer to the rim. If Harlan is able to limit Dix (easier said than done), the Cyclones have a more balanced offensive attack and should have the weapons to pull out what would be a nice, impressive home win.
Our pick: Harlan 65, CBAL 60
Game of the night #3: 1A #9 West Fork at Osage
The third big game of the evening comes between a pair of unbeaten teams in the Top of Iowa East, and the winner will emerge as the team to chase down in the division. The Green Devils have been dominant, winning games by an average of 30.5 points a game en route to their 7-0 record, and they’re holding opponents to just 28.6 points so far. Now, some of that can be chalked up to a relatively weak schedule so far, but the most they’ve allowed so far is 40 points against Garner-Hayfield-Ventura. West Fork has a high-powered offense, averaging 68.7 points a game, so it’ll be an interesting contrast. If Osage is able to limit Kayden Ames, West Fork’s high-scoring perimeter threat, the Green Devils should be able to contain the rest of the Warhawks’ threats. And there is no reason to think they won’t continue to lock teams down on that end of the floor. Osage dictates the tempo, and grabs control of the TOIE.
Our pick: Osage 48, West Fork 42
Others to monitor
Sioux Center at 2A #6 Boyden-Hull
Linn-Mar at 4A #5 Cedar Falls
2A #5 Beckman Catholic at Central DeWitt
3A #8 Algona at Clear Lake
Prairie at Senior
Urbandale at Johnston
OABCIG at Newell-Fonda
Southeast Valley at South Hamilton
Gehlen Catholic at 1A #1 St. Mary’s, Remsen
New London at 1A #7 WACO
Kennedy at Wahlert Catholic
1A #10 Madrid at Woodward-Granger
SATURDAY (Jan. 4)
Game of the night: Johnston at Davenport Central
Emarion EllisThis is an interesting game because both of these teams have had a fairly disappointing start to the season. Johnston enters this week with a 3-3 record after opening the season ranked #2. Their three losses have come to Waukee, Centennial and Dowling, who are a combined 16-1, so those aren’t inexcusable losses by any means, but they haven’t been competitive in those games. Central is 4-3, but they’ve lose to the top three teams on their schedule as well, including an ugly 20-point loss to North Scott. The Dragons are playing faster this season, which makes sense given the guard talent they have, but they’ve struggled to score against the better teams on the schedule. An up-tempo game against an athletic Central team might be what they need to get the ball rolling again. We don’t see CIML vs. MAC battles very often, and the Reid Grant/Trey Lewis/Jacob Runyan battle against Central’s Emarion Ellis, and the Max Roquet vs. Kaiden Phillips matchup should be fun. Central doesn’t play a game on Friday, while Johnston has a game against Urbandale, then a long trip to play this one. They’ll need to use their depth edge if they want to come up with a road win. Look for the Blue Devils to push the tempo, which Johnston will like, but this is a tough trip for a team to make.
Our pick: Central 72, Johnston 66
Others to monitor
Pella at ADM
Denver at Ankeny Christian Academy
2A #3 Treynor at Blue Valley Northwest (KS)
Grinnell at Center Point-Urbana
Sioux Center at LeMars
Denison-Schleswig at OABCIG