Preview: Le Mars vs. Sergeant Bluff-Luton
Class 3A-Substate 1 Final Matchup: Le Mars (15-8) vs. Sergeant Bluff-Luton (13-10) Date: Monday, March 2nd Time: 7:00pm Location: Sioux City North High School Just a week ago, MOC-Floyd Valley and Carroll were the favorites to contend for a state tournament…
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Continue ReadingClass 3A-Substate 1 Final Matchup: Le Mars (15-8) vs. Sergeant Bluff-Luton (13-10)
Date: Monday, March 2nd
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Sioux City North High School
Just a week ago, MOC-Floyd Valley and Carroll were the favorites to contend for a state tournament berth in the Substate I Regional. Then on Thursday night, both were upset at home against third-seeded Le Mars and fourth-seeded Sergeant Bluff-Luton. Both kept their lead after the half, as Le Mars shocked No. 9 MOC-Floyd Valley 67-61 and Sergeant Bluff-Luton knocked off No. 3 Carroll 51-39. Now the Bulldogs and Warriors, both members of the Missouri River Conference, will square off on Monday night at Sioux City North High School for a trip to the state tournament.
Le Mars finished its regular season on a three-game losing streak, but head coach Dave Irwin has gotten the most out of his team since then and will be looking to get back to Des Moines for the first time since it finished as state runner-ups in 2015. Juniors Alec Dreckman and Spencer Mackey have led the way for the Bulldogs by accounting for almost 50 percent of the team’s scoring. Dreckman, who dropped 51 points against Sioux City East back on February 11, is averaging 14.9 points per game while Mackey has recorded 13.6 PPG. As usual, 6-foot-2 senior Aisea Toki has been strong on the glass by accounting for a team-high 151 total rebounds.
“We’ve had opportunities this year. I’ve said continuously it’s one of the better shooting teams I’ve had, but we just haven’t made shots,” said head coach Dave Irwin. “I think in just the last two games that shots have started to go down. That brings confidence up and you play with more of an edge especially when it’s a one-and-done type of deal.”
On the other hand, Sergeant Bluff-Luton entered the postseason on a three-game winning streak and again played the darkhorse role to perfection. In both 2017 and 2018, Adam Vander Schaaf’s bunch upset Spirit Lake on the road and went on to beat rival Bishop Heelan in the substate final with just above a .500 record.
Despite the up and down year SB-L had to battle through, it’s a team that’s battled through adversity before and it comes as no surprise that they’re back in this position. A win on Monday night would secure the program’s fourth straight trip to the state tournament. The Warriors have been led by Daniel Wright, Deric Fitzgerald, and Jake Layman. All have averaged double figures in scoring this season.
“There is a lot of familiarities, obviously with them (Le Mars) being a conference school. They’re a good team with good coaches and players,” mentioned head coach Adam Vander Schaaf. “At this point in the year, we’re going to play our game and they’re going to play their game. They do have good guard play, so obviously if we are not sharp defensively they could torch us.”
Both meetings between these two teams this season have come down until late in the fourth quarter. In the season opener, SB-L held on to win late 45-42 while Le Mars won the second meeting 55-50. The matchup between Wright and Toki will be intriguing to watch, while it will be fun to watch the guard play on both sides too. It will be another even matchup that should be decided late in regulation yet again.