PCM takes out Tigerhawks, stays unbeaten

MONROE — Two teams that have started the season in polar opposite directions locked horns in the Monroe gym on Tuesday, and the result was reflective of what has happened so far this season.

Prairie City-Monroe and Colfax-Mingo’s sports programs have had a somewhat bitter rivalry built within the Heart of Iowa Conference, but the only ones left with a bitter feeling after the game was the Tigerhawks, who fell, 77-37.

C-M came out and challenged the undefeated Mustangs right away. With PCM in a 1-3-1 zone, Colfax-Mingo’s Jake Lietz and Colin Lourens were able to get looks at the rim and convert. C-M’s press subdued the typically up-tempo Mustang offense, and with two minutes remaining in the first quarter, PCM led, 11-10. That is when the game turned.

PCM got two easy baskets on fastbreak layups, and PCM senior Dillon Bruxvoort nailed a fadeaway 3-pointer with two Tigerhawks in his face as time expired. It was 18-10 PCM after one quarter.

The Mustangs rolled off another 14 consecutive points in the second quarter. Ricky Reeve and Trey Lindsay ran the fastbreak to get things going. Logan Gilman knocked down a 3-pointer followed by a Bruxvoort layup to make it 25-10. Senior Zach Uhlenhopp got to the basket for a layup and hit a 3-pointer on the next possession to put PCM up 30-10. Lourens finally ended what was the biggest run of the game with a free throw.

“I don’t know what was going on at the start,” Lorensen said. “We just weren’t doing the things we normally do. I don’t know if we weren’t ready to play or what it was, but once we got it going when Ricky and Trey came in, it opened things up for us. Once we got the tempo going, it became a lot easier for us.”

PCM entered the halftime break with a 42-19 lead. Senior Nate Smith got on the board for the Tigerhawks early in the third quarter. He hit a fadeaway jumper and followed it up with a putback off an offensive rebound. Smith and James Stoecker hit back-to-back mid-range shots to close the gap to 17 points. PCM finished the quarter on an 11-0 run and a strong fourth quarter closed out the Tigerhawks.

PCM now sits at 6-0, while the Tigerhawks are 0-6.

Gilman led all scorers with 20 points. Bruxvoort and Lindsay were the other Mustangs scoring in double figures with 15 and 11 points, respectively. Lietz led the Tigerhawks with 11 points, while Lourens had nine.

Both teams play one more game before the Christmas break, which will be welcomed by both squads.  PCM travels to Collins-Maxwell/Baxter and C-M takes on Roland-Story, both on Friday.

“We’ll be working on a lot of things,” Lorensen said. “We had a lot of defenses lapses tonight. In our zone offense, when we do what we’re supposed to do, it’s pretty good, but we don’t do it enough. Rebounding could be better than it has been. We missed a lot of shots by the basket we need to clean up. Defensively, we can always be better. In a word — everything.”

C-M 10-9-10-8 — 37

PCM 18-24-15-20 — 77

C-M — Lietz 11, Lourens 9, Smith 6, Stoecker 4, Juan Gonzales 3, Michael Deal 2

PCM — Gilman 20, Bruxvoort 15, Lindsay 11, Reeve 9, Uhlenhopp 7, Devon Woody 5, Ryan Jennings 4