Lineup changes spark Mustang boys against Hawks

MONROE — A change to the starting lineup was just what Prairie City-Monroe’s boys basketball team needed to end a two-game losing streak.

Mustang coach Fred Lorensen inserted freshman Andrew Van Ryswyk and sophomore Elijah Sperfslage into the starting lineup for the first time this year. The decision proved to be instrumental in helping the Mustangs break out of a funk during Heart of Iowa Conference play Friday night.

Logan Gilman scored 12 of his team-high 22 points in the first quarter and then got help from his teammates the rest of the way as the Mustangs swept the season series from South Hamilton during a 67-51 victory.

“We were trying to go a little deeper than we had been going,” PCM coach Fred Lorensen said of the lineup changes. “We had a couple good practices Wednesday and Thursday with what we had been looking at so we decided to keep things the same for the game.”

In his first start of his high school career, Van Ryswyk scored a career-high 11 points, including a 3-pointer at the back end of an 8-0 run that stretched the Mustangs’ six-point lead to 14 with a little more than two minutes to play in the game.

Juniors Sheldon Speers and Noah Clark also made impacts off the bench. Speers scored eight of his 12 in the fourth quarter, while Clark added a career-high 11.

Four Mustangs scored in double-figures for the first time this season. Gilman, Clark and Luke Greiner each had five rebounds. Mark Bruxvoort grabbed four boards. Gilman handed out six assists.

“It was a good team effort. Our bench did a great job. It was a lot of fun,” Lorensen said.

PCM (8-5, 6-3) nearly led wire-to-wire. The Mustangs went ahead for good when Clark found the scoring column with a bucket inside the lane. That made it 9-7 and PCM led 14-11 after one.

Gilman outscored the Hawks in the first quarter. He was excited to go head-to-head with Division I prospect Collin Hill again.

“I wanted to come out and have as many points as he did and maybe D him up a little bit if I got the chance,” Gilman said. “He’s a great player. I have nothing but respect for him. I love competing against him. It was a lot of fun.

“We had a chip on our shoulders because we had lost two in a row. We had something to prove. We have struggled at home so the idea was to get going early and give them something to cheer for.”

The Hawks (5-6, 4-5) got as close as 21-20 in the second frame as Hill knocked in back-to-back buckets. Speers answered inside at the other end and his two free throws on PCM’s next possession gave the Mustangs a five-point lead.

The Mustangs ended the half on an 8-1 run and led 29-21 at the break.

“He said we were going to shift some guys in when others got tired,” Clark said. “I just wanted to use this to my advantage since I didn’t get to play much before this game.

“I feel like I definitely did what I could to help us win this game. This was a big win. We were not playing well recently. This will bring us back up and get us going in the right direction.”

South Hamilton hung around for another quarter. A jumper by Landon Quam got the Hawks back to within three and another bucket by Marco Balderas kept it at three until three free throws by Clark pushed the advantage to five heading into the final quarter.

PCM exploded for 24 points in the final eight minutes. Clark scored six quick points to push the lead to eight. Gilman and Van Ryswyk went back-to-back from distance to extend the advantage to 14.

“It was pretty big. I was wide open. I had to shoot it,” Van Ryswyk said of his 3-pointer. “This was a big win. It gets our confidence back up and gets us going again.”

Speers converted three straight layups to give the Mustangs an 18-point lead. Hill’s jumper made the final margin 16.

Van Ryswyk said Lorensen told him and Sperfslage about 10 minutes before the game they would be in the starting lineup. They replaced Speers and Bruxvoort, who had been starting for most of the year.

“Sheldon and Mark have been starting every game,” Lorensen said. “They could have gone out and pouted and moped around, but they came in a played their guts out. It was good to see that.”

Hill led the Hawks with 22 points. His brother, freshman Conner Hill, added nine on three 3-pointers. No one else scored more than five.

“If you can keep him out of the lane, that’s a positive thing,” said Lorensen about Collin Hill. “We challenged his outside shots. He is going to make some shots. You can’t shut him down.”

Saturday

Pella 92, PCM 51

The Class 3A No. 1 Pella Little Dutch made 40-of-69 from the floor, out-rebounded the Mustangs 41-22 and cruised to their fourth straight win on the road.

PCM trailed 24-12 after one quarter and 48-28 at halftime.

Gilman scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Luke Greiner finished with eight points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Ten Mustangs scored but only two put in more than five.

Ryan Van Wyk had 34 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Little Dutch (11-1). Will Warner scored 13 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out nine assists. Pella had 27 assists and 17 steals in the game.

South Hamilton 11-10-17-13—51

PCM 14-15-14-24—67

South Hamilton (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Balderas 2/1-0-1-5, Quam 1-0-4-2, Kemp 1-2-4-4, Woodall 1/1-0-1-3, Peters 1-2-2-4, Berg 1-0-3-2, Collin Hill 11-0-3-22, Conner Hill 3/3-0-0-9. Totals: 21/5-4-18-51.

PCM (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Sperfslage 0-1-0-1, Greiner 1-2-3-4, Bruxvoort 1-0-3-2, Speers 5-2-1-12, Brown 1-2-0-4, Gilman 7/2-6-1-22, Clark 4-3-3-11, Van Ryswyk 5/1-0-1-11. Totals: 24/3-16-13-67.