March 19, 2024

Third-quarter surge pushes PCM boys past host CMB

BAXTER — Collins-Maxwell/Baxter coach Zach Hasselbrink wasn’t sure exactly when the Heart of Iowa Conference contest against Prairie City-Monroe got away from his Raiders on Tuesday night.

CMB led after one quarter and scored four quick points to tie the game at the start of the third quarter, but PCM junior Jackson Thomas scored 10 points during a 16-5 run to end the frame, and the Mustangs never looked back during a 67-53 win in Heart of Iowa Conference play.

Thomas finished with 24 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Andrew Van Ryswyk collected a double-double as the Mustangs rebounded from their first loss of the season.

PCM hit nine 3-pointers in the game, and its man-to-man defense slowed down CMB in key moments during the second half.

“When they went to man, we weren’t hitting our spots and hitting our checkpoints,” Hasselbrink said. “We weren’t confused by it, but we just weren’t getting the shots we wanted. We rushed too many shots. We just need to settle down a little bit.”

The two teams combined for 19 3-pointers. The difference in the game though was PCM’s ability to penetrate to the basket and either finish at the hoop and dish off for a better shot.

Three Mustangs reached double-figures and another guy scored nine. The Mustangs went in front for good after outscoring CMB 19-13 in the second quarter. The lead grew to double-digits in the third after a 16-9 advantage.

“It makes it easier when you hit shots,” PCM coach Fred Lorensen said. “It was a good combination of hitting shots from outside and getting some good looks inside. That makes the offense a little bit easier when you can do both.”

CMB recovered in the opening quarter after PCM jumped out to a 7-0 lead.

An 11-4 run to end the period put the Raiders up two after eight minutes. CMB got treys from sophomore Ian Thomson, senior Hunter McWhirter and freshman Cole Damman during that stretch.

While 3-pointers at the offensive end helped CMB take a lead after the first quarter, treys at the other end of the floor by PCM helped the Mustangs regain the lead.

Junior Elijah Sperfslage drilled back-to-back triples to put his team up four. Thomson kept CMB close with another 3-pointer but PCM went up nine following another long ball from Sperfslage and three buckets from junior Dayton Boell.

“We were really bad on rotations some of those times, and the other part is that I am asking my big guy to get out and cover the baseline,” Hasselbrink said. “He’s not always fast enough. They hit some shots with a hand in their face, too.”

CMB got within four by halftime after a pair of baskets from McWhirter and a 3-pointer by Thomson just before the buzzer.

The Raiders (1-4 overall, 0-3 in the HOIC) tied it up quickly following another trey by Damman. CMB buried a season-high 10 shots from long range in the loss, but PCM’s run at the end of the third was just too much to overcome.

“I knew we could shoot it from back there, but I think we probably took a few too many tonight,” Hasselbrink said. “It’s natural to shoot a few more when they go in, and we forgot about our big guys down low. We have to feed them more.”

After CMB tied it at 32-all, PCM got a putback from Van Ryswyk, a reverse layup from junior Noah Lanphier and two 3-pointers and a pair of buckets inside from Thomas. Junior Mark Bruxvoort finished off the quarter with a layup.

The only points CMB got during that stretch was a bucket inside from sophomore Will Clapper and a trey by junior Travis Lindemoen.

“We just went to a man-to-man defense. We tried to locate their shooters, and we did for the most part,” Lorensen said. “They still hit some from outside, but we were much better defensively in the second half.”

The two teams continued to knock down shots from outside in the fourth. Thomas and Van Ryswyk each connected from downtown, while CMB got another 3-pointer from Thomson and a pair of treys from Damman.

CMB couldn’t get closer than 11 the rest of the way.

Thomas hit four 3-pointers his 24 points set a new career-high. Van Ryswyk added a season-high 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Boell chipped in a career-high 11.

Sperfslage hit three 3-pointers and scored nine while dishing out six assists and collecting a pair of steals. Four of Bruxvoort’s points came in the first few minutes of the game. He finished with six and added eight rebounds and five assists.

“(Thomas) has been playing lights-out. We have several kids who can do some things. It may shake out differently every game from a scoring standpoint,” Lorensen said.

Damman scored a career-high 14 points, including four 3-pointers. Thomson also hit four treys and scored a career-high 12 points and pulled down four boards. Clapper put in 12 points and grabbed five rebounds.

McWhirter scored eight points and corralled five boards, while Lindemoen dished out three assists.

Prairie City-Monroe 13-19-16-18—67

Collins-Maxwell/Baxter 15-13-9-16—53

PCM (FG/3-pt-FT-F-TP) — Sperfslage 3/3-0-1-9, Bruxvoort 3-0-3-6, Boell 5-1-1-11, Thomas 10/4-0-1-24, Lanphier 1-1-0-3, Van Ryswyk 5/2-1-2-13, Brown 0-1-0-1. Totals 27/9-4-10-67.

CMB (FG/3-pt-FT-F-TP) — Lindemoen 1/1-0-1-3, Thomson 4/4-0-0-12, McWhirter 3/1-1-3-8, Damman 5/4-0-0-14, Aker 2-0-2-4, Bacon 0-0-2-0, Clapper 5-2-1-12, Gunderson 0-0-1-0, Galloway 0-0-1-0. Totals 20/10-3-11-53.