THORNBURG — Lynnville-Sully’s girls and boys began 2017 the way they ended the 2016 portion of the basketball season. The ranked Hawk basketball teams won on the road Tuesday night in South Iowa Cedar League play.
The Class 1A No. 9 Hawk boys chalked up a 68-39 win over host Tri-County following the 1A 15th-ranked Hawk girls rolled to a 49-25 win against the Trojan girls. Lynnville-Sully’s girls remain undefeated at 10-0 overall and 8-0 in SICL play. Lynnville-Sully’s boys are 8-1 overall and 6-1 in the SICL.
“We were able to create 16 steals and 23 turnovers which led to some easy baskets for us,” Hawk boys’ head coach Nick Harthoorn said. “We didn’t shoot the ball real well, but I thought we got good shots. If we continue to move and share the basketball, good things will happen for us offensively.”
The Hawk boys jumped out to a 20-6 lead by the end of the first quarter and were in charge of a 37-13 halftime margin. They had 16 assists in the game. They shot 43 percent, 29-of-68, from the field and downed 9-of-15 free throw attempts.
Jesse Van Wyk had a strong overall game, leading the Hawks with 16 points and 13 rebounds. He also had four assists, four steals and three blocked shots. Tanner Foster and Rylan James each had 12 points. Foster grabbed seven rebounds.
Brevin Hansen dropped in 10 points and made four steals. Tyler Van Zante handed out seven assists, made four steals and scored eight points. Tyson Vander Linden and John Trettin each had four points and Corey McCoy scored two points.
Tri-County shot 30 percent, 15-of-50, from the field and went 5-of-11 at the free-throw line. Jacob Bombei was the lone Trojan to score in double digits with 17 points.
Defense continues to fuel the Lynnville-Sully girls’ success as the Hawks forced 26 turnovers by Tri-County Tuesday. Another big factor in the game and for the Hawks this season is steady performances at the free-throw line. The Hawks cashed in on 17-of-20 foul shots to the Trojans’ 5-of-9.
Brenna Lanser sank 10-of-11 free throw attempts on her way to a game-high 20 points for Lynnville-Sully. She also had 10 rebounds and five steals. Camryn Russell added 10 points.
“We were a little slow starting tonight,” Lynnville-Sully girls’ head coach Jerry Hulsing said. “Our defense was the difference. I thought we played pretty well forcing TC into long possessions.”
Lynnville-Sully was up 7-6 at the end of the first quarter then outscored Tri-County, 16-8, in the second period. The Hawks led 29-14 heading into the fourth stanza.
Carson Fisk scored seven points and Jataya Meyer had six points. Jelissa Rozendaal dished out three assists, grabbed six rebounds and scored two points. Shiloh Cunningham and Mariah Vos each had two points.
“The girls did a good job of talking and being ready to help keep them out of their offense. Our offense got going in the second quarter when we passed the ball quicker and then we were able to get it inside for an easy look,” Hulsing said.
Tri-County got nine points and six rebounds from Katlyn Little.
The Lynnville-Sully teams step out of conference play Thursday as they travel to Baxter to play the Collins-Maxwell/Baxter Raider teams. The variety girls’ game is at 6 p.m. followed by the varsity boys at 7:30 p.m.
Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535
or jsheets@newtondailynews.com