March 19, 2024

Lynnville-Sully boys win substate title, berth in 1A state tourney

State Ticket Punched

KNOXVILLE — “It was a great night to be a Hawk,” Lynnville-Sully head coach Nick Harthoorn said.

Indeed, Saturday night was a great night to be a Lynnville-Sully Hawk. The fifth-ranked Hawks notched a convincing 72-52 win over Martensdale-St. Marys’ Blue Devils, claiming the Class 1A Substate 6 championship and a trip to the 1A state basketball tournament.

Lynnville-Sully (24-1) earned its 13th trip to the 1A state tournament. The Hawks came within one win a year ago of the state tournament. It is their first trip back to state since 2011.

Boys state tournament pairings for all four classes won’t be unveiled until 1 p.m. Wednesday. The IHSSN live stream a pairings show for the Iowa High School Boys State Basketball tournament at IHSSN.com.

The Hawks blew open a close game with the Blue Devils with just less than four minutes left in the second quarter. The teams were tied at 14-all after one period of play.

Lynnville-Sully had to find an answer to slow down Martensdale-St. Marys’ 6-foot-7 inch junior post player Brady Gavin. The answer was foul trouble as Gavin picked up his third foul with 4:55 left in the second quarter.

Junior guard Brevin Hansen drove in for a basket and drew a foul on Gavin. Hansen sank the free throw to put the Hawks up 26-20.

Up 26-22, Hansen and junior Jesse Van Wyk had back-to-back 3-pointers to continue the Hawk surge. Van Wyk scored three more points to push the Hawks’ lead to 35-22 with 1:25 on the clock.

On a play under their own basket, the Blue Devils brought Gavin back in for a basket as the second-quarter clock showed 36 seconds. Van Wyk’s basket before the buzzer put Lynnville-Sully in control of a 37-24 halftime lead.

“We were able to create a gap in the second quarter. We were able to get them into a little foul trouble and convert from the line,” Harthoorn said. “Martensdale made a run in the third quarter but the boys hung tough. We did a good job attacking the rim all night long.”

Led by Gavin’s play inside, the Blue Devils went on a 10-2 run to open the third quarter, slicing the Hawk lead to 39-34 by the 4:53 mark. Lynnville-Sully senior Tyler Van Zante, who along with Van Wyk were starters for the Hawks a year ago, had been held without a point in the first half.

Van Zante dropped in a basket and was fouled. He hit the free throw to complete the 3-point play. It was a five-point game, 44-39, with two minutes left in the third quarter.

Van Zante drained a 3-pointer and had the final bucket of the period to push Lynnville-Sully’s lead to 49-39. The Hawks had eight minutes remaining to punch their ticket to the state tournament.

Junior Tanner Foster scored quickly as the fourth quarter began and hit a 3-pointer to keep the Hawks soaring toward their goal. A 3-point play by Van Zante with 4:04 remaining in the game lifted Lynnville-Sully to a 60-42 lead.

The Hawks, who cashed in on 17-of-25 foul shots in the game, finished the game sinking 8-of-10. They never let up to allow the Blue Devils an opportunity for a rally.

Lynnville-Sully shot 52 percent, 25-of-48, from the field while Martensdale-St. Marys went 19-of-47 for 40 percent. The Blue Devils were 14-of-18 at the free-throw line.

Van Zante scored 17 points as the Hawks had four players in double-digit scoring. Scoring 16 points each were Hansen, Van Wyk and Foster.

Van Wyk had a double-double with 11 rebounds, and he handed out four assists and blocked three shots. Foster and junior Corey McCoy had two steals apiece.

Gavin also had a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds for Martensdale-St. Marys. Bret Barnett had 10 points.

Martensdale-St. Marys 14-10-15-13—52

Lynnville-Sully 14-23-12-23—72

Lynnville-Sully (FG/3-pt): Hansen 4/2-2-1-16, Van Wyk 5/1-3-3-16, Van Zante 4/1-6-1-17, Foster 4/1-5-4-16, Hofer 0-0-2-0, James 3-1-3-7. TOTALS: 20/5-17-14-72.

Martensdale-St. Marys: Holt 1-2-3-4, Barnett 4-2-1-10, Fisk 0-0-1-0, Bakerink 2-2-5-6, Haupts 1-1-3-3, Gibson 1-3-3-5, Gavin 10-4-4-24. TOTALS: 19-14-20-52.

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com