Nine area boys named to all-SICL teams

One of the biggest reasons why the Lynnville-Sully boys’ basketball team was tough to defend was the opposing defense never knew which Hawk was going to have a big night.

The Hawks won the South Iowa Cedar League title behind balanced scoring this season. Two of those players — juniors Jesse Van Wyk and Brevin Hansen — were named to the all-SICL first team recently.

Colfax-Mingo junior Jarod Nichols joined Van Wyk and Hansen on the first team. Nine area boys in all were represented.

Lynnville-Sully junior Tanner Foster and sophomore Rylan James were second-team picks. Seniors Tyler Van Zante and John Trettin were slotted as honorable mention selections.

Colfax-Mingo juniors Reegan Van Dyke and Johnathan Jacobs also were honorable mention choices.

Lynnville-Sully head coach Nick Harthoorn was named the SICL Coach of the Year after guiding the Hawks to their second straight conference title. The Hawks also played in the state tournament for the 13th time in school history.

Lynnville-Sully’s five starters averaged anywhere from 8.7 to 12.5 points per game.

Van Wyk led the way and was one of the conference’s top do-everything players. Van Wyk ranked seventh in the SICL West Division in scoring (12.5 points per game), sixth in rebounds (6.7), second in total blocks (27) and was tops in both assists (3.77) and steals (2.12) per game.

He made 54 percent of his shots from the floor and 74 percent from the free-throw line.

In conference play, Van Wyk ranked 10th in points per game (11.4), tied for fourth in rebounds per game (6.6), first in steals per game (2.81), third in total assists (61) and sixth in total blocks (13).

Hansen transferred in from Grinnell and provided the Hawks with another outside threat. Hansen ranked third in made 3-pointers with 44. His 11.4 points per game ranked 10th, grabbed 2.5 rebounds per contest, ranked fifth in assists at 3.15 per tilt and fourth in steals at 2.11 per game.

In conference play, Hansen drained 28 3-pointers, which was third most in the league. His 11.2 points per game was 11th best in the division. Hansen grabbed 2.8 boards per game, was third in steals per game (2.75) and ranked seventh in assists per game (2.7).

Nichols was the only returning starter for a Tigerhawks team who will bring back all five starters next season.

Nichols provided C-M with an inside-outside option. He ranked second in scoring at 17.6 points per game and grabbed a league-best 13.2 boards per contest, which also ranked third in Class 1A. Nichols hit 16 3-pointers, dished out 36 assists, collected 13 steals and ranked in a tie for seventh with 19 blocks.

In SICL games, Nichols averaged 18.7 points and 13.5 rebounds, which ranked second and first in the division, respectively. He made 51 percent of his shots, canned 14 treys, delivered 24 assists and tied for third with 17 blocks.

James was the Hawks’ best post presence this season. The sophomore ranked 12th in scoring (10.6 points per game) and ranked eighth in boards per game (5.3). He shot a league-best 59 percent from the floor and tied for fifth with 23 blocks while collecting 18 steals.

In conference play, James averaged 10.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, which ranked 10th and eighth, respectively. His league-best field goal percentage improved to 64 percent in league games and he finished with 15 steals and nine blocks.

The Hawks benefited from another Grinnell transfer in Foster. The junior ranked 11th in the league in scoring at 11.3 points per game, 12th in rebounds per game (4.6) and nailed 31 3-pointers, which was the sixth most in the SICL West. He finished with 28 assists, 24 steals and 15 blocks, which ranked 11th.

In the conference, Foster ranked eighth in scoring (11.8) and seventh in made 3-pointers (17). He grabbed 3.7 boards per game, made 75 percent from the foul line and collected 14 assists, 12 assists and 12 blocks.

Van Zante was the fifth starter for Lynnville-Sully. He averaged 8.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game while making 21 3-pointers, which ranked ninth. He was among the league in assists with 88 (third most), collected 47 steals and turned the ball just 18 times in 26 games.

In conference play, Van Zante scored 8.1 points per game and grabbed 4.3 rebounds per contest. He made 51 percent of his shots and drained 12 3-pointers while handing out 60 assists (fourth most) and totaling 30 steals.

Trettin began the season as a starter and played in 19 games this season. He averaged 2.5 points and 1.8 rebounds per game while totaling 19 assists and 11 steals. In the SICL, Trettin scored 2.4 points and 1.7 rebounds per game and collected 23 assists and 12 steals.

The Tigerhawks could be one of the best teams in the SICL next season with so much talent coming back.

Part of that core, along with Nichols, includes Van Dyke and Jacobs.

Van Dyke trailed only Nichols in rebounds per game at 9.7 and ranked 13th in scoring at 9.4 points per game. He made 48 percent of his shots, drained 15 3-pointers, dished out 38 assists, collected 19 steals and ranked first in the West Division with 29 blocks.

In conference play, Van Dyke improved his rebounding to 10.3 per game, and he averaged 8.9 points per contest. He made 49 percent of his shots, canned nine treys and tallied a league-high 20 blocks with 23 assists and 12 steals.

Jacobs transitioned his game into more of a facilitator for the Tigerhawks under first-year coach Nick Noring. Jacobs dished out 4.04 assists per game, which ranked second in the league. He also scored 5.5 points and grabbed 1.4 rebounds per game. Jacobs made 23 3-pointers and tallied 34 steals.

Inside SICL play, the assists per game improved to 4.25, which ranked second. He averaged 5.7 points and 1.3 boards per contest, made 15 treys and shot 80 percent from the foul line while collecting 25 steals.

South Iowa Cedar League

Final Standings

1. Lynnville-Sully 15-1

2. Montezuma 14-2

3. Keota 14-2

4. Belle Plaine 13-3

5. North Mahaska 9-7

6. Colfax-Mingo 8-8

7. BGM 7-9

8. Iowa Valley 5-11

9. Sigourney 5-11

10. Tri-County 5-11

11. HLV 1-15

12. English Valleys 0-16

Coach of the Year

Nick Harthoorn, Lynnville-Sully

First Team

Jesse Van Wyk, jr., Lynnville-Sully

Brevin Hansen, jr., Lynnville-Sully

Jarod Nichols, jr., Colfax-Mingo

Dakota Strong, sr., Montezuma

Logan Price, sr., Montezuma

Brant Fleener, sr., North Mahaska

Brant DeMeulenaere, sr., Belle Plaine

Jacob Wickenkamp, sr., Keota

Second Team

Tanner Foster, jr., Lynnville-Sully

Rylan James, so., Lynnville-Sully

Cole Stout, sr., Keota

Carson Losure, sr., Montezuma

Brandon Mantz, sr., Montezuma

Milan DeJong, sr., North Mahaska

Jayce Knight, sr., BGM

Jacob Bombei, sr., Tri-County

Honorable Mention

Tyler Van Zante, sr., Lynnville-Sully

John Trettin, sr., Lynnville-Sully

Reegan Van Dyke, jr., Colfax-Mingo

Jonathan Jacobs, jr., Colfax-Mingo

Jac Munson, sr., North Mahaska

Andrew Goemaat, sr., North Mahaska

Avery Conrad, sr., Keota

Hunter Wilson, jr., Keota

Braydon Fischer, jr., English Valleys

Will Tapken, sr., English Valleys

Shane Helm, sr., Montezuma

Zach Townsend, sr., Montezuma

Eric Weiss, sr., BGM

Kyle Doty, jr., BGM

Cameron Krumm, jr., Tri-County

Walter McKay, sr., Tri-County

Josh Konicek, jr., Iowa Valley

Ryan Becker, so., Iowa Valley

Mitchell Thys, jr., HLV

Tucker Jones, sr., HLV

Dustin Haines, so., Sigourney

Will Magill, sr., Sigourney

Brodie Bohlen, sr., Belle Plaine

Garrett Straight, so., Belle Plaine