Mustang boys split two overtime games, lose first of season

MONROE — The PCM boys’ basketball team rallied from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter to force overtime, but Class 2A No. 6 South Hamilton stayed unbeaten with a 70-68 win during Heart of Iowa Conference action Dec. 15.

The Mustangs trailed by 10 with 5:16 to go and were down 58-51 with 1:48 to play before forcing overtime.

The Hawks hit six free throw in the extra period to grab a lead inside of a minute to go. PCM had a chance to tie or take the lead on its final possession, but junior Reed Worth missed a contested 3-pointer and sophomore Derek Brown’s putback attempt in heavy traffic was long.

“We made some shots when it counted. It would have been cool to come back like that and end it with a win,” PCM coach Fred Lorensen said. “We gave it all we had. I can’t fault the effort.”

It was the first loss of the season for the Mustangs, who went to overtime on Saturday against Knoxville, too. PCM won that game over the Panthers.

South Hamilton’s record, after a win Saturday against Fort Dodge St. Edmond, is 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the HOIC. PCM is 6-1 overall and 4-1 in conference play.

PCM led 12-10 after one quarter and the game was tied at 23-all at halftime. But the fouls were mounting for PCM.

With the Mustangs dealing with major foul trouble, South Hamilton took a 44-37 lead into the fourth quarter. PCM rallied late in the game without the services of senior Jackson Thomas and junior Andrew Van Ryswyk, who both fouled out.

The Mustangs played most of the fourth quarter and overtime with four reserves on the floor.

“It was our own fault. We can’t foul like that,” Lorensen said. “We have to play better defense. They are hard to guard though.”

Senior Elijah Sperfslage, who scored a team-high 16 points and grabbed six rebounds, went back into the game with four fouls with about 2 minutes to play. He made 1-of-2 from the line to get the Mustangs within six with 1:29 to play.

Then sophomore Jason Stafford buried a long 3-pointer to trim the deficit to four with 1:11 to go.

Sperfslage kept PCM close with a pair of buckets inside. His 3-pointer tied the game with 10 seconds to go in regulation.

South Hamilton’s final possession ended in a blocked shot by the Mustangs.

“(Sperfslage) was sitting there for a while, but he came in and hit some big baskets,” Lorensen said.

Stafford made two free throws to give PCM its only lead in overtime. The Hawks went ahead for good after Logan Peters made a layup and Logan Klemp connected twice from the line. Sperfslage fouled out early in overtime, too.

“It would have been nice to have the guys who were in foul trouble in there, but the guys who were in there played hard and played well,” Lorensen said.

Senior Dayton Boell and junior Nick Dredge both made 1-of-2 from the line, and junior Isaac Telfer was called for traveling inside the lane with his team trailing by two with less than 2 minutes to go. The Mustangs committed 15 turnovers in the game.

Cole Berg and Conner Hill sunk 3-of-4 from the line to put South Hamilton up four with 46.5 seconds to go.

Worth buried a jumper to trim the deficit to two with 33.5 left. The Hawks then turned the ball over on an inbounds pass with 23 seconds on the clock, setting up the final series of plays that ended in two Mustang misses.

“There were lots of positives. No one has been able to score on them all year. We came back from a big deficit,” Lorensen said. “The only thing negative about this game is we lost. We have to do some things better the next time we play them though. And we took a vote, and we are going to go play them later in the season.”

Worth scored 13 points, dished out five assists and had four steals to lead the Mustangs, and Stafford finished with 12 points off the bench.

South Hamilton and PCM both made 23 shots from the floor. The Hawks had seven more 2-pointers and PCM hit eight more shots from long range.

The difference came at the free-throw line where the Hawks were 25-of-35 and PCM finished 13-of-22. The Mustangs were called for 11 more fouls.

Van Ryswyk finished with eight rebounds and four blocks in limited action, Brown scored seven points off the bench and Telfer delivered five assists off the bench.

Berg came into the game averaging 9.2 points per game but scored a game-high and career-high 22. Hill put in 16 points and Peters added 14 for the Hawks.

The 62 points scored in regulation by PCM is the most points the Hawks have allowed this season in starting 8-0.

PCM played in its final game before the holiday against Gilbert on Dec. 19.

Saturday

PCM 56, Knoxville 51, overtime

KNOXVILLE — Thomas put in eight of his 12 points in overtime, and the Mustangs got back on the winning track with 56-51 non-conference win over Knoxville on Dec. 16.

PCM led by seven and overcame a huge third quarter by the Panthers (4-4) to get to overtime, where the Mustangs outscored the home team 10-5.

Van Ryswyk scored 13 of his game-high 16 points in the first half and also grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out three assists. Thomas also had seven rebounds and three assists.

Senior Noah Lanphier chipped in eight points and six boards, and Sperfslage, Worth and Stafford all had four assists in the win. Telfer pulled down four rebounds.

PCM was 23-of-56 from the floor but hit only 4-of-18 from 3-point range. The Mustangs had 18 assists on their 23 field goals.

PCM 66, Nevada 42

NEVADA — PCM stayed unbeaten on the season with a big second half against Nevada on Dec. 12.

The Mustangs and Cubs were tied at halftime, but PCM pulled away for a 66-42 win during HOIC play.

The Mustangs and Cubs were tied at 26 at halftime, but PCM outscored Nevada 18-6 in the third and 22-10 in the fourth.

Nevada defeated PCM twice by double digits last year and once by 10 points two seasons ago. The Mustangs flipped the script in the first meeting this season behind a big performance from Worth.

Worth finished with a team-high 21 points, seven assists and three steals. He was 6-of-8 from 3-point range. The Mustangs buried 11 treys in 20 attempts.

Sperfslage, Thomas and Van Ryswyk joined Worth in double-figures.

Sperfslage finished with 15 points and three steals, Van Ryswyk had 10 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks and three steals and Thomas chipped in 10 points, seven assists, three rebounds and three steals. PCM totaled 12 steals in the game.