April 25, 2024

Survive and advance mode: 1A No. 4 Hawks win district title, play for substate title Saturday

By Jocelyn Sheets

Lynnville-Sully senior Tanner Foster scores over Montezuma's Clay Krousie after Hawk teammate senior Brevin Hansen, left, made a behind-the-back pass to him on the transition play. The play came at the end of the third quarter of Friday's Class 1A District 10 title game at Newton. The Hawks won 58-45 to advance to a 1A substate championship game Saturday with a state tournament berth on the line. (Jocelyn Sheets)

Playing a team three times in one season is tough enough but beating a team three times in one season is another story. Lynnville-Sully’s Hawks did what they needed to do in this survive-and-advance stage of the season.

The Class 1A fourth-ranked Hawks thwarted Montezuma’s Braves for a third time on Friday night, winning 58-45 to claim the 1A District 10 championship. The two South Iowa Cedar League team met on a neutral court at Newton High School a day later than planned — weather postponed the game from Thursday.

Lynnville-Sully’s victory advances the Hawks (21-3) to the Class 1A Substate 5 championship game against Iowa Mennonite (21-3) at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Oskaloosa. The substate champion qualifies for the 2018 Class 1A state basketball tournament, March 5-9, at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

Montezuma came back from a 7-0 deficit to lead 15-8 at the end of the first quarter. The Braves were trying that “third-times-a charm” axiom holding a 19-13 lead midway through the second period.

Junior Rylan James had two follow shots and another inside basket for Lynnville-Sully to close the gap to 21-19 by halftime.

“We got off to a good start and then struggled offensively the rest of the half,” Lynnville-Sully head coach Nick Harthoorn said. “I give the guys credit for trusting each other and fighting back in the second half.”

The Hawks trailed by two coming out of the break but junior Tyson Vander Linden’s 3-pointer put the Hawks back on top for good.

Then senior Tanner Foster took over in a 15-point surge for the Hawks in the rest of the third quarter. He hit back-to-back 3-pointers to push Lynnville-Sully’s advantage to 30-23 with 4:11 left in the stanza.

Foster scored seven straight points to push the lead to 37-28 with 44 seconds left. Then senior Brevin Hansen stole the ball, drove to the basket but made a behind-the- back pass around Montezuma’s Clay Krousie to the trailing Foster, who scored. Krousie’s 3-pointer just before the buzzer cut the Hawk lead to 39-31.

Two free throws by senior Corey McCoy and a basket by James gave the Hawks a 45-35 lead with 3:36 remaining in the game. Lynnville-Sully’s final 13 points came from the free-throw line in the final three minutes of the game.

The Hawks were 19-of-26 from the line in the game compared to the Braves’ 6-of-10. Lynnville-Sully shot 43 percent, 18-of-42, from the field and Montezuma shot 35 percent, 18-of-51.

Foster led the Hawks with 21 points and James tossed in 12. Hansen had 10 points, five assists and two steals. Senior Jesse Van Wyk cleared 10 rebounds and had nine points.

Vander Linden dished out four assists. He and McCoy each had three points.

Montezuma (19-4) was led by Trey Shearer with 12 points and Vance Bushong with 10 points.