DURANT
A six-game start went perfectly for Mid-Prairie’s boys basketball team.
Junior guard Bryce Henry helped polish off the opening act last Friday (Dec. 20) at Durant, scoring 24 …
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DURANT
A six-game start went perfectly for Mid-Prairie’s boys basketball team.
Junior guard Bryce Henry helped polish off the opening act last Friday (Dec. 20) at Durant, scoring 24 points in a 66-39 victory.
Six games, six wins, four of them by 20-plus points, all of them by 10-plus points.
The Golden Hawks emerged from their pre-holiday schedule as the only unbeaten team in the River Valley South (Iowa City Regina has won all three of its conference games, but is 6-1 overall).
“Can’t get any better than winning all the games that you’ve played,” Golden Hawks head coach Daren Lambert said. “I thought we’ve done a great job of getting better each and every game, and facing moments of adversity.”
Henry has scored 20 or more points in five of those wins, and the one time he didn’t, senior guard Ace Peck hit for 23 points. Peck missed the next five games due to an ankle injury, but expects to be back when the Golden Hawks season resumes in January.
The victory at Durant accurately displayed what the Golden Hawks’ speed and solid bench play has accomplished.
Durant trailed by just one point, 18-17, after one quarter. Then, Mid-Prairie ran the Wildcats off the court with a combination of pressure defense and fast-break shooting. The Golden Hawks pulled ahead by 12 points at halftime, 38-26, and by 23 points after three quarters, 59-36.
“That full-court pressure really starts to show itself, especially after the first quarter,” Lambert said. “We’re used to it. We’re used to putting our bodies through that. The other teams, unless they do the same, aren’t used to it. It’s what we do. It really catches on.”
The Golden Hawks simply wore Durant down as the Wildcats lost for the fifth time in six games.
“It’s easy to hit shots early in the game when you’ve got your legs,” Lambert said. “But after you’ve been running up and down the floor, facing our pressure, that’s kind of the idea behind it, put teams in tough situations.”
Mid-Prairie’s average winning margin of 26.5 points ranks first in the River Valley Conference and seventh in Iowa Class 2A.
The Golden Hawks will head back into action January 3 and 4, when they face West Liberty and Solon on consecutive nights.
Mid-Prairie 75,
Wilton 56
Bryce Henry scored a game-high 26 points and Brady Weber had 20, leading the Golden Hawks to a 75-56 win over Wilton on December 17 in Wellman.
The Golden Hawks blew ahead 22-10 in the opening quarter and cruised from there.
Henry hit four 3-pointers and Weber hit for three.
Landon Kos came off the bench to grab a game-high 12 rebounds as the Golden Hawks outrebounded Wilton, 52-34. Hudson Ehrenfelt had 9 rebounds and a game-high 6 assists.
Oaklan Jirak led Wilton (0-6) with 25 points and 5 steals.
GAME STATS
MID-PRAIRIE 66, DURANT 39
Mid-Prairie 18 20 21 7 -- 66
Durant 17 9 10 3 -- 39
Mid-Prairie scoring: Bryce Henry 24, Brady Weber 13, Brooks Weber 9, Hudson Ehrenfelt 6, Kaden Kos 4, Kale Miller 4, Conner Wiles 2, Traevin Gugel 2, Jordan Traetow 2.
Durant scoring: Conner Schwarz 14, Bryce Daufeldt 6, Kayden Kerr 5, Brady Daufeldt 5, Race Starr 4, Owen DeLong 3, Dylan Arenhotz 2.
Mid-Prairie leading rebounders: Ehrenfelt 6, Wiles 5, Kaden Kos 5, Brooks Weber 5, Miller 5.
Durant leading rebounder: Schwarz 7.
MID-PRAIRIE 75, WILTON 56
Wilton 10 15 16 15 -- 56
Mid-Prairie 22 23 14 16 -- 75
Wilton scoring: Oaklan Jirak 25, Briggs Oien 10, Quincy Sawvell 5, Oliver Grings 4, Kale Caffery 4, Gunner Edwards 4, Jaxson Drayfahl 2, Brylin Kelly 2.
Mid-Prairie scoring: Bryce Henry 26, Brady Weber 20, Landon Kos 8, Kaden Kos 6, Kale Miller 6, Conner Wiles 4, Clayton Davidson 3, Hudson Ehrenfelt 2.
Wilton leading rebounders: Caffery 9, Oien 7.
Mid-Prairie leading rebounders: Landon Kos 12, Ehrenfelt 9, Weber 8, Wiles 8.