IOWA CITY

Mid-Prairie’s boys basketball team was clinging to a three-point lead in the final quarter last Friday on a night when the gym was packed at Regina Catholic.

And that's when Bryce Henry started shooting.

Bam. A 3-pointer put the Golden Hawks up by 6 points, 58-52.

Bam. Another 3-pointer made it 61-53 with two minutes left.

And then, not settling to kill time off the clock as the Regina bleachers became silent, Henry drove one last nail into the Regals.

“It’s one of those … where you may want to maybe feel some more time off the clock,” Golden Hawks head coach Daren Lambert said later, chuckling. “But with a kid like that and the confidence he has and the open look like he’s got, he’s going to let it rip.”

Henry scored a game-high 22 points in Mid-Prairie’s 67-58 win.

Regina had already clinched the River Valley South title, but this was a statement game for the Golden Hawks, who drew a first-round bye next week in the first round of the Class 2A district tournament. The Regals had not lost a River Valley South game all season, home or away.

“It means everything,” Henry said. “Coming in here, on their home court, and taking care of business. Not a better feeling.

“And we’ve got a lot of confidence going into the playoffs.”

The win was the seventh in nine games for Mid-Prairie (16-4), which will meet Mediapolis or Cardinal in the District 9 semifinals next Thursday.

“You want to be playing your best basketball at this point of the year,” Lambert said. “And wins like this, in this fashion, at this place, gives guys a lot of confidence. It kind of reaffirms in their minds the things that we have to do to be a great basketball team like we were tonight. When we play like this, we can be tough to beat.”

Senior point guard Brady Weber added 14 points and Ace Peck scored 10.

Landon Kos, a senior, pulled down a game-high 8 rebounds.

Will Litton led Regina (17-3) with 18 points.

Mid-Prairie 71,

Tipton 63

Bryce Henry scored a team-high 22 points and senior point guard Brady Weber added 18, but one of the biggest hoops on Senior Night, Feb. 4, was scored by backup senior center Landon Kos.

The Golden Hawks and Tipton were tied 59-59 with less than four minutes left in the game when Kos went inside to score a power basket, was fouled and sank the free throw for a 3-point Mid-Prairie edge.

A 3-pointer by Brooks Weber helped the Golden Hawks cruise to a 71-63 win with a 12-4 run to finish out the victory.

Henry grabbed a game-high 8 rebounds and Brady Weber had a game-high 5 steals.

Tipton senior Zach Butler scored a game-high 28 points, including six 3-pointers.

GAME STATS

MID-PRAIRIE 67, REGINA CATHOLIC 58

Mid-Prairie   10   18   19   20  -- 67

Regina           11   13   21   13  -- 58

Mid-Prairie scoring: Bryce Henry 22, Brady Weber 14, Ace Peck 10, Conner Wiles 8, Hudson Ehrenfelt 5, Brooks Weber 5, Landon Kos 2, Kaden Kos 1.

Regina scoring: Will Litton 18, Tate Wallace 15, Drew Greve 12, Trey Streb 5, Connor Nicpon 3, Tate Lynch 3, Ben Wade 2.

Mid-Prairie rebounding leaders: Landon Kos 8, Wiles 7, Henry 6.

Regina rebounding leaders: Wade 8, Wallace 6.

MID-PRAIRIE 71, TIPTON 63

Tipton            22     7   19  15  -- 63

Mid-Prairie    19   16  17  19 -- 71

Tipton scoring: Zach Butler 28, Jacob Boedeker 15, Jacob Barton 9, Clay Bohlmann 7, Carter Hermiston 2, Wyatt Nebergall 2.

Mid-Prairie scoring: Bryce Henry 22, Brady Weber 18, Hudson Ehrenfelt 7, Ace Peck 6, Brooks Weber 5, Landon Kos 5, Kaden Kos 4, Conner Wiles 4.

Tipton leading rebounders: Bohlmann 5, Butler 5.

Mid-Prairie leading rebounders: Henry 8, Ehrenfelt 5, Wiles 5.