WELLMAN

One quarter into its 2A boys basketball tournament opener against Mediapolis, Mid-Prairie found itself in an unusual position.

The Golden Hawks trailed, 12-9.

Junior guard Bryce Henry, the leading scorer in the River Valley South Conference, hadn’t scored a point.

Then, the second quarter happened. The Golden Hawks held Mediapolis to just two points in that quarter and cruised into halftime with a 13-point lead in their final home game of the year.

Scoring? Sure, the Golden Hawks had that in 16-point games from Henry and senior point guard Brady Weber. But defense paved the way for a 58-40 win Feb. 20 in the semifinal round of the District 5 playoffs.

“It was preached all week, playoff basketball, defend and rebound,” Golden Hawks head coach Daren Lambert said. “Defense and rebounding wins basketball games, especially this time of year.”

Kaden Kos, a junior, led the Golden Hawks with 6 rebounds. Weber had 4 assists and 2 steals to go with his 16 points on a night when some of his Mid-Prairie baseball teammates cheered from the bleachers.

The victory finished off a home season in which the Golden Hawks (18-4) lost just twice at home and finished second in the River Valley South.

“It’s really surreal,” Weber said. “Senior season. I’ve always just wanted to go with a bang. I think we played really well tonight. I’m just trying to enjoy every minute of it. Just trying to have so much fun with my teammates.

“We’ve won a lot of games this year and it’s been really fun.”

Among those joining Weber on the court were senior starters Ace Peck and Conner Wiles, along with Landon Kos, Keegan Bauwens and Traevin Gugel coming off the bench.

“They’re a group of competitors and they get after it,” Lambert said. “That’s why we’ve had success because we’re led by that group of seniors. It’s great getting them all out on the floor. Conner and Landon and Brady and Ace get a lot of minutes, but Trae and Keegan spend a lot of time at practice prepping these guys, so then to get their moments and get a couple of shots off is great.”

After being held scoreless in the first half, Henry hit his first 3-pointer in the first minute of the third quarter and went on to score 16.

“They did a good job defending Bryce,” Brady Weber said. “It’s no secret, Bryce is a great player so they did a great job defending him.”

Brooks Weber, Brady’s younger brother, scored 12.

“Brooks stepped up in that first half when we needed him,” Brady said. “And Bryce did Bryce things and came out and played great in the second half.”

Max Griffin led Mediapolis (13-11) with 12 points.

GAME STATS

MID-PRAIRIE 58, MEDIAPOLIS 40

Mediapolis   12     2    12   14  -- 40

Mid-Prairie     9   18    14   17  -- 58

Mediapolis scoring: Max Griffin 12, Parker Holsteen 10, Will Luttenegger 9, Brayton DeLang 5, Lance Ludens 2, William Worrall 2.

Mid-Prairie scoring: Bryce Henry 16, Brady Weber 16, Brooks Weber 12, Kaden Kos 6, Ace Peck 4, Conner Wiles 3, Hudson Ehrenfelt 1.

Mediapolis rebounding leaders: DeLang 9, Gannon Gunn 7.

Mid-Prairie rebounding leaders: Kaden Kos 6, Ehrenfelt 5.