By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com
Boys’ Basketball: New London Falls Sunk by River Hawks:
Blaise Porter had 19 points but it was not enough as New London was beaten by No. 4 Easton Valley 61-43 in a Class 1A Substate Final Saturday afternoon at Maquoketa High School.
The River Hawks, who improved to 22-0, advance to the Class 1A State Tournament, beginning March 8th at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.
It’s their first appearance since 2014.
The game was close for a quarter and a half, before Easton Valley’s Kaleb Cornilsen took advantage of a Kade Benjamin-less Tiger frontcourt as the sophomore picked up three first half fouls.
Cornilsen paced the River Hawks with 22 points and 14 boards and helped Easton Valley jump out to a seven-point halftime lead.
Benjamin only attempted two shots the entire night and scored just two points.
Camden Kasel chipped in with eight for New London while Caydin Wahls had five.
New London closes their season 19-5, while Easton Valley earned the No. 4 seed at the 1A State Tournament.
They’ll take on Martensdale-St. Mary’s in their quarterfinal matchup.
Just one other substate final on Saturday:
- Camanche 58, West Burlington 38
- Marvion Jackson had 15 points in the loss for the Falcons, who close their season with a record 16-7. Camanche enters the 2A State Tournament with a record of 18-6.
Girls’ Basketball: West Burlington Girls’ Ready for State Tournament Push:
The No. 5 West Burlington girls’ basketball team is ready to fly tonight when they open their 2021 State Tournament push against the West Lyon Wildcats in quarterfinal action.
West Burlington is led by senior Sydney Marlow, a career 1,000 point scorer, who averages 13.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
Sophomore Abby Bence is second on the team with 13 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest.
West Burlington knocked off Albia, Central Lee and West Liberty — in thrilling fashion — on their way to Wells Fargo Arena.
The Falcons went 21-1 in the regular season.
Meanwhile West Lyon is back to state after finishing 22-1 this year.
The Wildcats defeated Okoboji, MOC-Floyd Valley and Bishop Heelan on their State Tournament quest.
They’re led by junior Brooklyn Meyer who scores 16 points per game, while senior Kennedy Kramer averages 10.4 points per game.
This will be the first matchup between the two programs.
The winner will get either top-seeded Cherokee or Davenport Assumption.
Tonight’s game will tip at 7:00 p.m. and you can listen on FM 105.5 and kilj.com.
Nathan Bloechl and Kent Bennett will have all the action beginning at 6:45 p.m.
Women’s College Basketball: Tiger Women Earn Win No. 1:
The Iowa Wesleyan women received 22 points from senior Morgan McCrea as they defeated Blackburn College on Saturday, 85-78.
McCrea also added four rebounds and six assists.
Anija Simmons (FR/Plano, TX) added 19 points, six rebounds, and three steals.
Sydney Farrar (SO/Charlotte, ME) and Asantee Tillman (FR/Des Moines, IA) added 13 and 10 points respectively for the Tigers, who improved 1-4 overall and 1-0 in conference play.
Men’s College Basketball: Tiger Men Fall to Blackburn:
Two Tigers dropped double-digits scoring, but turnovers proved costly as Iowa Wesleyan suffered an 81-61 loss to Blackburn.
Alex Dentlinger (JR/New London, IA) put up 16 points to lead the Tigers. Dentlinger also added seven rebounds.
Kaleb Cresswell (JR/Fort Madison, IA) added 11 points and seven rebounds.
The Tigers turned the basketball over 22 times.
The loss dropped them to 1-4 overall and 0-1 in conference action.
Iowa Wesleyan will host Westminster College for another men’s and women’s conference doubleheader on Wednesday.
The women’s team will begin play at 5:30 pm, while the men will follow at 7:30 pm.