By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com
Boys’ Basketball: Panthers Surge Past Washington, Other Prep Finals:
Mount Pleasant rallied from 16 down in the first half, claiming a pivotal 55-52 road win at Washington last night.
The Demons went on a game-starting 17-1 run and led 24-10 after one quarter.
Part of that lead was stoked by Washington sophomore Ethan Patterson who drilled four first quarter triples.
From there, Mount Pleasant would just chip away.
The Panthers cut the lead to seven at halftime, one at the the end of three and eventually closed the game on a 13-9 run to earn their third straight win.
The Mount Pleasant triumph snapped Washington’s four game winning streak.
Dewon Trent led all scorers with 20 points and seven boards for Mount Pleasant, who improved to 8-6.
Washington stumbled to 9-4.
New London 74, Van Buren 54
Blaise Porter poured in a game high 35 points as New London rolled to a twenty-point 74-54 victory over Van Buren County last night.
The Warriors led by four at halftime before Porter and fellow sophomore Kade Benjamin rallied New London to the win.
Benjamin finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds for New London.
The Tigers improved to 10-3 and 9-2 in c0nference play.
Other prep finals:
- West Burlington 56, Holy Trinity 52
- Hillcrest Academy 65, Columbus 27
- Pekin 69, Louisa-Muscatine 31
- Keokuk 45, Fort Madison 34
Girls’ Basketball: Shull Leads Panthers to Easy Win:
Tristian Shull had 16 points as the Mount Pleasant girls’ basketball team earned win No. 8, defeating Washington 46-30 last night at Mount Pleasant High School.
Andrea Lopreato chipped in with 14 points while Emma Huckabone added seven.
The win moved Curt Watson’s group to 8-6 and 4-3 in Southeast Conference play.
Washington was led by Josie Tanner who had nine points.
The Demons dropped to 1-13.
Van Buren County 67, New London 33
How good is Isabel Manning? The terrific Van Buren senior had another night to remember, filling the stat sheet for 32 points, nine boards, seven assists and five swipes as the Warriors blazed past New London 67-33.
Marah Hartrick led New London with 14 points, while Keura Williams chipped in with six.
Van Buren kept pace at the top of the conference with the win, improving to 11-3.
New London fell to 3-12.
Other finals last night:
- No. 8 (3A) West Burlington 64, Holy Trinity 31
- Fairfield 65, Burlington 33
- Fort Madison 40, Keokuk 36
- Louisa-Muscatine 56, Pekin 45
- Wapello 67, Highland 29
Iowa Wesleyan Finds Conference Affiliation:
The Iowa Wesleyan Tiger Athletic Department now knows where they will play when they become full-time members into the NAIA.
The Tigers will become full members of the Association of Independent Institutions (AII), associate members of the North Star Athletic Association (football), and associate members of the Heart of America Athletic Conference (wrestling) in July of this year.
The Tigers will have fifteen programs competing in the AII including men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field, baseball, men’s and women’s golf, and softball.
In football the Tigers will be slated to compete against Dakota State University, Dickinson State, Valley City, Waldorf, Mayville State, and Presentation College.
Iowa Wesleyan’s membership with the NCAA, the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC), and the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) will cease after competition this spring.
College Wrestling: Iowa Blasts Minnesota:
The top-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team extended its winning streak to 15 duals with a 35-4 win at No. 15 Minnesota last night.
Spencer Lee, Austin DeSanto, Jaydin Eierman, Michael Kemerer and Jacob Warner were all worth bonus points for the Hawkeyes in the win.
No. 1 Iowa returns to action hosting No. 2 Michigan and No. 10 Illinois on Sunday, Jan. 31, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.