The Kuemper Catholic Knights made more plays in the second half than Atlantic and came away with a 73-66 win on Tuesday night.  It was a very well played game from the onset as the two top 10 ranked teams traded baskets throughout.

The Knights led by 1 at the intermission 40-39 after the half ended with a missed shot by Chase Mullenix that was put back in by Scott Leonard but officials ruled it came after the horn.  Atlantic’s shooting went a bit cold at the start of the second half which allowed Kuemper to extend the lead. But the Trojans would rally and tie it up later in the quarter before the Knights got a couple buckets from Matt Dentlinger to lead 55-49 at the end of the 3rd.  The Trojans tried to play catch up the rest of the way but couldn’t make up enough ground. Atlantic Head Coach Alan Jenkins thought depth was a difference as the Trojans expended a lot of energy playing catch-up.

Garrett Franken was fouled on a three and knocked down three free throws to cut the lead to 4 with a couple of minutes left but they wouldn’t get closer. Franken missed a three in traffic on the next possession and Kuemper headed to the free throw line to ice it down the stretch. Coach Jenkins thought his team played well, they just ran into a tough opponent.

The Knights were led by Matt Dentlinger with 23 points that included some big shots and free throws late. Parker Badding finished with 16 as the Knights improve to 5-1 heading into the Christmas break.

Atlantic was led by Garrett Franken with 31 points as the Trojans suffer their first loss of the season and are now 6-1.  The Trojans travel to face St. Albert on Thursday before the break. Coach Jenkins says the loss will help them grow as a team.

The Atlantic Trojans Boys Basketball team may face their toughest test of the season so far tonight as they play host to the Kuemper Catholic Knights.  The latest AP Top 10 rankings were released yesterday and Atlantic is still ranked #5 in Class 3A, while the Knights checked in at #6 in Class 2A.

Atlantic comes into the game with a 6-0 record with strong wins over Hawkeye 10 members St. Albert, Creston, and Glenwood.  Kuemper is 4-1 with their lone loss coming to Class 4A 8th ranked Lewis Central.  The Knights are coming off an impressive win over Creston last Friday 75-46.

We’ll have coverage of the game for you tonight on our TV page at kjan.com. Tip-off is set for around 7:30pm and we will get the stream going for you about 7:20pm.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast w/Jim Field.

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There are plenty of Iowa connections on the coaching staff at North Dakota as the Fighting Hawks get ready for tonight’s (Tuesday night’s) game in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. North Dakota coach Brian Jones spent seven years as a Hawkeye assistant under Steve Alford and former Iowa standout Jeff Horner is in his third season on the North Dakota staff. Horner was the coach at West Des Moines Valley High School when Iowa coach Fran McCaffery was recruiting Peter Jok.

Horner was Mr. Basketball in Iowa in 2002 as a senior at Mason City and became Iowa’s all-time leader in three pointers and second all-time in assists. North Dakota is 5-4 while the Hawkeyes are 6-5 after a 69-46 win over Northern Iowa in the Hy-Vee Classic. Pre-game coverage on KJAN begins at 7-p.m. Tip-time from Carver -Hawkeye Arena is at 8-p.m.

(Learfield Sports)

DESMOINES, Iowa (AP) — Mike Daum scored 20 points and Andre Wallace 19 as South Dakota State won a road game for the first time this season, defeating Drake 83-75 on Monday night. Daum, Wallace and A.J. Hess were a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line in the final 1:15 as South Dakota State (7-7) held off Drake, which had come as close as 69-66 when Nick McGlynn scored with 3:18 to play.

Billy Wampler led the Bulldogs (1-10) with 18 points, his sixth-straight game in double figures, Reed Timmer added 16, McGlynn had 11 and C.J. Rivers 10. Drake made up a 40-26 halftime deficit, made a season-high 10 3-pointers, scored 22 points off turnovers, but made only eight trips to the foul line, making seven free throws.

South Dakota State, thanks to 22 Drake fouls, shot 21-for-25 at the free throw line. Daum, who was 7-for-7, set the school record for consecutive makes with 40.

Chariton 65, Creston 55
Denison-Schleswig 72, Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto 48

Ar-We-Va, Westside 74, Westwood, Sloan 43
CAM, Anita 60, Woodbine 40
Charter Oak-Ute 60, River Valley, Correctionville 51

East Mills 70, Heartland Christian 37
Stanton 70, Griswold 48

Other Scores

East Union, Afton 51, Lamoni 47
West Central Valley, Stuart 71, Southeast Warren, Liberty Center 65
Worth County, Mo. 59, Mount Ayr 36

The Stanton Vikings needed a huge third quarter to pull away from the Griswold Tigers in Boys hoops on Monday night in Stanton.  After only leading by 2 at halftime the Vikings poured in 24 points in the third quarter to take control of the game and win 70-48.

The Tigers came out playing with confidence and used an aggressive defense to fluster the undefeated Vikings early.  Stanton rallied from deficits at the end of both the first and second quarter. Drake Johnson led the second half charge and scored 10 of his 20 points in that big third quarter. Dillion Rocha dropped in 15 points and the Vikings improve to 5-0 with a trip to Sidney on Tuesday night.

Griswold was led in the loss by Randy Harrison with 14 points. David Thompson and Clay Amos both finished with 10 points for the Tigers. Griswold falls to 0-7 on the season and will travel to Tri-Center on Tuesday night.

The Stanton Viqueens picked up a home win on Monday night over the Griswold Tigers 53-49 in Girls hoops. The Viqueens led the majority of the game and a late charge by the Tigers was too little too late.

Stanton’s lead was right around 6 points for a good chunk of the game as they led by 5 after 1 quarter and 6 at half and at the end of the third.  The Viqueens had stretched the lead to double digits before Griswold hit some late shots to edge closer. Danika Kentner and Mandi Backhaus combined for 13 points in the fourth quarter to try to rally the Tigers but the rally started too late and they ran out of time.

Stanton got a strong performance from Senior Chelsea Weis who led the team with 19 points. She picked up 3 fouls in the first half and didn’t start the second half with the foul trouble. It wasn’t long into the half when Coach Dave Snyder decided to put her back in and it payed off as she dropped 11 points in the third quarter to spark the Viqueens to the win. Savanna Moffett finished with 10 and Stanton improved to 5-2 on the season.  They travel to Sidney on Tuesday night.

Griswold falls to 2-5 and was led in the loss by Danika Kentner with 15 points.  The Tigers travel to Tri-Center on Tuesday night.

The ice skating rink being prepared at Sunnyside Park will have its Grand Opening sometime during the first week in January. The exact date will be announced later. Parks and Rec Director Seth Staashelm told the Atlantic Parks and Rec Board during their meeting Monday evening, that the heavy duty liner covering the basketball court was installed Friday thanks to volunteer help, and fits like a glove.

They’ve put in two-inches of water and will need to make sure the ice is at least four-inches thick before it can be used. That’s also the reason he hasn’t set a specific grand opening date. Staashelm said they want to make sure the ice is smooth and ready for use. The 90-by-120 foot rink will likely be open he said, before the Grand Opening event.

Staashelm said there is a lot of excitement about the skating rink. He said ice skates are not being made available to users, so you’ll have to bring your own. Staashelm said also, he has e-mailed the Aksarben Curling Club (www.curlaksarben.com) to see if they have any interest in using the facility once its open. He hopes to eventually have a night designated specifically for curling.

LED rope lights are installed on three of the four sides. Additional electrical and illumination issues are currently being addressed. A snow fence will enclose the area, with one designated entrance. Patio heaters are also planned for the area so people can warm up once they’ve been on the ice for a while.

In other business, Staashelm confirmed the streets in Sunnyside Park are closed for the season for safety reasons (they don’t want to have vehicles sliding off the roads and hitting buildings, property or pedestrians). The park itself is still open for foot traffic and events.

Seth said also, reservations for the shelter houses at Sunnyside Park will not be accepted until January 1^st. He says he will be updating the Parks and Rec website to reflect reservation dates for 2017.

The Top Ten teams in the Associated Press Iowa high school basketball poll with first-place votes in parentheses and win-loss record, total points and position last week at right:

Others receiving votes: Davenport, Central 11. Cedar Falls 7. Ankeny Centennial 2. Johnston 1. Waterloo, West 1.

Others receiving votes: Mount Pleasant 11. Carroll 9. Grinnell 7. Sergeant Bluff-Luton 7. Glenwood 6. Union, La Porte City 3. Bishop Heelan Catholic, Sioux City 3. Greene County 1. Le Mars 1.

Others receiving votes: Northeast, Goose Lake 17. Camanche 15. Southeast Valley-Gowrie 13. Sheldon 10. Van Meter 9. Sioux Center 4. Garner-Hayfield/Ventura 2. Jesup 1.

Others receiving votes: Grand View Christian 19. Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto 18. West Fork, Sheffield 16. St. Mary’s, Storm Lake 9. George-Little Rock 9. St. Albert, Council Bluffs 7. AGWSR, Ackley 4. Danville 3. Siouxland Community Christian 3. Woodbury Central, Moville 2. St. Edmond, Fort Dodge 1.