The Exira-EHK Spartans started well in their Substate Final match-up with Sioux Central on Tuesday night but it wasn’t enough to push them on to State. The Spartans ultimately fell to the Rebels 80-69.

The Spartans opened up the game with an 11-3 lead that turned into a 14-6 edge before the Rebels rallied to make it a three point game at the end of the first quarter 16-13. The Rebels took their first lead of the game early in the second quarter at 18-17 and slowly built from there. The Spartans got a great corner three from Josh Pettepier on an inbound play toward the end of the first half to make it a six point game, but the Rebels answered right back with a transition three from Hunter Decker to swing momentum back and give Sioux Central the halftime edge at 40-31.

The Spartans would fall down by as many as 17 in the third quarter but rallied back to get within 9 early in the fourth quarter. That’s as close as they would get. Exira-EHK Head Coach Doug Newton talked about how the game played out.

Sioux Central was led by senior Hunter Decker with 21 points. Fellow senior Blake Cavanaugh was well above his average with 17 points in the game, including 8-9 from the foul line. The Rebels were 24 of 35 from the stripe for the game. The Rebels improve to 22-2 on the season and will head to the Boys Class 1A State Tournament next week for the first time in program history.

The Spartans were led by 18 points from senior forward Trever Schulz, 17 from senior center Dakota Rold, and 16 from senior point guard Cole Burmeister. The Spartans end their season with a record of 22-3. It marks the end of an incredible run for six seniors for the Spartans that also includes Josh Pettepier, Trey Nelsen, and Ian Leader. Coach Newton talked about the legacy these seniors leave behind.

Burmeister and Rold finish their careers as 1,000 point scorers. Pettepier was close to 1,000 points and finishes with over 200 three point makes for his Spartan tenure. That class notched a 72-23 career record for the Spartans.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Freshman Justin Ahrens scored a career-high 29 points to lead Ohio State to a 90-70 victory over No. 22 Iowa on Tuesday night. Kaleb Wesson chipped in 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Buckeyes, Keyshawn Woods scored 13, Andre Wesson had 11 and Duane Washington Jr. scored 10.

Ahrens scored nine points in a span of 1:08 during a larger 12-2 Ohio State run that put the Buckeyes up 74-56 with 8:42 left in the game. He ended up 6 of 10 on 3-pointers, and was 9 for 9 at the foul line. Ohio State (18-10, 8-9 Big Ten), fighting to improve its NCAA Tournament chances, got its first win in five tries against ranked teams this season.
Joe Wieskamp had 17 points to lead Iowa (21-7, 10-7), and Tyler Cook added 12 points.

The Hawkeyes had won five of six heading into the game but couldn’t overcome Ahrens and the Buckeyes. UP NEXT:
Iowa hosts Rutgers on Saturday.

Northern Iowa looks for its fifth straight conference win against Loyola of Chicago Wednesday night at the McLeod Center, in Cedar Falls. Tip-time is 8-p.m. Northern Iowa’s last MVC loss came against the Drake Bulldogs 83-77 on Feb. 9. Loyola of Chicago fell 63-53 at Southern Illinois on Sunday. AJ Green is putting up 15.3 points to lead the way for the Panthers. Wyatt Lohaus is also a key contributor, maintaining an average of 9.8 points per game. The Ramblers are led by Cameron Krutwig, who is averaging 14.9 points and 7.3 rebounds.

Green has connected on 34.6 percent of the 179 3-pointers he’s attempted and has gone 10 for 25 over his last five games. He’s also converted 85.7 percent of his foul shots this season. The Panthers are 11-0 when holding opponents to 43.8 percent or worse from the field, and 3-15 when opponents shoot better than that. The Ramblers are 14-0 when they score at least 70 points and 3-12 on the year when falling short of 70.

The Ramblers have recently converted buckets via assists more often than the Panthers. Northern Iowa has an assist on 26 of 68 field goals (38.2 percent) over its past three matchups while Loyola of Chicago has assists on 33 of 74 field goals (44.6 percent) during its past three games. The Loyola of Chicago defense has allowed only 60.9 points per game to opponents, which is the sixth-best mark in the country. The Northern Iowa offense has averaged just 66.6 points through 29 games (ranked 280th among Division I teams).

Indiana State seeks revenge on Drake Wednesday night at the Knapp Center, in Des Moines, after dropping the first matchup in Terre Haute. The teams last played on Feb. 2, when the Bulldogs shot 48.1 percent from the field while limiting Indiana State to just 40 percent on their way to a six-point victory. Nick McGlynn has averaged 15.4 points and 8.3 rebounds to lead the way for the Bulldogs. D.J. Wilkins is also a top contributor, accounting for 11.3 points per game. The Sycamores are led by Tyreke Key, who is averaging 17.1 points.

Key has connected on 44.3 percent of the 79 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 4 of 12 over the last three games. He’s also converted 78.9 percent of his free throws this season. Indiana State is 0-6 when scoring fewer than 62 points and 14-8 when scoring at least 62. Indiana State is a perfect 6-0 when the team makes eight or more 3-pointers. The Sycamores are 8-14 when the team hits fewer than eight threes.

Drake is ranked first among MVC teams with an average of 75.9 points per game. Tip-off for the game is set for 8-p.m.

Class 1A

Substate 8 Final @ Carroll: Exira-EHK vs. Sioux Central 7:00pm – ON KJAN

Class 2A

Substate 7 Final @ Creston: Des Moines Christian vs. Treynor 7:00pm
Substate 8 Final @ LeMars: OA-BCIG vs. Rock Valley 7:00pm

Class 4A

Substate 1 Final @ Tyson Events Center, SC: Sious City East vs. Sioux City West 7:00pm
Substate 2 Final @ Ankeny Centennial: Des Moines, North vs. Ames 7:00pm
Substate 3 Final @ US Cellular Center, Cedar Rapids: Cedar Falls vs. Linn-Mar, Marion 8:00pm
Substate 4 Final @ @ US Cellular Center, Cedar Rapids: Bettendorf vs. Dubuque, Senior 6:30pm
Substate 5 Final @ Iowa City Liberty: North Scott vs. Cedar Rapids Prairie 7:00pm
Substate 6 Final @ Muscatine: Iowa City West vs. Davenport Central 7:00pm
Substate 7 Final @ Johnston: Southeast Polk vs. Dowling Catholic 7:00pm
Substate 8 Final @ Ankeny: Waukee vs. Des Moines, Hoover 7:00pm

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Jim Field.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.1MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Class 3A Quarterfinals

#2 Center Point-Urbana vs. #7 West Marshall 10:00am

CLass 4A Quarterfinals

#1 Marion vs. #8 Cedar Rapids Xavier 11:45am
#4 Mason City vs. #5 Waverly-Shell Rock 1:30pm
#2 North Scott vs. #7 Denison-Schleswig 3:15pm
#3 Grinnell vs. #6 Bishop Heelan 5:00pm

Class 2A Quarterfinals

#1 Grundy Center vs. #8 Unity Christian 6:45pm
#4 Cascade vs. #5 Dike-New Hartford 8:30pm

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Megan Gustafson scored 29 points and grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds to lead No. 12 Iowa to a 74-58 win over Nebraska on Monday night. Gustafson now has scored 20 or more in 25 of Iowa’s 28 contests. The 6-foot-3 senior center finished shooting 13 of 19 from the field. Her 70.4 percent shooting percentage leads the nation. Iowa (22-6, 13-4 Big Ten) led 35-26 at intermission before the Cornhuskers emerged from the break with a 17-8 run to knot it at 43-all on Maddie Simon’s layup with 2:30 left in the third.

The Hawkeyes countered with a 19-9 run and led by double digits the rest of the way after Hanna Stewart’s jumper with 5:39 remaining. Stewart finished with 15 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Sam Haiby led Nebraska (13-15, 8-9) with 12 points and Kate Cain and Ashtyn Veerbeek each scored 10.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — After a pair of puzzling home losses, Iowa State finally looked as formidable as it usually does at Hilton Coliseum. Senior Marial Shayok scored 21 points and Iowa State rolled past Oklahoma 78-61 on Monday night, snapping a two-game losing streak and a rare two-game skid at home. Talen Horton-Tucker had 18 for the Cyclones (20-8, 9-6 Big 12), who reached 20 wins for the eighth time in nine years thanks largely to a 13-0 run midway through the second half. Shayok, who scored just four points after battling foul trouble in Saturday’s loss to TCU, was 8 of 13 shooting. He also had six rebounds and five assists to cap a day when he said it finally dawned on him that his college career is coming to an end.

Kristian Doolittle scored 15 points to lead the Sooners (17-11, 5-10), who saw their modest two-game winning streak snapped. Oklahoma shot just 38.1 percent. The Cyclones looked engaged on defense, and the 3s that didn’t drop against the Horned Frogs over the weekend fell against the Sooners. The Cyclones were 11 of 23 from beyond the arc. “It’s good to win. We needed this win,” Prohm said.

UP NEXT: Iowa State plays at Texas on Saturday. A win could vault the Cyclones back into the poll.

BOYS BAKETBALL

Class 1A Substate 1 Championship

St. Mary’s, Remsen 51, South O’Brien, Paullina 45, OT

Class 1A Substate 7 Championship

St. Albert, Council Bluffs 58, Ankeny Christian Academy 56

Class 2A Substate 8 Championship

Rock Valley 61, OA-BCIG 46

Class 3A Substate 1 Championship

Sergeant Bluff-Luton 50, Spirit Lake Park 38

Class 3A Substate 3 Championship

West Delaware, Manchester 66, Assumption, Davenport 59

Class 3A Substate 4 Championship

Marion 41, Maquoketa 38

Class 3A Substate 5 Championship

Oskaloosa 58, Fairfield 37

Class 3A Substate 6 Championship

Ballard 72, Pella 57

Class 3A Substate 8 Championship

Winterset 51, Denison-Schleswig 48

Class 4A Substate 1 Semifinal

Sioux City, East 71, Lewis Central 48
Sioux City, West 78, Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 45

POSTPONEMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS

2A: Des Moines Christian vs. Treynor, ppd. to Feb 26th.
1A: Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton vs. Sioux Central, Sioux Rapids, ppd. to Feb 26th.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Class 3A State Quarterfinal

Des Moines Christian 49, Roland-Story, Story City 41
North Polk, Alleman 59, Estherville Lincoln Central 47
Waukon 48, Crestwood, Cresco 37

Class 5A State Quarterfinal

Dowling Catholic, West Des Moines 75, Waukee 70, 3OT
Johnston 66, Urbandale 57
Southeast Polk 59, Ankeny Centennial 56, OT
Valley, West Des Moines 66, Iowa City High 59, OT