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

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Drake stopped short of handing interim coach Jeff Rutter the job permanently on Monday, saying in a statement that it’ll conduct a nationwide search and that Rutter is “a strong candidate.” Athletic director Sandy Hatfield-Clubb says the Bulldogs are seeking a coach who will develop the program into one that competes for Missouri Valley Conference championships and NCAA Tournament appearances. Drake has made just one NCAA Tournament since 1971.

Class 1A State Tournament -State Quarterfinal
Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton 58, Sidney 43
Kingsley-Pierson 65, Marquette Catholic, Bellevue 61
Springville 56, Notre Dame, Burlington 16
Turkey Valley, Jackson Junction 60, Janesville 58

Class 2A State Tournament – State Quarterfinal
Regina, Iowa City 67, Logan-Magnolia 54
Treynor 60, Van Meter 54
Western Christian, Hull 58, North Linn, Troy Mills 48

1-A Semi-finals Schedule – Thursday, March 2nd

10-a.m. Springville vs. Kingsley-Pierson
11:45 Turkey Valley vs. Exira/EH-K

2-A Semi-finals Schedule – Thursday, March 2nd

1:30-p.m. Iowa City-Regina vs. Western Christian
3:15-p.m. Treynor vs.(winner of today’s 2-A quarterfinal)

Today’s Schedule – Tuesday Feb. 28th

Class 2-A Quarterfinals
10-a.m. Cascade 59, Central Decatur 56
Class 3-A Quarterfinals
11:45-a.m. Sioux Center 71, PCM 27
1:30-p.m. Crestwood (22-1) vs. Cherokee (20-3)
3:15-p.m. Center Point-Urbana (21-3) vs. Davenport Assumption (16-7)
5:00-p.m. Pocahontas Area (PAC) (24-1) vs. Clear Lake (21-3)
Class 4-A Quarterfinals
6:45-p.m. Nevada (22-1) vs. North Scott (18-5)
8:30-p.m. Grinnell (19-4) vs. Cedar Rapids Xavier (17-5)
(4-A Quarterfinals continue Wednesday, along with the start of Class 5-A qtrfinals)

The Atlantic Trojans boys basketball team is headed to the state tournament for the first time since 2002 after a substate final win on Monday night over Glenwood 69-68.  The Trojans and Rams put on quite a nail-biting show for the capacity crowd at Harlan Community High School.

The Trojans built a two possession lead multiple times down the stretch only to have Glenwood claw back to within 1 as time wound down.  After Austin Alexander hit a free throw to push the lead to 4 for Atlantic with 12 seconds left, Nate Mohr hit a three with about 4 seconds left on the clock to get the Rams within one.  Time should of been allowed to run out but an inadvertent whistle and clock stoppage ended up forcing Atlantic to throw the ball in with 1 second left to seal the win.

Atlantic Head Coach Alan Jenkins thought it would be a close game and it turned out to be just that.

Coach Jenkins was elated for his players after the win.

Sophomore Chase Mullenix had a monster night for the Trojans with 19 points and played excellent defense with the assignment on Nate Mohr.  Chase thought his team executed the game plan well.

Senior Garrett Franken finished with 19 points as well for the Trojans and said it felt great to knock off the Rams and get over the hump to get to the state tournament.

Scott Leonard worked hard on the block for 15 points in the win and he said his teammates really stepped up when it was tough for him to get touches early in the game.

Glenwood was led by Nate Mohr with 26 points, 24 of those in the second half. Andrew Blum had 17 before fouling out late and Christian Stanislav had 15 for the Rams. Glenwood ends their season at 18-6.

Atlantic improved to 19-5 on the season and will head to the state tournament for the 11th time in school history.  The Trojans will play in the 3A quarterfinals next Tuesday, March 7th.  Opponent and time won’t be known until Wednesday.

The Exira-EHK Spartans girls basketball team is on to the semifinals with a win on Monday afternoon over the Sidney Cowgirls 58-43 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

The Spartans had to work for the win throughout as they saw a fifteen point halftime lead shrink to five before putting the Cowgirls away  down the stretch.  Sophia Peppers continued her postseason dominance with 22 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, and 4 assists.  Kealey Nelson also had a big game with 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Spartans.  Peppers said it was good to get out the first round nerves.

Peppers is confident her team can go the distance.

Sidney was led in the loss by 14 points from Camryn McClintock who dropped in 4 threes in the game. Maryn Phillips finished with 9 points for Sidney as their season ends with a record of 23-2. It was the Cowgirls first ever state tournament appearance.

The Spartans improve to 24-1 and will now face Turkey Valley in the Class 1A semifinals on Thursday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Chris Parks and Mike Smith will have the call of that game on KJAN with pregame at 10:45am and tip-off at 11:45am on Thursday.

Girls State Tournament

Class 1A Quarterfinals

10:00 a.m. — Springville 56, Burlington Notre Dame 16
11:45 a.m. — Kingsley-Pierson 65, Marquette Catholic 61
1:30 p.m. – Turkey Valley 60, Janesville 58
3:15 p.m. – Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton 58, Sidney 43

Class 2A Quarterfinals

5:00 p.m. – Iowa City Regina 67, Logan-Magnolia 54
6:45 p.m. – Western Christian 58, North Linn 48
8:30 p.m. – Treynor 60, Van Meter 54
Tuesday, Feb 28th- 10:00 a.m. – Central Decatur (24-0) vs. Cascade (22-2)

Boys Substate Finals

Class 1A

Remsen St. Mary’s 56, Boyden-Hull 51 (@ LeMars)

Class 3A

Atlantic 69, Glenwood 68 (@ Harlan) – ON KJAN
Sergeant Bluff-Luton 53, Bishop Heelan 51 (@ Tyson Events Center, Sioux City)
Pella 55, Grinnell 53 (@ Southeast Polk)
Mount Pleasant 70, Oskaloosa 40 (@ Fairfield)
West Delaware 54, Center Point-Urbana 51 (@ US Cellular Center, Cedar Rapids)
Cedar Rapids Xavier 58, Dubuque Wahlert 39 (@ US Cellular Center, Cedar Rapids)
Waverly-Shell Rock 71, Forest City 55 (@ Aplington-Parkersburg)
Dallas Center-Grimes 54, Boone 43 (@ Johnston)

Iowa State Senior Point Guard Monte Morris was named the Big 12 Player of the week on Monday.  Morris helped lead his team to wins this week at Texas Tech in overtime on Monday and at home against Baylor on Saturday.  The Cyclones built their current win streak to five games with those wins.  Iowa State also jumped back into the AP Top 25 at No. 24 after the stellar week.

PHILLIPS 66 BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Monté Morris, Iowa State, G, Sr., Flint, Mich.

• Averaged 20.0 points and 6.5 assists as the Cyclones extended their win streak to five games.
• Committed just two turnovers in 79 minutes of action.
• Converted 15-of-27 (.556) shots from the field, including 5-of-8 from 3-point territory.

Girls State Tournament

Class 1A Quarterfinals

10:00 a.m. — Springville (22-2) vs. Burlington Notre Dame (19-6)
11:45 a.m. — Marquette Catholic (21-3) vs. Kingsley-Pierson (23-1)
1:30 p.m. – Turkey Valley (21-2) vs. Janesville (24-0)
3:15 p.m. – Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton (23-1) vs. Sidney (23-1)- ON KJAN (Pregame 2:15pm)

Class 2A Quarterfinals

5:00 p.m. – Iowa City Regina (25-0) vs. Logan-Magnolia (21-3)
6:45 p.m. – Western Christian (22-2) vs. North Linn (24-1)
8:30 p.m. – Treynor (25-0) vs. Van Meter (21-3)
Tuesday, Feb 28th- 10:00 a.m. – Central Decatur (24-0) vs. Cascade (22-2)

Boys Substate Finals

Class 1A

Remsen St. Mary’s vs. Boyden-Hull (@ LeMars) 7:00pm

Class 3A (All at 7:00pm)

Atlantic vs. Glenwood (@ Harlan) – ON KJAN
Bishop Heelan vs. Sergeant Bluff-Luton (@ Tyson Events Center, Sioux City)
Pella vs. Grinnell (@ Southeast Polk)
Mount Pleasant vs. Oskaloosa (@ Fairfield)
West Delaware vs. Center Point-Urbana (@ US Cellular Center, Cedar Rapids)
Dubuque Wahlert vs. Cedar Rapids Xavier (@ US Cellular Center, Cedar Rapids)
Waverly-Shell Rock vs. Forest City (@ Aplington-Parkersburg)
Boone vs. Dallas Center-Grimes (@ Johnston)

The Rolling Valley Conference announced their 2016-17 all-conference boys basketball selections today.

First Team

Drew Buckholdt, SR, Exira-EHK*
Thomas Hensley, JR, CAM*
Joe Weber, JR, Boyer Valley*
Ben Obert, SO, Coon Rapids-Bayard*
Derek Schurke, SR, Ar-We-Va
Drew Schurke, SO, Ar-We-Va
Joe Towers, JR, Paton-Churdan
Hunter Clausen, SR, Charter Oak-Ute
*Unanimous Selection

Second Team

Dakota Rold, SO, Exira-EHK
Jake Danner, SR, Ar-We-Va
Nick Holste, JR, CAM
Zach Krause, SR, Ar-We-Va
Justin Sparks, JR, Glidden-Ralston
Jake Berns, JR, Paton-Churdan
Brandon Evans, SR, Coon Rapids-Bayard
Jesse Hupp, SR, Charter Oak-Ute

Honorable Mention

Noah Pettepier, SR, Exira-EHK
Cole Burmeister, SO, Exira-EHK