Audi Crooks scored 29 points as the Iowa State women rolled to a 98-73 win at Central Florida. It marks the 18th time a Bill Fennelly coached ISU team has reached 20 wins.

The Cyclones are 20-10 overall and 11-6 in the Big 12.

The Iowa Hawkeye men never led in an 81-61 loss at Illinois. The Illini used a 19-8 run to start the second half to blow the game open.

That’s Iowa coach Fran McCaffery. The Hawkeyes shot only 42 percent for the game and 16 turnovers proved costly.

Josh Dix and Payton Sandfort were limited to a combined 17 points. Sophomore guard Brock Harding led the Hawkeyes with 16 points.

Iowa is 6-11 overall and 15-13 in the Big Ten.

A slow start proved costly as ninth ranked Iowa State lost at Oklahoma State. The Cowboys led by as many as 16 points and never trailed in a 74-68 win as the Cyclones dropped their second game on the road.*

That’s Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger. Tjhe Cyclones made only nine-of-25 shots in the opening half and trailed by 14 at the break.

Joshua Jefferson led the Cyclones with 17 points. Curtis Jones returned from illness and finished with 11 points but Keshon Gilbert missed his second straight game with a muscle strain. They hope to be at full strength and bounce back Saturday night at home against 22nd ranked Arizona.

The Cyclones fall to 11-6 in the Big 12 and 21-7 overall.

The ACGC Chargers boys basketball team used an electrifying offensive performance to defeat the IKM-Manning Wolves in Audubon Tuesday night. Depth scoring was at the forefront for ACGC as the Chargers had four players finish the game with 10 points with two over 20. Although IKM-Manning’s Ben Ramsey put up a spectacular effort, it was not enough to keep pace with the Chargers as ACGC pulled away for an 83-56 win.

The Chargers offense outburst started right off the bat. In racing out to an early 22-1 lead, everything was falling for the Chargers, especially from the outside. ACGC drained five long balls in the opening frame including two each from Joe Crawford and Jathan South. Although IKM-Manning would score seven of the next eight points, the Chargers ended the opening frame with a 15 point lead. The buckets continued to fall for ACGC in the second quarter. Although South had a great second quarter knocking down four field goals, Crawford continued to rain threes. Crawford hit another three three-pointers to bring his first half total to five. All in all, the Chargers hit nine threes in the first half as South and Crawford led the way with 14 points propelling ACGC to a 51-17 halftime lead.

The path of the outcome changed little in the second half. Although the Chargers could not keep up the torrent pace set in the first half, ACGC’s depth scoring kept the offense moving. Payton Policky was able to work the inside to knock down five field goals on his way to 16 points on the night. Despite the Charger lead, Ramsey and the Wolves did not quit. Ramsey put up a phenomenal effort throughout the game. In the second half, he collected 18 points, including four threes. Ramsey finished with a game high 32 points.

Despite the effort from Ramsey, the Wolves were unable to keep up with ACGC. Jathan South finished with the team lead for the Chargers putting up 23 points while Crawford didn’t finish far behind with 20. Along with Policky, Noah Kading also finished with 10-plus points grabbing 12. Head coach Lance Kading was pleased with his team’s offensive effort and liked how they didn’t settle.

Although Ramsey was tough to hand, the Chargers were able to limit production from other Wolves throughout the night.

AGCC now moves on to the substate final and will take on Remsen St. Mary’s with a trip to the state tournament on the line. Kading says a chance at a state title means a lot for the team and the community.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7 pm at South Central Calhoun Middle School on Saturday. Catch all the action on KJAN with pregame coverage starting at 6:50 pm.

4A Regional Finals 

Bishop Heelan Catholic – 91 vs. Lewis Central – 51

Central DeWitt – 76 vs. Clear Creek Amana – 63

Dallas Center-Grimes – 31 vs Carlisle – 30

Maquoketa – 66  vs. Marion – 51

North Polk – 54 vs. ADM – 33

Norwalk – 85 vs. Pella – 56

Sioux Center – 73 vs. Storm Lake – 48

Xavier – 67 vs. Waverly-Shell Rock – 50

5A Regional Finals 

Ankeny Centennial – 42 vs. Southeast Polk – 37

Davenport North – 48 vs. Cedar Falls – 46

Dowling Catholic – 79 vs. Cedar Rapids Washington – 40

Johnston – 76 vs. Ames – 40

Iowa City Liberty – 72 vs. Iowa City High – 55

Waukee Northwest – 43 vs. Ankeny – 37

Pleasant Valley – 47 vs. Waukee – 37

Prairie – 61 vs. Iowa City West – 40

A tale of two heavyweights is set to battle Wednesday night in Norwalk. The 22-1 ACGC Chargers are up against the 23-0 Eddysville-Blakesburg-Fremont Rockets.  The Chargers lone loss came at the hands of Des Moines Christian, while the Rockets last defeat was in the first round of last year’s State Tournament.

ACGC comes off a 66-46 victory over Central Decatur last week for their 16th consecutive win. The Chargers have three players averaging double figures, including Junior Forward Camdyn Richter who averages over 15 points a game.

Meanwhile, the Rockets have dominated everyone they’ve come across in the recent past. Eddysville-Blakesburg-Fremont has beaten each opponent by at least ten points since January 6th. The undefeated group is led by Senior Forward, Molly Shafer. Shafer averages over 22 points a game, ranking eighth in the state of Iowa and second among scorers in Class 2A.

Head Coach Brad Baudler says despite having only one senior on the roster, they won’t be easy shoes to fill.

Baudler stresses that it is a day-by-day mentality in the Charger locker room.

ACGC looks to dissolve the strongest pieces of Eddysville-Blakesburg-Fremont’s game but understands that this will arguably be the biggest challenge of the season.

ACGC and Eddysville-Blakesburg-Fremont are scheduled to tip-off at 7 P.M. in Norwalk.

The Exira-EHK Girls’ basketball team hits the floor for a Wednesday night for a postseason tilt with the 20-3 Treynor Cardinals.

The Spartans look to eliminate the Cardinals for a second consecutive season and punch their ticket to the State Tournament next week in Des Moines. Exira-EHK survived a one-point 49-48 thriller Friday night in a home win vs. MVAOCOU to advance to Wednesday’s matchup. The Spartans are led by Sophomore Guard Taryn Petersen who averages over 22 points a game which ranks ninth in the entire state of Iowa and third in Class 2A.

Head Coach Tom Petersen appreciates the team’s effort night in and night out.

Petersen noted the wide arsenal the Cardinals possess and the different variations they bring on offense.

Exira-EHK and Treynor square off Wednesday night at 7 P.M. Coverage begins on KJAN at 6:50 P.M.

1A District Finals

ACGC – 83 vs. IKM-Manning – 56

OABCIGv- 66 vs. Tri-Center – 56

St. Mary’s, Remsen – 52 vs. St. Albert – 37

Woodbine – 60 vs. Bedford – 48

Coon Rapids-Bayard – 67 vs. Mount Ayr – 41

Ankeny Christian – 70 vs. Martensdale-St. Marys – 63

2A District Finals

Treynor – 72 vs. Clarinda – 50

Kuemper Catholic – 76 vs. West Marshall – 47

The 21-2 ACGC Chargers return to the floor Tuesday night in Audubon as they take on the 12-11 IKM-Manning Wolves. ACGC has won their first two games of postseason play pretty handily. The Chargers defeated Exira-EHK 78-45 and Audubon 57-32.

Leading scorer, Senior Guard Jathan South has carried the Chargers to 20 and 19 points in the two games they ‘ve played so far in the postseason. What makes the Chargers so difficult to defend is their speed, intensity, and the selflessness offense. The winner of this contest will play Saturday night for a spot at this year’s State Basketball Tournament in Des Moines.

Head Coach Lance Kading mentions this is a position this program has been in before, but there’s still work to be done.

Team chemistry is a major factor in any team’s success no matter the sport. This ACGC group has played together, including time outside of wearing the Charger uniform.

Kading says ACGC will be have to be on their A-game to get past the Wolves Tuesday.

Tip-off between ACGC and IKM-Manning is scheduled for 7 P.M. Coverage on KJANTV begins at 6:50 P.M.

UNI coach Ben Jacobson says the goal for the Panthers this week is to finish strong. UNI is 13-5 and tied with Bradley for second in the Missouri Valley race. They close the home season Wednesday night by hosting Illinois-Chicago before ending the regular season at Bradley on Sunday.

The Panthers beat the Flames 83-56 in Chicago back in early December and Jacobson says the preparation for this game will focus on the last couple of weeks.

Illinois-Chicago enters the final week of the regular season with a 9-9 Valley record.

After dropping five of six games the Flames have played better the past couple of weeks.