The Exira-EHK boys basketball team saw a big halftime lead slip away before finally closing the door on Glidden-Ralston 66-55 on Saturday evening.  The Spartans built a 43-28 halftime lead behind 15 first half points from Dakota Rold. That lead would dwindle down to as few as two points in the second half before the Spartans made the plays down the stretch to secure the win.  Immediately after the Wildcats closed the gap to two, Cole Burmeister hit a big three to push the lead back to 5 and the Spartans gained some momentum from there.

The Spartans were led by 23 points from Dakota Rold and 16 from Burmeister to improve to 9-3.  Next up for the Spartans is a trip to Woodbine on Tuesday.

The Wildcats were led by 17 points apiece from Cameron Carroll and Justin Sparks as they fall to 5-6 on the season. They are scheduled to host CAM on Monday.

In a game that came down to the final seconds and then extra minutes the Exira-EHK girls basketball team found a way to get a home win over Glidden-Ralston 57-54 on Saturday afternoon.  Sophia Peppers hit a three as time expired to tie the game at 48 and send it to overtime.  Peppers then scored 8 of her team’s 9 points in overtime to help keep the Spartans record unblemished at 13-0.

It was a tight game throughout as the Wildcats led by 5 at the end of the first, the Spartans rallied to lead by 2 at half, and the Wildcats grabbed a two point lead at the end of three. It was a cold shooting night for the Spartans and Coach Tom Petersen said he was proud of his team for finding a way to win.  Prior to the game-tying three, Peppers only had 6 points and had been short all night on her outside shots.  The one the Spartans needed splashed straight through.  She also came up huge in the key segment of overtime that spurred the win. Peppers calmly stepped to the line and nailed two free throws that tied the game at 54 with about a minute left and moments later the Spartans came up with a steal and Peppers finished with a transition lay in to take the lead at 56-54.  The Wildcats would then miss a great opportunity for a hoop and Kealey Nelson ended up on the free throw line and made one of two with 1.5 seconds left to put the final margin at 3.

And that’s just talking about the Spartans big plays. Julia Fleecs had a monster game for Glidden-Ralston and the Wildcats had a slight lead for much of the game. Fleecs finished with 30 points and was a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter and overtime.  Madison Whitver got open a number of times on the block and finished with 10 points for the Wildcats who are now 10-2 on the season.

#3 vs #4 in the Class 1A rankings lived up to all expectations and then some in a great battle.

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Vladimir Brodziansky had 25 points and 14 rebounds, Brandon Parrish scored 15 points and TCU earned its first winning Big 12 record with an 84-77 victory over Iowa State on Saturday.

Brodziansky hit his first 3-pointer of the season and made a pair of free throws after a flagrant foul against Darrell Bowie during a 9-2 run that built a 75-65 lead. The Horned Frogs (14-3, 3-2 Big 12) ended an eight-game losing streak against the Cyclones covering TCU’s first four seasons in the Big 12.

Nazareth Mitrou-Long scored 19 points for the Cyclones (11-5, 3-2). Preseason All-America guard Monte Morris was held to nine mostly meaningless points on 4-of-14 shooting after getting a career-high 30 in Iowa State’s previous game.

TCU’s Kenrich Williams had his sixth double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds, and freshman guard Jaylen Fisher had nine points and a season-high 11 assists as the Horned Frogs won consecutive Big 12 games for just the second time.

Iowa State’s Donovan Jackson, a first-year junior college transfer, had his season high at halftime with 16 points before getting shut out in the second half. He went without a 3-point attempt after going 4 of 5 from long range in the first half.

It was TCU’s first win over Iowa State since Dec. 24, 1997, in the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Brionna Jones had 25 points with 10 rebounds to lead third-ranked Maryland past Iowa, 98-82 on Saturday. Shatori Walker-Kimbrough scored 20 of her 22 points in the second half for the Terrapins (17-1, 5-0 Big Ten). They pushed their conference lead over Ohio State to 1 1/2 games.

Maryland struggled in the first half after Jones got into foul trouble, falling behind 47-43 at the break. The Terps finally got untracked with a 13-0 run in the third quarter, and Walker-Kimbrough’s 3 near the end of the third quarter made it 69-59.

Walker-Kimbrough’s 3 early in the fourth put Maryland up by 20, capping a 39-15 run that gave the Terrapins their expected result. Walker-Kimbrough, a Wooden Award candidate, didn’t start for the first time this season. She entered play three minutes into the first quarter. Tania Davis scored a career-high 25 points for Iowa (11-7, 2-3), which stunned Maryland with a 20-3 run in the first half but couldn’t sustain that momentum.

The Exira-EHK Spartans will play host to the Glidden-Ralston Wildcats for an afternoon basketball doubleheader on Saturday and we’ll have coverage on KJAN.

The girls game is a match-up of the 3rd and 4th rated teams in Class 1A in the most recent rankings. The Spartans are unbeaten on the season and won the first meeting with the Wildcats 45-40 back on December 6th.  The Spartans are led by Kealey Nelson averaging 15 points and Sophia Peppers averaging 14. The Wildcats top scorer is Julia Fleecs averaging 22 points per game. Tip for the girls set for 3:00pm.

The Spartans also won the boys game the first time the teams met back on December 6th 64-44. The Spartans are led by Drew Buckholdt averaging 15 points per game, while the Wildcats’ top scorer is Justin Sparks averaging 14 per outing.

Chris Parks and Mike Smith will have the call of the game in Elk Horn. Pregame at 2:50pm before the girls game. Listen on AM1220, FM101.1, online at kjan.com, and on the KJAN mobile app. You can also watch live streaming video on KJANTV.

Chris Parks talks the latest in Atlantic Sports with Head Boys Basketball Coach Alan Jenkins, Girls Basketball Coach Kelly Juhl, Wrestling Coach Tim Duff, and Boys Swimming Coach Dean Junker.

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w/ Chris Parks

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The Atlantic girls basketball team showed some progress in a 65-33 loss at Lewis Central on Friday night. The Trojans slowed the game down and were aggressive to the basket early in the game to hang with the Class 4A 5th ranked Titans for a while.

Lewis Central led by 8 at the end of the first quarter and 13 at the half. It wasn’t until the third quarter that the Titans fully pulled away as they took advantage of too many unforced Trojan turnovers to build a 20 point lead.

The titans were led by 17 points from Maegan Holt and 13 from Megan Witte as they improve to 12-1.  Atlantic was led by 11 points from Catherine Leonard as they fall to 0-13. Next up the Trojans have a home game on Tuesday night against Kuemper Catholic.

BOYS BASKETBALL
Lewis Central 69, Atlantic 63, OT
A-H-S-T-W, Avoca 94, Riverside, Oakland 21
ADM, Adel 70, Boone 65
Ar-We-Va, Westside 67, Glidden-Ralston 51
Audubon 62, Griswold 29
CAM, Anita 79, West Harrison, Mondamin 47
Carroll 79, Carlisle 78
Coon Rapids-Bayard 60, Woodbine 43
Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 50, Bishop Heelan Catholic, Sioux City 47
Creston 56, Denison-Schleswig 52
East Union, Afton 58, Southeast Warren, Liberty Center 46
Fremont Mills, Tabor 73, Clarinda Academy 34
Glenwood 75, St. Albert, Council Bluffs 62
Harlan 79, Clarinda 42
IKM-Manning 49, Treynor 39
Kuemper Catholic, Carroll 89, Red Oak 41
Lenox 78, Wayne, Corydon 70
Logan-Magnolia 69, Tri-Center, Neola 43
Martensdale-St. Marys 69, Bedford 57
Ogden 62, AC/GC 35
Panorama, Panora 47, West Central Valley, Stuart 39
Sergeant Bluff-Luton 75, Council Bluffs, Thomas Jefferson 35
Sidney 61, Essex 52
Southwest Valley 73, Pleasantville 69, OT
Stanton 52, East Mills 32
Twin Cedars, Bussey 67, Orient-Macksburg 63
Underwood 52, Missouri Valley 38
Winterset 53, Ballard 44

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Lewis Central 65, Atlantic 33
A-H-S-T-W, Avoca 47, Riverside, Oakland 43
Audubon 43, Griswold 27
Bishop Heelan Catholic, Sioux City 72, Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 60
Boone 46, ADM, Adel 37
CAM, Anita 70, West Harrison, Mondamin 33
Coon Rapids-Bayard 42, Woodbine 40
Denison-Schleswig 57, Creston 36
East Union, Afton 40, Southeast Warren, Liberty Center 30
Glidden-Ralston 68, Ar-We-Va, Westside 29
Logan-Magnolia 65, Tri-Center, Neola 39
Martensdale-St. Marys 55, Bedford 31
Ogden 51, AC/GC 31
Panorama, Panora 56, West Central Valley, Stuart 34
Red Oak 58, Kuemper Catholic, Carroll 48
Sergeant Bluff-Luton 61, Council Bluffs, Thomas Jefferson 33
Sidney 56, Essex 28
South Page 46, Heartland Christian 33
Southwest Valley 60, Pleasantville 57
St. Albert, Council Bluffs 50, Glenwood 40
Stanton 54, East Mills 37
Treynor 61, IKM-Manning 51
Twin Cedars, Bussey 35, Orient-Macksburg 29
Underwood 74, Missouri Valley 48
Wayne, Corydon 47, Lenox 38
Westwood, Sloan 70, West Monona, Onawa 44