Drake could not find a way to slow down Missouri Valley leader Belmont. The Bruins shot a sizzling 59 percent and made 17 three pointers to beat the Bulldogs 103-90 in Nashville.

That’s Drake coach Eric Henderson. The Bulldogs connected on 53 percent but 12 turnovers proved costly.

The Bulldogs fall to 12-12 overall and 6-7 in the Valley.

Iowa wrestling coach Tom Brands would like to see his team become more fanatical as the Hawkeyes try to turn their season around. The fifth ranked Hawkeyes take a 9-4 dual to second ranked Ohio State Friday night. The four losses are the most for the program since 2012.

Brands feels there is a lot of room for improvement.

It will be their second dual against Ohio State this season. The Buckeyes beat the Hawkeyes 27-12 at the National Duals in mid-November.

The Griswold Tigers benefited from a dominant second half effort en route to a 48-31 victory over the Sidney Cowboys Tuesday night. Despite it being a 20-19 game at half, Griswold stepped their foot on the gas and outscored Sidney 20-1 in the third quarter and never looked back. All night, the Tigers were stepping into passing lanes and using their size to their advantage. They turned what was a close game through two quarters into a blowout by the start of the fourth. Three Tigers finished in double digits in scoring which was the difference in the ball game. Great team basketball helped Griswold collect their second win of the season with the playoffs fast approaching.

The first half was fueled by an impressive performance from Dain Laverty, who poured in three three-pointers and added another two to lead all Tigers with 11 points at the half. Although they depended a lot on the performance of Laverty, it would require a collaborative effort to pull away later in the game. For Sidney it was very similar in the first half. Joseph Lutz was on fire to end the 2nd quarter which included a buzzer beater to pull within one point at half. He had 13 points in the first half. Griswold scored evenly between both of the first two quarters, scoring 10 points in each. The defense of the Tigers on everyone not named Joseph Lutz was a sign that all they had to do was stay consistent on the offensive end and put together a few defensive stops. Despite Griswold looking like the more well rounded team, it was still only a one point game.

To start the second half, it was apparent that Griswold went away from being a one man show and decided to get everyone involved. They also started to put together defensive stop and plenty of them. The defense they played was almost perfect, allowing only 1 point in the third quarter which came off of a singular free throw. Griswold combined the great defense with efficient offense, equaling their total from the first half in just the third quarter. By the beginning of the fourth quarter, the score had ballooned into 40-20 in favor of the Tigers. The biggest difference in the second half from the first was the involvement of Brayden Lockwood, who put up 14 points in the second half. Griswold ran a lot of offense through him that let Lockwood work near the rim and use a variety of layups to get to the rim. Sidney eventually ran out of gas after the third quarter and didn’t put up much fight in the fourth. Griswold cruised to a 48-31 victory for their 2nd win of the season. Head Coach Ryan Lockwood was pleased with his team’s effort and execution on Tuesday.

Coach Lockwood loved the ball movement paired with the effort shown by his guys:

He was proud of how Brayden Lockwood performed in the second half:

This win moves Griswold to 2-16 on the season. Their next matchup is against Stanton High School on Friday, February 6th at 7:30pm.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa senior Bennett Stirtz has been named the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week, it was announced Monday by the league office. It is his first career Big Ten honor.

Stirtz, who was named to the Bob Cousy Midseason Top 10 earlier today, shares the accolade with Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears, Jr.

The Liberty, Missouri, native earned the distinction after averaging 26 points, 4.5 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.5 rebounds in leading the Hawkeyes to a 2-0 week, extending the team’s winning streak to four games – the longest in Big Ten play since the 2022-23 season.  He shot 66.7 percent from the floor, 60 percent from 3-point range and was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line.

Stirtz finished with a career-high 32 points, seven assists and two steals without committing a turnover in Iowa’s 84-66 rout at Oregon on Feb. 1. He was 12-of-15 from the floor, 4-of-6 from 3-point range and 4-of-4 from the free throw line with the 12 field goals being a career high.

He is the first Iowa player to have 30+ points, 5+ assists and zero turnovers since Jordan Bohannon in 2022 and the first player in the StatHead era to have 30+ points, 6+ assists and zero turnovers. In the second half of the win, Stirtz eclipsed the 2,000-point mark for his collegiate career, becoming the eighth active player with 2,000+ points.

Stirtz opened the week with a 20-point, three-steal, three-rebound, and two-assist game in the win over USC on Jan. 18.  He went 6-of-6 from the free throw line, including making two free throws with 4.6 seconds left to give Iowa the one-point lead (and win).

Stirtz, who is the first Hawkeye to earn Big Ten weekly honors this season, has scored 20+ points in four straight games for the third time in his career and he’s the first Iowa player to accomplish the feat since the 2023-24 season.

Iowa (16-5, 6-4) returns to action Wednesday, facing Washington at 10 p.m. (CT) in Seattle.  The game will be televised on BTN.

Iowa coach Ben McCollum believes Hawkeyes guard Tavion Banks will play in Wednesday night’s game at Washington. Banks was limited to 11 minutes in Sunday night’s win at Oregon due to an undisclosed injury. He is averaging nearly 11 points and better than four rebounds per game and his play the last couple of weeks has been a big factor in Iowa’s four-game winning streak.

Banks is shooting a team best 52 percent from three point range for the Hawkeyes, who are 6-4 in the Big Ten. Washington is 4-7 in conference play after a win at Northwestern and McCollum says that record is deceiving.

Washington freshman center Hannas Steinbach is the Huskies leading scorer. The native of Germany is averaging more than 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Iowa’s lack of size is a factor against most Big Ten teams and it will be amplified against Washington.

McCollum has been trying to get his team ready for the time difference. Tip-off in Seattle will be 10pm, Iowa time.

BOYS

Western Iowa Conference 

AHSTW – 57 vs Logan-Magnolia – 52

Hawkeye Ten Conference 

Lewis Central – 70 vs Shenandoah – 48

Non-Conference

Carroll – 86 vs Atlantic – 56

Creston – 80 vs Clarke – 44

Winterset – 47 vs Harlan – 38

Red Oak – 69 vs Griswold – 25

Kuemper Catholic – 85 vs Storm Lake – 79

GIRLS

Western Iowa Conference 

AHSTW – 49 vs Logan-Magnolia – 27

Hawkeye Ten Conference 

Shenandoah – 52 vs Lewis Central – 48 

Non-Conference 

Harlan – 55 vs Winterset – 33

Creston – 64 vs Clarke – 59 (OT)

Griswold – 44 vs Red Oak – 34

Bedford – 59 vs Diagonal 27 

Missouri Valley – 62 vs Heartland Christian – 28

Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson says senior forward Tristan Smith may return to action Friday night when the Panthers host Bradley. Smith is averaging nearly 10 points and more than five rebounds per game but he has missed the last month due to a hip injury.

Jacobson expects Smith to bring effort and energy, even though it may take him some time to regain his form.

The Panthers are 14-9 overall and 6-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Three point defense has been a focus for the Drake men as they get ready for Tuesday night’s visit to Missouri Valley leader Belmont. The Bulldogs have given up 28 three pointers in their last two games and Belmont leads the Valley from behind the arch by averaging 10 threes per contest.

Seven-foot senior Isaiah Carr has provided a spark for a Drake team that is looking for more punch off the bench. Carr had five blacked shots in Saturday’s loss to Bradley.

Drake is 6-6 in the Valley.

The State Tournament brackets have been released for the IGHSAU State Wrestling Tournament.  Click the links below for full bracket pairings.

1a-state-tournament-brackets

2a-state-tournament-brackets

The 2026 IGHSAU Girls State Wrestling Tournament takes place Feb. 5-6, 2026 at Xtream Arena in Coralville.  We’ll have live coverage of results both days on KJAN!

CHARGER INVITATIONAL AT ACGC

1. Riverside – 196.5 pts

2. Eagle Grove – 169.5 pts

3. Earlham – 164 pts

5. ACGC – 137.5 pts

7. Nodaway Valley – 122.5 pts

10. Coon Rapids-Bayard – 73.5 pts

20. AHSTW – 16 pts

TOP FINISHERS

Riverside – Drew Anderson (1st – 138), Max Shanno (1st – 165), Mason ouser (3rd – 150), Wyat Bell (3rd – 215), Colton Hering (4th – 106), Kingston Carrigan (4th – 126), Maximus Applegate (5th – 113), Jaxon Gordon (5th – 157)

ACGC – Charlie Christensen (1st – 144), Carter Richter (1st – 215), Chase Slaybaugh (3rd – 120), Lane Stringer (4th – 157)

Nodaway Valley – Ty Strode (1st – 132), Caleb Christensen (1st – 190), Ahston Honnold (1st – 285), Josh Nelson (2nd – 113)

AHSTW – Roman Scheffler (5th – 285)

WHEELER INVITATIONAL 

1. Westwood – 224 pts

2. Audubon – 202 pts

3. Missouri Valley – 159.5 pts

6. Atlantic JV – 106 pts

8. CAM – 66 pts

TOP FINSIHERS

Audubon – Jon Rasmussen (1st – 138), Alex Henkel (1st – 190), Karsen Juelsgaard (2nd – 106), Leyton Elmquist (2nd – 113), Lane Elmquist (2nd – 126), Karter Obermeier (2nd – 150), Mason Kasperbauer (2nd – 165), Talan Petersen (2nd – 215), Mason Brand (3rd – 106), Lane Meyer (3rd – 285)

CAM – Brentyn Hoover (1st – 175), Kason Calhound (3rd – 144),

Atlantic JV – D’art Hansen (3rd – 138), Dayton Thomas (3rd – 165)

SOUTHWEST IOWA INVITATIONAL

1. I-35 – 227.5 pts

2. Logan-Magnolia – 217 pts

3. Woodbine – 159.5 pts

5. Southwest Valley – 122.5 pts

7. Tri-Center – 103.5 pts

8. Southwest – 57 pts

9. Griswold – 45.5 pts

TOP FINISHERS

Griswold – Sladynn Jones (3rd – 106), Dane Carey (5th – 165), Jaden Jensen (5th – 215)

Southwest Valley – Gavin Wetzel (1st – 165), Brody Crozier (2nd – 144), Ben Waddell (3rd – 126), Brody Sparks (3rd – 144), Hoyt Mendenhall (4th – 120), Carson Cooper (4th – 157)

Tri-Center – Tucker Olsen (3rd – 132), Noah Goodwin (3rd – 150)