First half surge by Bears seals NC’s fate

  WEST BRANCH — A big first half by West Branch was enough to send the Bears onto the next round of the tournament trail in girl’s basketball last Tuesday. The Knights fell behind 36 to 15 at halftime as the Bears took a 69-46 district quarterfinal game over North Cedar on their home floor.
West Branch led most of the first quarter. North Cedar trailed by five, 11-6 with three minutes left and by six, 14 to 8 with two minutes left in the opening quarter. The Knights were then outscored 7-1 over the final two minutes as the Bears led 21-9 after the first quarter. West Branch outscored
the Knights 15-6 in the second half to take a halftime lead of 36-15.
  North Cedar found some offense in the third quarter, scoring in double digits as a team in the quarter, but West Branch outscored the Knights 15-11 in the quarter.
  West Branch led 51-26 after three quarters. North Cedar opened the final quarter on a 5-0 run to string back-to-back possessions with a bucket together, and the Knights outscored the Bears 20 to 18 in the final quarter. North Cedar played the Bears well in the second half as West Branch only outscored the Knights by two points, 33 to 31 in the second half.
  North Cedar junior Darby Hawtrey led North Cedar in scoring with 18 points while Leah Crock scored 9, as did Lexi Crist.
  West Branch nearly shot 50-percent for the game, making 24-of-50 shot attempts. The Bears guards stepped up big, combining for 49 of the 69 Bear points in the game. Senior Haley Mullinix scored a team high 26 on 11-of-16 shooting including making three of five three-point attempts. Tatum Koenig scored 23 on 6-of-13 shooting with two three points and a good day at the free throw line, making 9-of-10. West Branch had 40 rebounds in the game as Abbey Knoop grabbed a team high 12.
North Cedar ends the season 9-13. The Knights overcame a season ending injury to senior guard Emily Hay to nearly win 10 games this season. North Cedar will say goodbye to seniors Emily Hay, Kourtney Bendixen and Lakaya Lyon. North Cedar will return six juniors and a sophomore giving them seven of their rotation players back next season.

West Branch 69, North Cedar 46
Tuesday, February 14
At West Branch
1 2 3 4 Final
North Cedar 9 6 11 20 46
West Branch 21 15 15 18 69
NORTH CEDAR (46): Tessa Fields (g) 0 1-3 1, Lexi Crist (g) 2 4-4 9, Kourtney Bendixen (g) 1 0-0 2, Darby Hawtrey (f) 8 1-1 18, Leah Crock (f) 4 1-1 9, Grace Proesch 3 1-1 7, Nicole Sander 0 0-0 0, Lakaya Lyon 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 8-14 46.
WEST BRANCH (69): Abbey Fryauf (f) 0-1 0-0 0, Paige Miller (g) 5-11 0-0 11, Abby Knoop (f) 0-1 0-3 0, Tatum Koenig (g) 6-13 9-10 23, Haley Mullinix (g) 11-16 1-2 26, Courtney Jarrett 0-0 2-2 2, Riley Vaughan 1-2 0-0 3, Taylor Thein 0-0 0-0 0, Maddi Luneckas 0-0 0-0 0, Allie Waterman 0-1 0-0 0, Kaiya Lunecaks 0-0 0-2 0, Claire Bridges 0-0 0-0 0, Mackenzie Heise 1-5 2-3 4. Totals: 24-50 14-22 69.
West Branch Statistics:
3-Pt. FG: 7-20 (Mullinix 3-5, Koenig 2-7, Miller 1-6, Vaughan 1-1, Waterman 0-1). Rebounds: 40 (Knoop 12, Fryauf 8). Assists: 12 (Miller 4, Mullinix 4). Steals: 16 (Mullinix 6, Miller 4). Blocked Shots: 1 (Fryauf 1). Total Fouls: West Branch 16. Fouled Out: West Branch none.

14th ranked Wildcats Sideline Beavers, 66-50
  DELHI — The 14th ranked Maquoketa Valley Wildcats sent the Wilton Beavers to the sidelines, ending their season with a 66-50 loss in Delhi. The Wildcats advanced to play top-ranked Iowa City Regina in the Region 7 semifinal. The Beavers were coming off of their seventh postseason victory in 10 years with a first round win over Lisbon. The Beavers have won their first round playoff game for the sixth time in ten years.
  Wilton fell behind 21-13 after the first quarter, but cut the Wildcat lead by four points, outscoring the Wildcats 20-16 in the second quarter to put the halftime score at 37-33.
Wilton’s offense started slow in the second half and only produced six points in the third quarter. The Beaver defense, held the Wildcats to their lowest point total in a quarter in the third, 13 but still trailed 50-39. Maquoketa Valley outscored Wilton 16-11 in the final quarter.
  The Beavers shot 40-percent for the game and shot very well from the free throw line, making 13 of 14 attempts.
  Wilton had three double digit scorers in the game. Emily Lange had a team high 15 points to lead Wilton. Kortney Drake scored 14 points and had 4 rebounds, 5 steals and 2 steals. Drake has scored in double digits in each of the four postseason games she has played in and has averaged 16.3 points a game in the postseason.
  Aubrey Putman had a team high in rebounds with 5 and steals with 2 and blocked shots with 1.
Maquoketa Valley was led by three double figure scorers, all starters. Sam Wall scored 23 points and had 5 asssists and 4 rebounds to lead the Wildcats. Payton Ries scored 17 points and had 6 rebounds and Brianna Mensen scored 14 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, had 4 steals and 2 assists. The Wildcats shot 48-percent from the field (23-for-47) and nearly were perfect from the free throw line, shooting 15-for-17. The Wildcats had 10 offensive rebounds in the game.
  The Beavers end the season 13-10. The 13-win total was more wins than the combined win total for 2014 (5), 2015 (2) and 2016 (5). The 13-win total also was the first time since the 2011 season that Wilton has won more than 10 games in a season. The Beavers had double-digit win seasons in three of four seasons in 2009 and 2010 and 2008.

Maquoketa Valley 66, Wilton 50
Tuesday, February 14
At Delhi
1 2 3 4 Final
Wilton 13 20 6 11 50
M-V 21 16 13 16 66
WILTON (50): Kaylee Ford (g) 5-9 0-0 10, Kortney Drake (g) 6-12 2-2 14, Hannah Christensen (f) 1-6 4-4 6, Emily Lange (f) 4-10 7-8 15, Aubrey Putman (f) 1-6 0-0 2, Falloyn Grunder 1-1 0-0 3, Lexi Maurer 0-1 0-0 0, Kali Milder 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 18-45 13-14 50.
MAQUOKETA VALLEY (66): Sam Wall (g) 7-15 6-6 23, Brianna Mensen (g) 5-7 4-4 14, Macy Hoeger (g) 0-0 0-0 0, Payton Ries (f) 7-15 3-5 17, Gracie Gellersen (f) 2-6 0-0 6, Caitlin Schumann 0-0 0-0 0, Abby Holtz 0-0 0-0 0, Olivia Hoeger 0-1 0-0 0, Maci Frieburger 2-3 2-2 6. Totals: 23-47 15-17 66.
3-Pt. FG: Wilton 1-8 (Grunder 1-1, Putman 0-2, Lange 0-2, Drake 0-2, Maurer 0-1), MV 5-12 (Wall 3-7, Gellersen 2-4, Mensen 0-1). Rebounds: Wilton 16 (Putman 5, Lange 4, Drake 4, Christensen 2, Maurer 1), MV 31 (Mensen 7, Ries 6). Assists: Wilton 10 (Drake 5, Christensen 4, Ford 1), MV 14 (Wall 5). Steals: Wilton 4 (Putman 2, Drake 2), MV 9 (Mensen 4). Blocked Shots: Wilton 1 (Putman 1), MV none. Total Fouls: Wilton 14, MV N/A. Fouled Out: Wilton Putman, MV N/A.

Indians offense too much for Knights in districts

  CAMANCHE — The North Cedar Knights had a tough time with one of the top scoring
boy’s basketball team in any class. Last Thursday, in a class 2A district semifinal, the North Cedar Knights saw their season end at the hands of state ranked Camanche, 88-59 on the Indians
home floor. The Indians will play Northeast Goose Lake in a 2A District final on Tuesday,
with the winner advancing to to a class 2A substate Saturday in Muscatine against the winner of West Branch-Tipton who play in the other district final.
  The Indians led 20 to 12 after the first quarter, but Camanche really broke the game open in the second quarter, outscoring North Cedar 27 to 12 in the second quarter to take a 47-24 halftime lead.
North Cedar tried to rally, not wanting their season to end, outscoring the Indians 21 to 18 to set the score at 65-45 after three quarters. Camanche then outscored North Cedar 23 to 14 in the final quarter to take the 88-59 win.
  Logan Minar led North Cedar in scoring with 17 points and rebounding with 9 points. Knight leading scorer Carter Johnson scored three more points than his season average (12.9), scoring 15 points including drilling 3-of-5 shots from the three-point line. Mason Minar scored 11 points and Aaron Woodward chipped in 9 points.
  Camanche was led in scoring by Dev Patel with 20 points. Dylan Hundley recorded a triple
double scoring 19 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and dishing out 10 assists. Two others reached double figures with Dakota Soenksen with 14 and Cameron Soenksen with 11. Camanche held a rebound advantage of 40 to 26 in the game. North Cedar shot 9-for-13 from the free throw line and Camanche
shot 9-of-12 from the free throw line.
  The Knights lost both games to Camanche this season. The Knights lost 82-50 at Camanche
in their first game back from Christmas break on January 3 and at Camanche on February 7, 71-43 at home. North Cedar ends the season 9-14, winning six of those games after Christmas break and going 6-9 in their final 15 games.

Camanche 88, North Cedar 59
Thursday, February 16
At Camanche
1 2 3 4 Final
N. Cedar 12 12 21 14 59
Camanche 20 27 18 23 88
NORTH CEDAR (59): Ethan Sahr (g) 1-6 0-0 3, Mason Minar (g) 3-11 5-6 11, Carter Johnson (g) 6-13 0-0 15, Aaron Woodward (f) 3-8 1-2 9, Logan Minar (f) 7-10 3-5 17, Andrew Reif 0-1 0-0 0, Jacob Jensen 1-5 0-0 2, Keon McCullough 0-0 0-0 0, Brady Lehrman 0-0 0-0 0, Owen Meyer 1-2 0-0 2, Tyler Alexander 0-0 0-0 0, Greg Hansen 0-1 0-0 0, Seb Curley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 22-57 9-13 59.
CAMANCHE (88): Dev Patel (g) 6-10 4-4 20, Dakota Soenksen (g) 4-11 2-2 14, Cameron Soenksen (g) 4-11 1-2 11, Dylan Hundley (f) 8-10 2-4 19, David Gonzalez (f) 4-7 0-0 8, Cade Borrison 0-0 0-0 0, Evan Hall 0-0 0-0 0, Ethan Schafer 0-0 0-0 0, Tre Austin 3-3 0-0 8, Carson Seeser 0-1 0-0 0, Calvin Ottens 4-7 0-0 8. Totals: 33-60 9-12 88.
3-Pt. FG: NC 6-15 (Johnson 3-5, Woodward
2-4, Sahr 1-5, Hansen 0-1), Camanche
13-27 (Patel 4-7, D. Soenksen 4-9, C. Soenksen 2-5, Hundley 1-3, Seeser 0-1). Rebounds: NC 26 (L. Minar 9, Johnson 7, M. Minar 5, Meyer 3, Woodward 2), Camanche 40 (Hundley 13, Gonzalez 7). Assists: NC 5 (M. Minar 3, Woodward 1, Jensen 1), Camanche 16 (Hundley 10). Steals: NC 4 (Sahr 2, M. Minar 1, Johnson
1), Camanche 11 (D. Soenksen 4). Blocked Shots: NC 6 (L. Minar 4, Woodward
1, Jensen 1), Camanche none. Total Fouls: NC 12, N/A. Fouled Out: NC Logan Minar. Camanche N/A.

JV boys split pair of games

By Ryan Stonebraker
Sports Editor, Tipton Conservative

  The Tipton junior varsity basketball team split a pair of road games, winning 59-33 at Wilton on January 31 and falling to Monticello 49-43 on February 3. Their record now stands at 11-8 with two games left at Iowa City Regina and at Calamus-Wheatland.
  Luke Becker continued his torrid shooting at Wilton as he connected on five three pointers
on his way to 18 points. The Tigers made a total of nine three pointers in the game, including eight in the first half as they raced out to a 31-16 lead. Tipton then used a 17-10 scoring advantage in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.
  Balanced scoring was the key to the Tigers success as Trent Pelzer (9) Connor Hermiston (8), Blake Wilkins (7), Jared Hightower (6), Elliot Cummins (6) and Bryce Deerberg (5) all contributed on the offensive end. Hermiston also had eight rebounds and two assists, Pelzer
added two assists and four steals and Wilkins grabbed five rebounds.
  On February 3, Tipton traveled to Monticello and outscored the Panthers in each of the first three quarters, leading 35-29 heading into the fourth quarter. The Tigers then went cold from the field and committed several costly turnovers, allowing Monticello to use a 20-8 fourth quarter advantage to hand the Tigers a 49-43 defeat.
  “It was just one of those games when we went cold and they got hot, making four three pointers in the final quarter,” said Tipton coach Gene Schroeder.
  Luke Becker once again led Tipton offensively as he collected 17 points on the night. Becker has now scored in double figures in each of the nine games since the holiday break. Only three other players scored for Tipton as Trent Pelzer also hit double figures with 12. Blake Wilkins chipped in with eight and Quinten Mesick had six. Mesick also had a great night rebounding with a total of nine while Pelzer had four assists and two steals.

Tipton 59, Wilton 33
January 31
At Wilton
1 2 3 4 Final
Tipton 19 12 17 11 59
Wilton 7 9 10 7 33
TIPTON (59): Trent Pelzer 4-9 0-1 9, Conner Hermiston 1-3 6-6 8, Jared Hightower 2-5 0-0 6, Bryce Deerberg 2-3 0-0 5, Colby Kleppe 0-0 0-0 0, Luke Becker 6-11 1-3 18, Blake Wilkins 1-1 5-7 7, Quinten Mesick 0-0 0-0 0, Andrew Comstock 0-1 0-0 0, Elliot Cummins 2-4 2-5 6. Totals: 18-36 14-22 59.
3-Pt. FG: 9-16 (Becker 5-8, Hightower 2-2, Deerberg 1-2, Pelzer 1-3, Hermiston 0-1). Rebounds: 23 (Hermiston 8, Wilkins 5, Mesick 3, Hightower 2, Pelzer 2, Becker 1, Comstock 1). Assists: 8 (Pelzer 2, Hermiston 2, Becker 2, Kleppe 1, Wilkins 1). Steals: 12 (Pelzer 4, Becker 2, Mesick 2, Cummins 2, Wilkins 1, Hermiston 1).

Monticello 49, Tipton 43
February 3
1 2 3 4 Final
Tipton 7 12 16 8 43
Monticello 6 11 12 20 49
TIPTON (43): Trent Pelzer 5-12 0-0 12, Conner Hermiston 0-6 0-0 0, Byce Deerberg 0-1 0-0 0, Luke Becker 6-11 2-2 17, Blake Wilkins 3-8 2-2 8, Quinten Mesick 3-5 0-0 6. Totals: 17-43 4-4 43.
3-Pt. FG: 5-14 (Becker 3-7, Pelzer 2-6, Hermiston
0-1). Rebounds: 27 (Mesick 9, Hermiston 5, Becker 5, Deerberg 4, Pelzer 2). Assists: 10 (Pelzer 4, Deerberg 2, Hermiston 1, Becker 1, Wilkins 1, Mesick 1). Steals: 6 (Pelzer 2, Wilkins 2, Deerberg 1, Hermiston 1).

Wilton Wrestles At State

By Ryan Stonebraker
Sports Editor, Tipton Conservative

  The Wilton Beavers had three state qualifiers at the state meet last week. They were Cory Anderson at 126, Trey Brisker at 145 and Bryce Oveson at 182. Of those three, two were placewinners and all three gained valuable state tournament experience.
Sophomore Cory Anderson won one match and lost two at the state meet and finished the season 36-14. Anderson won a 6-4 decision over Austin Flynn from Ogden in the first round. Flynn was a sectional champion and a district runner-up after having to win a wrestleback match. Flynn was unranked going into the state meet and had 35 wins coming into state.
  In the match, Cory Anderson scored the first points of the match a two-point takedown, 30 seconds in. Flynn scored escaped Anderson to put the score at 2-1 after the first period.
Flynn outscored Anderson 3-1 in the second period with an escape and a takedown to take a 4-3 lead to the final period. Anderson came out aggressive in the final period and tied the match at 4-4 with an escape with 1:23 left in the match and took a 6-4 lead with 1:04 left in the match. Anderson
would hang on to get the decision win.
  In the quarterfinals, Anderson faced second ranked Kody Berg from Westwood. There, Berg fell via pin in 1:48. Berg scored a takedown with 39 seconds left in the match for a 2-0 lead, moments later, he recorded the pin. Berg would go on to place 3rd and finish 46-2. One of his two losses was in the semifinals.
  That loss sent Anderson to the consolation round where he fell to another state ranked opponent,
5th ranked Ben Moyer from Alburnett. Anderson lost by a 17-1 technical fall in 4:16. Anderson scored his only point in the first period on an escape, but trailed 8-1 after one period. Moyer outscored Anderson 7-0 in the second period and led 15-1 after two periods. Moyer would finish 4th after losing to Berg in the 3rd place match. Moyer finished the year 44-12.
  Wilton junior Trey Brisker placed 3rd at 145. He was ranked #3 at 145. He finishes the year 44-6. Brisker won a 7-1 decision over Kaleb Boleyn of Waterloo Columbus in the first round. Boleyn was ranked #4 at 145. Brisker led 2-0 after one-period after scoring a takedown with 49 seconds left in the period. Brisker took a 4-0 lead to the third period after his second takedown of the match. Brisker outscored Boleyn 3-1 in the final period to get the 7-1 win.
  In the quarterfinals, Brisker won an 11-2 major decision over #7 Logan Scheuermann of AC/GC. Brisker took control of the match in the second period, scoring seven points from two takedowns and a 3-point near fall. That win put Brisker in the semifinals and was his second
win over a top-10 wrestler.
  In the semifinals, was pinned by 2nd ranked Dylan Schuck from Sibley Ocheyedan in 3:34. The loss sent Brisker to the consolation round. Schuck placed second to Trent Johnson of Dike-New Hartford who won the 145-pound weight class. Schuck finished the year with a record of 51-1 with his only loss to Johnson in the finals.
  Brisker met Boleyn again in the consolation round, and took an 8-2 win to get to the third place match. Brisker led 2-0 after the first and 6-0 after the second period after scoring a takedown and a 2-point nearfall.
  Each wrestler scored two points in the final period.
  In the third place match, Brisker beat #10 Braydon Nunemaker from East Buchanan by a 7-4 to claim third place. Brisker led 2-0 after scoring a takedown in the first period. Brisker took a 6-1 lead after two periods. Nunemaker tried to get points late, scoring a takedown with 8 seconds left to get the score to 7-4, but it was too little, too late.
  Wilton senior Bryce Oveson finally made the podium after missing on previous trips to the state meet. Oveson placed 4th at the weight class and ends the season with a record of 40-5. Oveson was ranked #4 entering state.
  In the first round, Oveson won a 5-3 decision over Dante Arzani from I-35, Truro to get to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, Oveson won a 6-4 decision over Daniel Bishop from Hinton. Bishop was ranked #2. The win sent Oveson to the semifinals.
Oveson started well in the match, leading 4-1 after the first period. Oveson got two takedowns and only gave up an escape in the period. Oveson led 6-2 after getting his third takedown of the match in the period. Bishop scored two points in the final period, but could not get closer than the final score of 6-4.
  In the semifinals, Oveson lost 3-0 to #3 Alec McDowell of Maquoketa Valley. McDowell
led 2-0 after getting a takedown in the first period. McDowell extended his lead to 3-0 after a second period escape. McDowell would go on to win the 182-pound weight class. He finished the season with a record of 49-2.
  In the consolation round, Oveson beat Zach Ryg of Central Springs by a 4-2 decision. Ryg was ranked #9 at 182. Oveson led 2-1 after the first period. Ryg tied the game at 2-2 after two periods. Oveson won the match with a takedown with 26 seconds left in the match. Ryg finished 6th and ended the year with a record of 41-7.
  In the third place match, Oveson faced Bishop again. This time, Bishop got the win, 4-2 in overtime. The match was scoreless after three periods. Oveson scored a reversal in overtime while Bishop scored four points. Bishop ends the year 39-1 with his only loss to Oveson.
  Lisbon won the class 1A team title with 97.5 points. The Lions also won the state dual tournament last Wednesday. Don Bosco placed second with 76 points and Sibley-Ocheyedan placed third with 75 points.

Emrich wins one at state tournament

By Ryan Stonebraker
Sports Editor, Tipton Conservative

 DES MOINES - Tipton junior Ben Emrich reached the state tournament in Des Moines for the second straight season with a spot in the 120-pound, 16-man state bracket. There, Emrich faced two top-5 ranked opponents and won a match to wrap up a stellar season. Emrich was ranked #10 in class 1A at 120 and had 40 match wins going into the state meet. He was a sectional champion and district runner-up to qualify for the state meet last week at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.
  Emrich began his state quest last Thursday with an opening match against Connor Lange of Missouri Valley. Lange was ranked #5 at the weight class and beat Emrich by a 4-2 decision.
Emrich broke a scoreless match open in the second period with a takedown for a 2-0 lead after two. Lange scored a takedown in the third period to tie the match at 2-2, and a late called 2-point nearfall gave him the narrow 2-point win. Lange lost in the quarterfinals to Brock Henderson of North Linn and then lost to #6 Tatem Bluml from Oakland, Riverside in the consolation round and was eliminated. Lange finished the season with a record of 40-4.
  Emrich faced elimination himself Thursday afternoon after losing in the first round. In the consolation round, he faced Trey Schuck from Sibley-Ocheyedan who lost to Henderson
in the first round by a 19-4 tech fall. In the match, Emrich won by pin in 3:44. Emrich claimed the match after leading 7-0 in the second period. He scored all seven points in the first period with a takedown and a 3-point and 2-point nearfall. He pinned Schuck with 16 seconds left in the second period. Schuck finished the season with a record of 39-10.
  That set up an interesting match for Emrich. Emrich had to wait for the quarterfinal round to take place to see his consolation opponent. There, he would face with the #1 guy at 120 (Brady Kyner of SE Warren) or the #2 guy (Gable Fox of Don Bosco). Kyner would beat Fox by a 7-1 decision. He would advance to the finals, where he lost to Henderson from North Linn. Kyner finished the season 52-1 with his only loss in the state finals. Against Fox, he broke open a 0-0 match after one period with a 4-1 point run in the second period. He scored a takedown with 1:20 left in the period and a 2-point nearfall eight seconds later. Fox would escape with 30 seconds left in the period and avoided getting pinned. Kyner started down in the third period and got an escape and a takedown to get the 7-1 win.
  Emrich had an incredible opportunity to face a top-2 ranked opponent. There, he fell behind Fox 4-0 early with a takedown with 1:06 left in the period and scored a 2-point near fall with 56 seconds left in the period. Fox scored the pin in 1:36 to end Emrich’s season.
  Emrich finished the season with a record of 41-6 with two of those losses at state. Emrich claimed his 100th match win of the season and qualified for the state meet for the second time. Fox went on to place third after pinning his next three consolation opponents including 4th ranked Will Portis from Rockford in the third place match.  Fox ends the season with a record of 32-2 with one of those losses to Kyner in the quarterfinals.



Tipton Results:
120 - Ben Emrich (41-6) - lost a 4-2 decision to Connor Lange (Missouri Valley) in first round; pinned Trey Schuck (Sibley-Ocheyedan) in 3:44 in consolation round; pinned in 1:36 by Gable Fox (Don Bosco) in consolation round.

Tigers take down 18-win Falcon team, 78-66

 
By Ryan Stonebraker
Sports Editor, Tipton Conservative

BURLINGTON — The Tipton boy’s basketball team won their 13th game of the season and advanced to Tuesday’s District Final game in West Liberty with a big 78-66 victory over an 18-3 West Burlington squad that is in the top-5 in scoring in class 2A. The Falcons came into the game averaging 72.6 points a game. Tipton held them to six points under their season scoring average and, the Tigers did something that only one other team has done against the Falcons thus far and that is score 78 points. Mt. Pleasant scored 80 against the Falcons in an 80-62 win earlier this season. The Tigers surpassed the Falcons average points allowed in a game, 52.0 in the third quarter of the ball game.
  Tipton basketball coach Matt Fouch said that the win was big for not only his team, but the school too.
  “We addressed it (how getting to a district final is rare at Tipton). This program and to an extent, the school doesn’t have a signature win. Not only for them, but for the school we needed a signature win. On paper, they (West Burlington) were better than us. An 18-3 team, conference champion, four double figure scorers, on paper they were better. Tonight, we were the better team. We brought energy and we got a big road win. Tipton seems to have never gotten over that hump of beating a big time team and tonight we did,” said Fouch.
  Tipton shot the basketball very well in the game. The Tigers shot 50-percent from the field in the game, making 20-of-40 shots. The Tigers were 32-for-47 from the free throw line in the game, something that helped with the win. The Tigers also shot 6-for-18 from the three-point line with four different players making a three-point shot.
  The Tigers advanced to play in a class 2A district final Tuesday in West Liberty. Originally, the district final was scheduled for Muscatine, but as the tournament progressed the state moved the game to Washington.
  After the Tigers beat West Burlington and West Branch beat Wapello, the state moved the district final to West Liberty. The Bears were 17-5 entering the game after beating Wapello at home in a district semi-final game. West Branch finished
the regular season as the River Valley Conference South champions.
  The district final game is one that Tipton has not been to many times over the history of the Tiger program.
  In recent history, Tipton was last in a district final in 2008 when the Tigers lost 56-54 to Davenport Assumption in a game played at Pleasant Valley High School. Tipton advanced to what is believed its only substate game in 2004 beatingSolon 64-45 at Cedar Rapids Xavier. The Tigers lost to NE Goose Lake in the substate game. The Tigers also played in the district final game in 1999, losing 54-51 to Bellevue at Clinton High School.
  Fouch said that his team was well prepared and that was key.
  “We were well prepared. We only had two practices to get ready for a team that you have never seen, you don’t have a lot of time to get ready. I give our guys a lot of credit. They were focused in practice and it showed tonight. We went over our game plan and they executed it,” he said.
  “I thought we had the most energy we have in a game this year. We put together our best 32 minutes of the year,” said Fouch.
  Tipton sent an early message to West Burlington that they were carrying the RVC banner into the game and jumped to a 5-2 lead behind two Logan Hoffman free throws and a three pointer by Andrew Stewart.
  Hoffman would score six of the first eight Tiger points in of the first eight Tiger points in the game as Tipton built a 9-4 lead less than three minutes into the game.
  A big play came with 5:10 left in the opening quarter. A Daulton Mente steal and ensuing breakout layup was blocked, but a hustling Zach Ford followed the shot, got the rebound, and put it back in to give Tipton an 11-4 lead and cement the aggressive play that Tipton packed for their road game.
West Burlington came back, they are too good not to, using an 8-1 run to tie the game at 12-12 with 3:19 left in the opening quarter. It would be the closest that they would come the rest of the game to getting the lead. The Falcons led early, 2-0 after a Caleb Honieg bucket to start the game. The Tigers would not trail again after Hoffman made two free throws to tie the game at 2-2.
Tipton would take a 14-13 lead after the opening quarter.
  West Burlington came into the game known for their pressure defense. Early on, the Tigers broke the Falcons press in three of the four times they slapped it on. Tipton had seven turnovers to the Falcons six in the opening quarter.
  Tipton extended their lead to 17-13 on their first possession of the second quarter when Stewart connected on his second three pointer of the game. The Tiger lead would swell to, at the time the biggest, nine points on Logan Hoffman’s 11th first half point, an elbow jumper to put the score at 27-18 with 4:36 left in the half.
  Later, Andrew Stewart’s third three of the half went in after hitting the back iron and catching the front of the rim with the backspin of the ball and dropping through the net to give Tipton their first double digit lead, 30-20. On the ensuing Falcon possession, West Burlington tried to get the ball into Tate Snodgrass, but Hoffman, playing good post defense, poked the pass away. Stewart scooped up the ball and sprinted to the other end. His lay-up bounced off the rim, but a hustling Hoffman who was trailing on the play got the rebound and put the ball back in to give Tipton a 12-point, 32-20 lead, their biggest of the half. A big three pointer by Brendon Claussen with 1:46 before halftime gave Tipton a 35-22 lead. The Falcons scored the final four points of the half to get the halftime score to 35-26.
  Tipton shot 11-for-27 from the field in the first half, including 4-of-10 in the first quarter and 7-for-17 in the second quarter. The Tigers made four three pointers in the first half. The Falcons got more shots up in the second quarter than the first, but shot 9-for-30 in the first half and 1-of-5 from the three point line.
  The third quarter saw the Falcons outscored the Tigers in a quarter for the first time in the game at 15 to 13. Tipton outscored the Falcons by one-point in the first quarter and eight points in the second.
West Burlington cut the Tiger lead to 5, 37-32 after a Snodgrass
bucket. That hoop was the only Falcon points from the floor through the 4:00 minute mark as the Falcons were 1-for-13 from the field to start the third quarter. West Burlington did their damage in the final half of the quarter.
  Luke Becker made a three pointer with 2:07 left in the quarter to give Tipton a 10-point, 44-34 lead and a Daulton Mente steal and lay-up again gave Tipton a 9-point lead, 48-39 late. The Tigers would lead 48-41 after three quarters. The Falcons put up 21 shots in the quarter, but only made four of them, including missing on all four three-point attempts. Four different Tigers scored in the quarter, one that saw Tipton make 5-of-11 shots from the field.
  Tipton had control of the basketball game in the fourth quarter. The Tigers were content
to make their points from the free throw line, as Tipton had 27 attempts in the final quarter, making 20 of their 30, fourth quarter points. The Tigers held double digit leads for most of the quarter and had a high of 15 towards the end of the game. Rooks Derosear made two three pointers in the quarter, each getting the Tiger lead under 10 points, but West Burlington could not get the score under eight points either time. The Falcons shot 9-for-15 in the final quarter, and scored the most points they scored in the four quarters in the final quarter, but it was too late.
  Tipton’s second leading scorer Andrew Stewart fouled out of the game with just over six minutes left in the game.
  “Everyone contributed tonight. When your second leading scorer fouls out with 6 minutes left. Luke, Brendon and Jacob all came off the bench tonight and played well, hit a shot and did some nice things when they had a chance,” said Fouch.
  Two Tigers scored in double figures in the basketball game. Logan Hoffman recorded his 7th double-double of the season, pouring in 34 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. He has had a double-double in five straight ball games. The Falcons had no answer for Hoffman, who got to the free throw line 22 times in the game, making 20 of those attempts. Andrew Stewart scored 16 points including three-, three pointers. Stewart made 7-of-9 free throw attempts.
Daulton Mente scored 9 points, grabbed 5 rebounds and had 2 assists while Zach Ford and Frank Bierman each had 4 points.
  All eight Tigers who played scored. Jacob Tischuk and Brendon Claussen each had 4 points and Luke Becker had 3. Ford led in assists with 3 and Tischuk and Ford tied for the steal lead with 2 each.
Tate Snodgrass led Falcon scorers with 17 points. Snodgrass averaged 15.0 points a game, one of four West Burlington players to do so in the regular season. Rooks Derosear scored 10 points and had six of his points coming from three pointers in the fourth quarter. Derosear made 40 three pointers this season coming into the game. Tanner Snodgrass scored 9 and Travon Ashby 8.
  The Falcons end the season 18-4 and set a school record for wins in a season. The Falcons were the champions of the Southeast Iowa Super Conference
and the SEISC South division.

Tipton 78, West Burlington 66
Thursday, February 16
At West Burlington
1 2 3 4 Final
Tipton 14 21 13 30 78
W-B 13 13 15 25 66
TIPTON (78): Zach Ford (g) 1-6 2-3 4, Daulton Mente (g) 4-8 0-6 9, Andrew Stewart (g) 3-9 7-7 16, Frank Bierman (f) 2-2 0-3 4, Logan Hoffman (f) 7-9 20-22 34, Luke Becker 1-4 0-0 3, Brendon Claussen 1-1 1-2 4, Jacob Tischuk 1-1 2-2 4. Totals: 20-40 32-47 78.
W-B (66): Tanner Snodgrass 3-9 3-4 9, Rel Greer 3-6 0-0 6, Rooks Derosear 2-7 4-4 10, Dayton Johnson 1-2 0-0 2, Travon Ashby 2-7 4-14 8, Jayden Breuer 1-1 0-0 3, Tate Snodgrass 7-20 3-5 17, Colten Hohenthaner 0-0 0-0 0, Caleb Hoenig 3-11 4-4 11, Shavontae Nelson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 22-57 18-31 66.
3-Pt. FG: Tipton 6-18 (Stewart 3-7, Becker 1-4, Mente 1-3, Claussen 1-1, Hoffman 0-2), WB 4 (Derosear 2, Breuer 1, Hoenig 1). Rebounds: Tipton 38 (Hoffman 13, Bierman 8, Mente 5, Tischuk 3, Claussen 3, Stewart 3, Ford 2, Becker 1). Assists: Tipton 9 (Ford 3, Mente 2, Stewart 1, Tischuk 1, Bierman 1, Hoffman 1). Steals: Tipton 6 (Tischuk 2, Ford 2, Mente 1, Bierman 1). Blocked Shots: Tipton none. Total Fouls: Tipton 22. Fouled Out: Tipton Stewart.

Regina bounces Tigers from postseason, 80-40

 By Ryan Stonebraker
Sports Editor, Tipton Conservative

  IOWA CITY — The top ranked team in class 2A, Iowa City Regina Regals, advanced to a Region 7 semifinal game after beating Tipton 80-40 in girl’s basketball last Tuesday at home. The Regals and Tigers played a week earlier with Tipton falling 76-44, but, that game was much closer than the postseason contest. The Regals swept both meetings in the regular season, a 67-20 win at Tipton
and a 76-44 win at home on February 7. In the game on the 7th, Tipton hung with the Regals in the first quarter and trailed 40-32 with 5-minutes left in the third quarter, before a 21-4 Regal run put the game out of reach.
  Last Tuesday, the Regals wasted little time giving Tipton any positive footing, racing out to a 25-2 lead in the first five minutes of the game. The Tigers struggled with the Regal press and had many turnovers in the opening minutes of the ball game. Tipton settled down late in the quarter, ending the first quarter on a 7-0 run to get the score to 25-9 after the first quarter.
  The Regals, responded to the Tigers shift in momentum with a big run, one that they have used in countless RVC contests this winter to take control of games. Regina outscored the Tigers 32 to 10 in the quarter. The Regals held the Tigers scoreless for the first three minutes of the second quarter and used a 14-0 run to take a 39-9 lead with 5:00 left in the half. The Regals would lead 57-19 at halftime.
  The 35-point running clock mercy rule was used in the entire second half. The Tigers played better in the third quarter, scoring 11 points against the Regals 14.
  Tipton was led in scoring by a pair of sophomores. Amanda Smith led Tipton scorers with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting and 1-of-1 from the free throw line. Smith also led Tipton rebouders with 8. Sophomore guard Emily Hermsen scored 11 points and made three, three-point baskets. Those brought her season total to 44, breaking former Tipton basketball player Ashley Miller’s school record of 42 made 3’s in a season.
  Regina was led in scoring by Sarah Lehman with 24 points. Lehman could not miss in the basketball game, making 10-for-10 from the floor and shot 4-for-5 from the free throw line. Alex Wiese scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for a double-double. Kennedy Wallace scored 10. Regina made 8 three-point baskets in the game.
  The Tigers end the season with a record of 7-16, one-win shy of last year’s eight total and remarkable with the personel that either graduated or are no longer with the program. The Tigers arguably were playing their best basketball at the end of the season and won their first, first round postseason game since 2013 to get to their game last week with Regina. The Tigers will return four starters after seeing seniors Kailee Meyer and Rylee Conrad graduate.

Iowa City Regina 80, Tipton 40
Tuesday, February 14
At Iowa City
1 2 3 4 Final
Tipton 9 10 11 10 40
IC Regina 25 32 14 9 80
TIPTON (40): Zoe Rezac (g) 0-1 0-0 0, Kailee Meyer (g) 0-4 0-0 0, Emily Hermsen (g) 4-10 0-0 11, Amanda Smith (f) 6-9 1-1 13, Jamie Kofron (f) 2-5 1-1 5, Hunter Humphrey 0-0 0-0 0, Samantha DeMoss 2-6 2-3 7, Tiffany Schott 0-0 0-0 0, Kamryn Chapman 1-2 2-2 4, Laken Hermiston 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 15-37 6-7 40.
IC REGINA (80): Mary Crompton (g) 3-9 2-4 9, Sarah Lehman (g) 10-10 4-5 24, Greyson Dumont
(g) 1-3 0-0 3, Kennedy Wallace (g) 4-9 0-0 12, Alex Wiese (f) 9-10 0-0 18, Alexa Lehman 1-2 0-0 3, Lauren Gaarde 1-4 0-0 2, Emma Corkery 0-3 0-0 0, Maeve Dunne 1-3 1-2 4, Claire Gaarde 0-0 0-0 0, Katie Bracken 1-2 0-0 2, Megan Wick 0-0 0-0 0, Ellie VanLanschoot 0-0 1-2 1, Elly Gahan 0-2 0-0 0, Katie Dunn 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 32-59 8-13 80.
3-Pt. FG: Tipton 4-14 (Hermsen 3-7, DeMoss 1-2, Meyer 0-3, Smith 0-1, Rezac 0-1), ICR 8-18 (Wallace 4-8, Crompton 1-4, Dunne 1-2, A. Lehman 1-1, Dumont 1-1, L. Gaarde 0-1, Corkery
0-1). Rebounds: Tipton 20 (Smith 8, Rezac 4, Kofron 3, DeMoss 2, Hermsen 1, Schott 1, Chapman 1), ICR 36 (Wiese 11, S. Lehman 5). Assists: Tipton 8 (Rezac 3, Hermsen 3, DeMoss 1, Meyer 1), ICR 23 (S. Lehman 7, Dumont 4, A. Lehman 4). Steals: Tipton 4 (Kofron 2, Chapman
1, Schott 1), ICR 17 (Gaarde 4, S. Lehman 4, Dumont 4). Blocked Shots: Tipton none. ICR 2 (Wiese 1, Crompton 1). Total Fouls: Tipton 12. ICR 14. Fouled Out: Tipton none. ICR none.