Spirit Lake held an early lead over LeMars in their Lakes Conference opener on Tuesday night, but the 8-6 advantage after one quarter quickly evaporated and the Bulldogs never relinquished the lead in defeating the Indians 50-42. Spirit Lake rallied to make it a one-point game early in the fourth, but could never get over the hump as LeMars converted 9-of-12 free throws down the stretch. Adam Dau scored eleven first half points to lead the Indians, with Wes Bergquist right behind at ten points. LeMars had a pair of players reach 17 points, as Austin Homan and Jordan Eisma combined to hit 14 field goals and make 6-of-7 at the line. The Bulldogs are 2-0 on the year, while Spirit Lake now sits at 2-1 overall and 0-1 in conference play. They host Storm Lake on Friday, a game to be broadcast on KUOO Campus Radio.
Click here for the postgame interview with coach Nate Loenser.
In Emmetsburg, the E-Hawks took control of their conference opener in the second half, outscoring Estherville-Lincoln Central by 18 to defeat the Midgets 67-40. Marcus Akridge registered 26 points and Ryan Kliegl 16 points to pace 2-0 Emmetsburg. The winless Midgets received eleven points from Brad Olsen and return to the floor Friday at Spencer. Emmetsburg travels to LeMars for a game that can be heard Friday on Y100.
The other Lakes Conference matchups featured a pair of top-ten teams going to overtime to decide a winner, as second-ranked Western Christian edged tenth-ranked Storm Lake 95-89 on the road. Spencer got back on the winning track with a resounding league win over Cherokee, 71-38.
Okoboji’s attempt at preventing a 40-game conference losing streak came up short Tuesday night when West Lyon earned a 58-33 win in Milford. The Pioneers are now 0-4 on the season and 0-3 in the Siouxland, with a matchup at Sheldon coming up Friday.
In other Siouxland Conference games, second-ranked MOC-Floyd Valley garnered a ten-point win at Boyden-Hull, 57-47. Sibley-Ocheyedan fell to 1-2 in league action with a 54-48 home loss to Rock Valley. Sioux Center outlasted Central Lyon, 67-61.
The title defense in the Cornbelt Conference began with a bang Tuesday, as Harris-Lake Park returned from West Bend-Mallard with a 59-33 victory in hand. Eli Ihnen went for 19 points, eleven rebounds and six steals. Brady Nissen also had 19 points, to go along with seven boards. Tanner Hiveley produced another dozen points. The Wolves are now 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the league with a home contest against CWL set for Friday.
Click here for postgame comments from coach Jeff Sohn.
The rest of the Cornbelt had Clay Central-Everly notch a league win over CWL, 52-43, while Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven Ayrshire dropped a non-conference matchup to defending state champion Storm Lake St. Mary’s, 82-30.
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn took on Trinity Christian outside of conference play, but was nipped by a point, 51-50. Meanwhile, South O’Brien did get a league victory with a 59-25 decision over Remsen Saint Mary’s.
Also on Tuesday, Sioux Central lost to Alta/Aurelia, 68-58.
North of the border, Round Lake-Brewster lost to Red Rock Central, 66-35, and Mountain Lake/Butterfield-Odin won by five over Southwest Star Concept, 57-52.
