Cyclone BKB Drops DH at Home to LC

Cyclone BKB Drops DH at Home to LC -

(1-6-26) – Not a pleasant evening at the Palace in Harlan on Tuesday.

Lewis Central basketball would earn a sweep of Harlan Community, taking the girls’ contest 41-27 and the boys’ game, 67-55.

The Titans used a stifling press defense that forced the Cyclones turn the ball over several times, especially in the 3rd qtr, which Harlan Community Coach Zach Klaassen thought was the difference in the game.

“We scored the first two points of the third quarter. We go up two, then it might have tied it, then we split some free throws and then we didn't score for 6 ½ , 7 minutes and I don't even know if we got two or three more shots up just because it was handed over to them. It didn't matter which side of half court it was on, but then just led out to run out layups.”

Despite several turnovers in the 1st half, the Cyclones found themselves tied at 15 with the Titans at halftime. But the pressure by Lewis Central shut down Harlan Community’s offense, as they would score just 12 points the rest of the game.

Klaassen says his team needs work on playing in control.

“We're trying to catch the ball, run, and throw it all at the same time. Just do the little things right and don't panic. It felt like we're, you know, our hair is on fire out there at times and, call a couple timeouts and hopefully we're just going to calm down, maybe run a play or something, but we turn it over before we can even get into a half court set to run a play.”

Kenzley Bruck had 11 pts for the Cyclones while the Titans were led by Macie Vetter’s 12 pts.

The boys’ game saw Lewis Central pour in 12 3-ptrs as they topped Harlan Community, 67-55. Cyclone Coach Dean Mosher thought his team played well defensively, despite the loss.

“I thought our defense was good. What we wanted to do, we were going over screens and having pretty decent help side defense. We just (were) a little late on closing out and credit to them, they shot well.”

Harlan Community trailed 34-30 in the waning seconds of the 1st half when Carter Thielen banked home a deep 3-ptr, his team’s 7th of the half, to extend the lead to 7 pts for Lewis Central. The Titans then continued their hot shooting in the 3rd to break out to as much as a 17-pt lead.

Mosher was pleased with the intensity his team brought to this rivalry game.

“I thought the energy was good. The intensity was great. Just our communication and how we were moving offensively and defensively with purpose and speed was good. You know, I'll take some of the mistakes here and there, but the energy and the speed was there, which we want to improve on, but I thought that was great tonight.”

Kobe Klaassen returned to the lineup for the Cyclones with a 22-pt, 11 rebound performance while Dallas McDowell put up 19 pts. The Titans were led by Charles Schaben’s 22 pts.

Harlan Community basketball will next have a doubleheader on the road against St. Albert on Friday.

View past scores by visiting the Iowa High School Athletic Association's website, Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union website,
or Iowa Quik Stats