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Warriors kick off postseason with dominant win over Starmont

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Parker Smith (54), Dan McGreal (4) and Elliot Kelly (32) play strong defense in Central’s win over Starmont. (Photo by Bev Hamann)

By Willis Patenaude, Times-Register

 

“It’s not how you start, but how you finish” goes the saying. For Central’s boys basketball team, that rang true this past week, as the Warriors lost their final two regular season games before playing arguably their most complete game of the year, defeating Starmont in the Class 1A Substate 3 play-in round. 

 

The week started on Feb. 8, with a 68-58 loss to Turkey Valley. Despite the 10-point difference, the Warriors were competitive, finishing the game shooting 42.2 percent from the field. They also out-dueled the Trojans from the three-point line, going eight for 20, while the Trojans only managed to make three of 23 deep shots. 

 

Three Warriors scored in double digits, with Hazen Loan finishing with 18 points, while Even Pensel and Parker Vaughn each had 13. 

 

It was free throws that essentially decided the game, as the Trojans shot 31 of them, making 21, while the Warriors took only had 18 free throw attempts, making 11.

 

“We struggled to take care of the ball against Turkey Valley, [but] we were able to score our highest number of points to that point in the season with 58. The reason we were able to do so is because we did a good job of attacking their trapping defense and finding the open man. Obviously, we had some guys shoot the ball well in that game as well. We ended by having three players in double figures, which is the type of balance that we need to have in order to compete with good teams like Turkey Valley,” said head coach Brady Stramer. 

 

The Warriors finished with 27 rebounds, 15 assists, seven steals and three blocks. Loan led the rebounding category with 12 and accounted for two of the team’s blocks, while Pensel accumulated seven assists, followed by Dan McGreal and Loan with three each.

 

It was turnovers that really hurt the Warriors, as they have all season long. Central finished the game with 24. 

 

“All year long we have had trouble being consistent. We have shown the ability to compete with the top teams in the conference for certain parts of games, but not the full 32 minutes. A big reason this has been the case is our turnovers and our lack of patience in half-court offense. When we turn the ball over, we lose chances at getting a shot up, and when we rush our half-court offense, we do not usually take a high percentage look. This combination has led to low scoring quarters that put us in a deficit that is hard to fight back from,” Stramer explained. 

 

Unfortunately, it was more of the same in a surprise 55-42 loss against Postville in the regular season finale. Central shot 35.5 percent from the field and only Loan finished in double digits with 19 points. Vaughn added seven, while CJ Polkinghorn scored five and McGreal and Pensel finished with three points apiece. 

 

Conversely, the defense could not stop Postville, allowing the Pirates to shoot 44.7 percent from the field. Three Pirates finished with double digit point totals. 

 

The Warriors out-rebounded the Pirates, 26-23, with Loan leading the way with 11, followed by Tommy Seeland with four and Vaughn and Parker Smith with three each. Loan also led the Warriors in assists, finishing with three of the team’s 11 total. McGreal and Corey Webber each had two assists and Smith, Abenet Lammers, Pensel and Vaughn had one assist. 

 

But, once again, the game turned on turnovers, as Central committed 20 of them.

 

“While we were extremely disappointed in our second half performance at Postville, we knew that we didn’t have time to sulk and hang our heads because our biggest game of the season was coming up in two days. I thought our guys did a good job of coming to practice both Wednesday and Thursday with complete focus, which allowed us to have two of our best practices heading into Friday’s game against Starmont,” Stramer said. 

 

Against Starmont, the Warriors changed their fortune, defeating the Stars 66-27 by dominating on both sides of the ball. 

 

“All season long we have been focusing on putting together a complete four quarters without having one or two quarters really hurt us. We were finally able to do that against Starmont, and it really couldn’t have come at a better time. While the offensive output and shooting percentages will grab the attention, it all started on the defensive end for us. We were able to hold our opponents to the lowest total of our season by not allowing them to score over 27 in the game and no more than nine points in a single quarter. Offensively, we were also able to score the most points we have in any game this season by scoring 66,” Stramer said. 

 

The offensive outburst was led by McGreal and Loan, who scored 27 and 26 points, respectively. Combined, the two were 21-30 from the field and 10-15 from three-point range. 

 

The complete performance also came with 26 rebounds, led by McGreal and Polkinghorn with six each, and 18 assists, led by Pensel with five and Loan, Polkinghorn, Seeland and Smith adding two each. 

 

One stat that stands out is turnovers, where the Warriors cleaned up the ball control issues and had just 11 of them. 

 

“After beating the same team by six points only a couple of weeks ago, being able to win 66-27 puts into perspective how much improvement has taken place in that time. It was, without a doubt, our best performance of the year and it couldn’t have come at a better time,” Stramer said. 

 

The Warriors’ postseason task didn’t get any easier, though, as they faced the defending 1-A state champions, Wapsie Valley, on Feb. 15.

 

“We understand that playing them in their home gym is going to be a difficult challenge, but we look at the game as a terrific opportunity. For the most part, we have shown consistent improvement over the course of the season and especially after Friday’s game we feel that we are playing our best basketball,” Stramer said. 

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