MFL MarMac avenges early-season losses to Postville and Kee
Wyatt Powell scored 18 points versus Postville—one of four Bulldogs to hit double digits in the Jan. 16 win. (Photos by Audrey Posten)
Carter Lightfoot skirts past a Pirate defender in MFL MarMac’s 84-65 win, which avenged a loss from earlier this season.
Brock Hackett puts up a shot against the Pirates.
Parker Kuehl guards a Postville player in MFL MarMac's conference win.
Carver Blietz-Bentien notched another double-double in the game against Postville, with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
By Audrey Posten, Times-Register
The MFL MarMac boys basketball team pushed its winning streak to eight games last week, avenging early-season losses to Postville and Kee and earning another conference victory over Turkey Valley.
The Bulldogs soundly defeated Postville 84-65 in Monona on Jan. 16, giving head coach Eric Dettbarn his 500th career win.
This match-up was considerably higher scoring than when the teams first met in December, when Postville edged MFL MarMac 48-47. The Bulldogs shot just 28.6 percent from the field then, a stat they upped to 49.3 last week. They hit 12 of 29 three-pointers, for a 41.4 percent clip.
MFL MarMac also grabbed 10 more rebounds than Postville, including limiting the Pirates to only six second-chance scoring opportunities. The Pirates turned the ball over 15 times to MFL MarMac’s 10.
Parker Kuehl led the Bulldogs with 24 points, after going 10-17 from the field and 4-10 from behind the arc. He added seven rebounds, two steals and an assist.
Carver Blietz-Bentien notched another double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds, and was also among team leaders with five assists and three steals. Wyatt Powell netted 18 points and, with eight assists, was just shy of a double-double as well. He had five rebounds, four steals and one of the team’s two blocks. Bryce Diehl totaled 15 points, three assists and three rebounds.
MFL MarMac defeated Kee 57-54 on Jan. 18, handing the eighth-ranked Hawks their first loss of the season. The teams were neck and neck through much of the game, with Kee leading 34-33 at halftime and 47-44 heading into the final period. It was then that the Bulldogs went on a 13-7 run to close out the victory.
The Bulldogs did it despite shooting 39.6 percent from the field to Kee’s 46.9. They were aided by a 13-20 night from the free throw line, while the Hawks made only two of six attempts. MFL MarMac also won the rebounding advantage, 37-22.
Powell was again close to a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds, and led the team with five assists, two steals and a block. Kuehl dropped 14 points—nine of which came from long range—and had eight rebounds and a block. Blietz-Bentien earned 12 points, eight rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block, while Carter Lightfoot ended the game with seven points, three assists, two rebounds and a block.
MFL MarMac wrapped up the week with a 79-45 win at Turkey Valley on Jan. 19. The team shot over 50 percent from the field and knocked down 13 three-pointers, including four from Brock Hackett, who gave the Bulldogs 12 points and two rebounds off the bench.
Kuehl totaled 14 points, five steals, three assists and a rebound, and Lightfoot put up 13 points—nine of which came from behind the arc. He added four assists, three rebounds and one of the Bulldogs’ 17 steals.
Blietz-Bentien chipped in nine points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists, while Powell finished with nine points, six assists, a steal and a rebound.
The Bulldogs are now 11-3 overall and 8-3 in the Upper Iowa Conference. Six wins on their current eight-game streak have come since the return of Powell and Hackett, who missed the first part of the season due to injury.
On Jan. 23, MFL MarMac looked to avenge a conference loss at North Fayette Valley, who won 56-55 last month. The Bulldogs will play Waterloo Christian at Upper Iowa University on Jan. 25, then host winless West Central Jan. 26.
