PdC boys fall to Decorah, knock off River Valley
Prairie senior Max Schneider rose up for a shot attempt over the outstretched arms of Decorah’s 6’10” sophomore, Cael LaFrentz. (Derick Kelly/Courier Press)
Brady Lenzendorf dribbles the ball out of the corner past Decorah's Ben Bockman. (Derick Kelly/Courier Press)
Hunter Straka dribbles up the court as 6'10" Cael LaFrentz hurries to get back on defense. (Derick Kelly/Courier Press)
Dawson Eastman shoots from the corner early in the Hawks game with Decorah. (Derick Kelly/Courier Press)
Sam Kramer (20) looks to drive the baseline but notices Zachary Driscoll (11) and Cael LaFrentz (32) waiting for him. (Derick Kelly/Courier Press)
By Derick Kelly
The Prairie du Chien boys basketball team played host twice last week as the Decorah Vikings and River Valley Blackhawks each made the trip to town.
First up for the Hawks was Decorah on Tuesday, Jan. 16. The Vikings (a 2023 Iowa State Tournament qualifier), are currently ranked fifth in Iowa’s Class 3A and were coming off their first loss of the season (when they were ranked first) to Northeast Iowa Conference rival Waverly-Shell Rock. The Vikings fell at home to the Go Hawks eleven days earlier by 27 points.
The Hawks were not intimidated for the larger and more experienced Vikings as Prairie came out of the gates strong as they stayed with the visitors for the most of the first half, even taking a 28-25 lead with one minute left before halftime. Decorah was able to go on a quick 5-0 run in that final minute of the first half to claim a 30-25 lead at the break.
The second half was a very different story however as the Vikings used their size (three starters are 6’5 or taller, including 6’10 sophomore Cael LaFrentz) and tough defense to quickly push their halftime lead to double-digits, and out-of-reach for the Hawks as the Vikings pulled away for a 79-46 victory.
LaFrentz, the son of MFL MarMac alum and veteran NBA player Raef LaFrentz (who is also an assistant coach for the Vikings), was a tough task for the Hawks to deal with as he scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to go along with 2 blocks.
The Hawks were led by Tyler Harris with 15 points and Max Schneider with 11 points and 7 rebounds. Also contributing to the scoring log for Prairie were Nick McCullick (8 points), Dawson Eastman (6 points), Sam Kramer (4 points), and Hunter Straka (2 points).
The Hawks returned to the court three days later to host the River Valley Blackhawks in SWC action, looking to get back into the conference race.
The Hawks again came out of the gates strong, this time taking a 29-14 lead into halftime before extending it in the second half for a 66-44 victory.
Prairie du Chien improved to 5-9 overall, and 2-3 in the SWC, while River Valley dropped to 6-9 overall, and 3-2 in the SWC.
The Blackhawks started off a busy week with a road game at Waukon on Tuesday night. The Flying Arrows come to town on Thursday, Jan. 25 with the Hawks looking to flip the script from their previous meeting on December 8. The week ends with a trip to Barneveld on Saturday, Jan. 27 as part of a boy-girl doubleheader with the boys game starting things off at 12:00 p.m.
