Harmsen scores 32 as Mid-Prairie's season ends in district final

Golden Hawks finish with best record since 2010-11

By Jeff Yoder
Posted 2/25/21

A phenomenal performance from Carter Harmsen wasn’t quite enough for Mid-Prairie to overcome the defensive length and 3-point shooting of Camanche on Tuesday.

Harmsen poured in 32 points, …

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Harmsen scores 32 as Mid-Prairie's season ends in district final

Golden Hawks finish with best record since 2010-11

Posted

A phenomenal performance from Carter Harmsen wasn’t quite enough for Mid-Prairie to overcome the defensive length and 3-point shooting of Camanche on Tuesday.

Harmsen poured in 32 points, but the Golden Hawks couldn’t close the gap in the second half of a 67-55 loss in the district final.

Ethan Kos scored off of a great pass from Alex Bean to put Mid-Prairie on top 28-27 with 3:29 left in the second quarter, but Camanche closed the half on a 10-0 run and led by at least seven the rest of the way.

The Indians shot 9-17 from the 3-point line - even better than their season average of 40 percent, which was third-best in 2A. The outside shooting of Camanche overshadowed Harmsen’s domination of the paint on the other end of the court.

He was 10-14 on 2-pointers over the 6-foot-4,  6-foot-5, and 6-foot-7 forwards of Camanche.

“It was a tough 32,” Mid-Prairie coach Daren Lambert said. “I don't think I've ever seen a high school player have to work so hard to get those points, because Camanche is a great basketball team. And  he was physical.”

Harmsen got to the free throw line often on Tuesday, where he was 9-14. He was also consistent, scoring at least seven points in each quarter. He had three steals and two assists.

“He still involved his teammates, and I don't think he took any poor shots,” Lambert said. “You know, you need your big-time players to step up in big-time games. And he did that tonight.”

Harmsen had six rebounds, as many as any player on the court other than Will Cavanagh. Even with five players of at least 6-foot-4 on the court at different times on Tuesday, Cavanagh, a 6-foot junior had a game-high eight rebounds to go with eight points and three assists.

Aidan Rath was limited by foul trouble in his final game, but had six rebounds and added five points.

Alex Bean finished with six points and four assists. Bean grabbed an offensive rebound and then hit a tough jumper from the baseline to give the Golden Hawks a 13-3 lead after four and a half minutes.

Camanche took advantage of Mid-Prairie turnovers to score seven in under a minute and trailed just 15-14 after a quarter. The Golden Hawks had 20 turnovers, and several led to easy baskets for the Indians.  

“They're long, athletic, quick and they, they love that pressure defense,” Lambert said.  “We saw it in the first game and we handled it much better this game. But that's what makes them a tough team to beat – they can go out and score 10 points extremely fast.”

Mid-Prairie finished the season 15-8, its best record and first winning season since 2010-11. But this team wanted more. Mid-Prairie finished one play short of a conference championship and two wins short of a state tournament appearance.

“I hate this night, every single year, it never gets any easier,” Lambert said on Tuesday. “I look at guys who have broken hearts. They didn't want this thing to end.

“I’m just extremely proud of what they've accomplished this season. I told them, over the next couple of days, just think about all the stuff that they have done – much of that stuff that hasn't been done in the decade for Mid-Prairie. So you know, they've done a great job putting this program in a better spot than where they got it.”