LONE TREE 

Getting to play their season opener at home, Lone Tree kicked off its new season in the win column. 

Battling against the Columbus Wildcats in a Southeast Iowa Super Conference matchup, the Lions secured a victory on their home court, 65-59, on Nov. 28. 

“A win is a win, a win is important, but I think we have to work on a few things,” first year Lone Tree basketball head coach Joel Herman said. “But I'm proud of the boys. I'm proud of their effort. I'm proud of everything they did to get that W tonight.” 

Looking to continue to raise his level of play after a fantastic freshman year, Emmett Burke led the way for the Lions in this win. Burke led the team in points (20), steals (5), and assists (7). He also went a perfect four-for-four at the free throw line and secured seven rebounds, tied for the team lead. 

The Wildcats led by seven after one quarter of play but were outscored by the Lions in each of the next three quarters. Leading all scorers was Columbus senior Tim Hills-Carrier. 

Hills-Carrier scored 26 points to go along with eight rebounds, three blocks, and three assists. In addition to Hills-Carrier, Columbus had three players reach double digit points, junior Juan Chairez (14) and freshman Ellis Hills-Carrier (13). 

Connecting a team leading four three-pointers, sophomore Reece Holbrook was the Lion’s second highest scorer. Holbrook reached 16 points and pulled down six rebounds. As a freshman Holbrook played in two games and recorded five points, look for Holbrook to be a more active component of the Lion’s offense this year. 

Eagles 73, Lone Tree 36

Continuing their hot start to the season, the Keota Eagles picked up a 37 point home victory over Lone Tree on Nov. 30.  

This was the Eagles first home game of the year and for the Lions it was their first road game. With this win the Eagles have now won seven straight over the Lions. Lone Tree’s last win over Keota came in 2016. 

Keota scored over 20 in the first two quarters to go into halftime with a 26 point lead and Lone Tree was not able to overcome this large deficit

While this season is still young this win keeps the Eagles undefeated, winners of three in a row. Keota has been humming on offense, scoring over 80 points in their first two games of the season and now scoring over 70 against the Lions. 

  Keota senior Sawyer Stout scored over 20 points for the first time this season. Stout led the Eagles with 25 points and fellow senior Tanner Waterhouse added 14 to be the second highest scorer on the team. 

Leading the way for Lone Tree was senior Pietro Setti. Setti, a new addition to this year’s team, scored 10 and collected five rebounds. 

Lone Tree 62, Highland 30

Bouncing back from a non-conference loss, the Lions went on the road and took care of business against conference opponent Highland. 

The Lions earned their second Southeast Iowa Super Conference victory of the season, defeating the Huskies, 62-30, on Dec. 1. 

Last year the Lions swept the Huskies and with this win Lone Tree has won four of the last five matchups against Highland. 

Starting the first quarter by going on a 10-2 run, the Lions never trailed in this game. Lone Tree entered halftime with a 26 point lead and the Huskies were never able to overcome such a large deficit. 

Highland junior Logan McFarland led the Huskies with 11 points and he pulled down seven rebounds. Seven of his 11 points came from the free throw line. McFarland shot 11 times from the charity stripe and this was in large part due to multiple technical fouls Lone Tree committed. 

In this game Lone Tree had a well balanced attack, with five Lions scoring six points or higher. 

Leading the team in scoring was sophomore Reece Holbrook, he ended the night with 14 points. Following close behind was Emmett Burke, scoring 13 and leading the team in assists (7). 

The Lions stayed at home and faced off against Hillcrest (3-0) in a SEISC matchup on Dec. 5. Up next for Lone Tree (2-1) is a home game against the Cedar Valley Christian Huskies (1-2) on Dec. 7.