MID-PRAIRIE BOYS BASKETBALL

21-0: Golden Hawks tie school record

Mid-Prairie tops Monticello in River Valley showdown

By Paul D. Bowker
Posted 2/12/22

WELLMAN

Mid-Prairie senior forward Carter Harmsen hit one last shot Friday night as the student section roared behind him.

Ten seconds still remained in the Golden Hawks’ River Valley …

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MID-PRAIRIE BOYS BASKETBALL

21-0: Golden Hawks tie school record

Mid-Prairie tops Monticello in River Valley showdown

Posted

WELLMAN

Mid-Prairie senior forward Carter Harmsen hit one last shot Friday night as the student section roared behind him.

Ten seconds still remained in the Golden Hawks’ River Valley Conference showdown against Monticello.

No matter. It was celebration time.

Harmsen turned around and spread his arms wide to encourage Mid-Prairie students to create even more noise. He hugged senior teammate Will Cavanagh.

“It was crazy,” Harmsen said later. “That’s the loudest I’ve ever heard this gym. It was really loud.”

When the buzzer did go off, ending a 65-50 victory that put the Golden Hawks in the school record book, those students stormed the court and mobbed Harmsen and his teammates on the court.

The victory finished off a perfect 21-0 regular season for the Golden Hawks and matched a 21-game win streak by the 1990-91 Mid-Prairie team. Those Golden Hawks lost to Washington by just one point in the postseason.

“This means a ton,” Harmsen said. “This was always the goal. We never planned on losing, so being able to win 21 straight and have a good shot to go really deep into the postseason is great.”

“It’s been a fun ride,” Mid-Prairie head coach Daren Lambert said. “We get a couple days to kind of soak it all in. Monday, the job starts over.”

And that’s the thing. The Golden Hawks will begin their march toward the Class 2A state tournament on Thursday, when they host Mediapolis or Van Buren County in a substate quarterfinal.

“It means a lot right now,” senior guard Jack Pennington said of the win streak. “As we talked about in the locker room, as soon as Monday hits it’s a new season. I mean, 21 games is great, but we’ve got to win 6 or 7 more to get that state championship. That’s our main goal. That’s what we’re working for.

“Twenty-one’s great, but we want more. We’re still hungry.”

Friday’s game, a reschedule of a game that was snowed out earlier this season, featured a showdown between the River Valley South champion and the River Valley North champion. Monticello (18-3) had only lost to Northeast and East Dubuque. The game attracted coaches of other teams and even a few college recruiters.

“It’s just a great environment, great to be a part of,” Lambert said. “You knew that both teams were going to give everything they’ve got. A lot on the line. They’re North champs, we’re South champs, so you want to call yourself the best. There was a lot to play for tonight.”

Pennington scored a career-high 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Harmsen scored 20 points, along with 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Senior center Ethan Kos added 10 points and a team-high 7 rebounds.

The teams were tied 13-13 after one quarter, but Mid-Prairie pushed ahead after that with a suffocating defense and powerful offense. The Golden Hawks scored 37 points in the second half as they built a double-digit lead.

“We finally got it going,” Pennington said. “We’re hard to stop when we’re going like that. It’s all good.”

Junior guard Tate Petersen led Monticello with 19 points.

Mid-Prairie, basketball, River Valley