MID-PRAIRIE BOYS BASKETBALL

Golden Hawks finish fast in 25-point win against Tipton

Carter Harmsen, Ethan Kos score double-doubles in 2nd straight victory

By Paul D. Bowker
Posted 12/4/21

WELLMAN

Mid-Prairie senior forward Carter Harmsen powerfully moved toward the hoop and looked up quickly.

Three Tipton defenders were waiting for him.

No matter.

Harmsen swooped in …

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MID-PRAIRIE BOYS BASKETBALL

Golden Hawks finish fast in 25-point win against Tipton

Carter Harmsen, Ethan Kos score double-doubles in 2nd straight victory

Posted

WELLMAN

Mid-Prairie senior forward Carter Harmsen powerfully moved toward the hoop and looked up quickly.

Three Tipton defenders were waiting for him.

No matter.

Harmsen swooped in against all three Tigers and scored, drawing a fifth foul from Tipton’s Ryan King, and drilled the free throw for a 3-point play and a 56-32 Mid-Prairie lead as Golden Hawk fans roared in appreciation in the team’s home opener Friday night.

The play provided the exclamation point in a 60-35 victory by the Golden Hawks in a season-opening week that resulted in two River Valley South Conference wins by an average of 35.5 points. 

Not that Friday’s victory came all that easily. Tipton, which had opened the season on November 30 with a one-point loss to Iowa City Regina Catholic, pressured the Golden Hawks in the early minutes and held a one-point lead four minutes into the game.

“We’ve got a target on our back,” Mid-Prairie head coach Daren Lambert said. “Teams know we’re going to be good. We’ve earned that.”

Harmsen, the 2020-21 River Valley South scoring champ, was double teamed by Tipton 6-foot-6 junior center Davis Webb and 6-4 forward Cody Bohlmann within its defensive zone coverage. And on the other end, the Tigers attacked the basket with some early success.

“I think our whole team was a little surprised by the intensity they came out with,” Harmsen said. “We had to fix a few things on the press and on defense.”

The Golden Hawks are likely to see that intensity all season.

“We take it as a compliment,” Lambert said. “But, yeah, we’re gonna walk in any gym, no matter the skill level of the team, record of the team, everyone’s going to throw their best at you.”

The Golden Hawks scored the last six points of the first quarter to turn a 9-8 deficit into a 14-9 lead. They led by eight, 28-20, at halftime and opened up an 11-point lead on the first of Harmsen’s 3-point plays with 2:34 remaining in the third quarter.

Harmsen scored his first double-double of the season on 18 points and 12 rebounds. He spent part of his night playing on the wing, but then went inside to dominate play in the second half for 11 points.

“I knew they couldn’t guard me,” he said. “Second half, I tried to get to the hoop a little more.”

Senior center Ethan Kos also scored a double-double for the Golden Hawks with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Jack Pennington, a senior guard, added 12 points and Alex Bean, a junior, scored 11.

Mid-Prairie, basketball, River Valley South