WILTON

The Wilton Beavers of 2023 are what the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawks were in 2022.

Wilton is unbeaten in River Valley Conference play this season and 6-foot-7 senior forward Caden Kirkman is one of the top scorers in the state.

A year ago, Mid-Prairie finished the regular season with an unbeaten record, set a school record for consecutive wins and were led by 2022 graduate and River Valley scoring leader Carter Harmsen.

The defending conference champions stood in the way of Wilton’s run through the conference in their River Valley South game Friday night in Wilton. And the Golden Hawks made it difficult.

Caden Kirkman, who entered the game as the top scorer in Iowa Class 2A and had scored 40 points earlier this season, scored the Beavers’ first 10 points of the game. He landed multiple slam dunks. And layups. And rebounds.

But halfway through the game, a Mid-Prairie run late in the second quarter, fueled by a 3-pointer by senior guard Camron Pickard in the final minute, had given the Golden Hawks a stunning 32-25 lead.

Wilton (13-2, 9-0 RVC) responded after that. Combining a 32-point night by Kirkman and strong outside shooting, the Beavers rallied for a 77-65 win.

“Got to tip your hat and give them credit,” Mid-Prairie coach Daren Lambert said. “They hit shots in tough situations. That’s what good teams at home are going to do.”

Pickard led the Golden Hawks with 21 points. Pickard, Dylan Henry and Ace Peck each hit three 3-pointers as Mid-Prairie attacked from the outside, but Wilton’s Landyn Putman hit a game-high five 3-pointers and scored 22 points.

After a slam by Kirkman put Wilton up 50-45 in the final minute of the third quarter, the Beavers went on a 12-2 run at the start of the fourth quarter to essentially end the battle. A final Kirkman slam, winding up in a technical foul called against the Beavers, came with 1:33 remaining.

Henry, Pickard and Alex Bean each had 5 rebounds for Mid-Prairie.

The Golden Hawks (10-7, 6-4) host Washington on Monday and Tipton on Tuesday.