Despite the competitive nature of this affair, The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawks held a lead through three quarters, not giving up a tie until early into the third. 

They only lost the lead once, eventually pulling through with a 62-54 victory. Helping this effort was senior Alex Bean, who hit two consecutive three-pointers to help regain and maintain the all-glorious lead to the very end.

“We told them at halftime if [Durant goes] under the handoff, pull the trigger, and so sometimes, that’s all they need to hear,” Mid-Prairie head coach Daren Lambert said. “[Bean] was letting it rip, and when you see him go through, there’s a lot of confidence that can build.”

The game started with a bang. Mid-Prairie junior, Dylan Henry, hit a three right away. Durant’s star player, Nolan Delong, who scored 24 total points, answered right back with a two pointer.

“Offensively, we were hitting shots. I thought we were moving the basketball extremely well, getting extremely good looks,” Lambert said. “We were kind of going back and forth there.”

With the score 8-6 in favor of the Hawks, Durant senior Garrett Hollenback, went up for a dunk, the only one attempted in the game. The ball had different plans, refusing to go through the net, bouncing away and springing the Hawks to life on the opposite side of the court, Bean scoring from this error.

Another highlight of the 21-point first quarter for the Hawks was when senior Camron Pickard stole a Wildcat pass and marched down the court for a contested layup. Pickard led the Hawks in scoring with 20.

Bean started the scoring in the second, furthering his impressive night. He had 19 total points.

Each team scored ten in the second, holding the Golden Hawk lead to six points at half. Before halftime, Mid-Prairie junior, Karson Grout, hit a three pointer with pressure right in his face, poised and determined.

“I thought in the second quarter, we played extremely good defense and that’s kind of when our offense trailed, or wasn’t as hot as that first quarter,” Lambert said. “We defended extremely well in the second quarter, putting us in a spot to be in a lead at half.”

The Golden Hawk student section was the lifeline of the team, exploding after every field goal and breathing life into the Mid-Prairie gymnasium, on their feet for most of the game.

Not only was there a student section to help inspire the team, the school pep band was there as well, performing during half time and during certain timeouts, directly behind the Durant Wildcats. This meant that every timeout, Durant needed to pull their chairs into the court to hear the game plan, a definite home court advantage.

The Golden Hawks had to face adversity in the second half once the Wildcats began their extended comeback. Delong scored seven of 14 Wildcat points in the third, the only quarter they outscored the Golden Hawks.

“[Durant] was hitting some tough shots and we were giving up a couple of offensive rebounds, not moving the basketball,” Lambert said. “I thought our offense, a little stagnant. We were making things difficult for us and so, if you’re not scoring and you’re not getting stops, that’s going to allow the other team to creep back in, and that’s what [Durant] did. But, very pleased with how we responded, we kind of flipped the switch.”

Entering the fourth, the Hawks held a slim three-point lead, 44-41. This is when the Wildcats pushed for the kill.

Pickard started the scoring with a three. Durant answered with a three of their own. 

Then, Durant senior, Lane Felske, hit a two and tied the game with a free throw shot. The first tie of the game. 

Blow for blow, Pickard hit one free throw to take back the lead before Delong stole the lead from Mid-Prairie for the first time in the game, at 49-48.

This is when the two clutch three pointers in-a-row fell from the hands of Alex Bean. Like a boxing match, each team finished by throwing proverbial punches, with Mid-Prairie pulling away in the very end, winning the game in a very important outing.

Mid-Prairie senior, Shawn Dobbs, at six-foot-five, played a very impressive game under the net on both sides of the court. Dobbs helped pin the nail in the coffin, hitting an aggressive layup to bring the lead to six late in the fourth.

With one final push down by six, the otherwise posed Delong made an errant pass over his teammate’s head, leading to a Wildcat chase on the other side of the court which lost possession for them. 

Golden Hawk sophomore, Ace Peck, sealed the deal by hitting the final two free throw shots of the game to reach the final score of 62-54.

Looking Ahead: 

Mid-Prairie has a matchup against Iowa City Regina High on Feb. 3, at 8 P.M. in Iowa City.

GAME STATS

Durant   15   10    16     13  --  54

Mid-Prarie  21   10    13     18  --  62

DURANT SCORING: Nolan Delong 24, Garrett Hollenback 12, Lane Felske 11.

MID-PRAIRIE SCORING: Camron Pickard 20, Alex Bean 19, Dylan Henry 7.

MID-PRAIRIE REBOUNDS: Bean 8, Henry 6, Shawn Dobbs 4.