WELLMAN

In the opening minutes of last Saturday’s game against Solon, Mid-Prairie junior guard Bryce Henry floated undetected behind the 3-point line right in front of Solon’s team bench.

Soon, the ball was passed to him. He shot before a Solon defender could get in his face. Bam. First 3-pointer.

By the time the night was over, Henry hit eight 3-pointers and scored 39 points in a 61-57 victory for the unbeaten Golden Hawks.

“He had a night, didn’t he?” Mid-Prairie head coach Daren Lambert said. “He’s one of those guys, you don’t have to tell him to shoot.”

“When I get the shots, I take them,” said Henry, who quickly found a flow against Solon’s chasing defense.

Henry’s offensive performance was the biggest in at least 10 years at Mid-Prairie and was the second biggest point total this season in Iowa Class 2A. He is the top point scorer and 3-point shooter in the River Valley South.

During one stretch in the fourth quarter, Henry hit three consecutive 3-pointers to turn a four-point deficit into a four-point Mid-Prairie lead. He scored 13 points in the first quarter alone.

The win was the eighth straight for the Golden Hawks, matching their start of the 2021-22 team that won 24 straight and advanced to the quarterfinals of the state tournament.

Despite Henry’s scoring, Solon, a 3A team that won 21 games last year, hammered away with a strong inside game to take leads as high as seven points.

Caleb Bock scored a team-high 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting and had a team-high 5 rebounds.

But after Henry’s triple threes in the final quarter gave the Golden Hawks a 54-50 lead with 1:10 left, the Spartans (3-4) couldn’t answer back. Mid-Prairie point guard Brady Weber hit four free throws in the final minute.

The Golden Hawks (8-0) play at Alburnett (6-2) on Thursday before facing a challenging schedule next week: Monday at Williamsburg, Tuesday vs. Iowa City Regina (8-1) in a River Valley South showdown, Friday at Tipton.

Mid-Prairie 63,

West Liberty 61

Brooks Weber of Mid-Prairie hit a 3-pointer in the final minute, lifting the Golden Hawks to a 63-61 win at West Liberty last Friday.

Mid-Prairie rallied from a 5-point deficit in the final quarter for the victory, outscoring the Comets 11-4 down the stretch.

A final West Liberty shot as the game-ending buzzer sounded missed its mark.

Bryce Henry led the Golden Hawks with 20 points and Ace Peck, returning from an early season ankle injury, scored 17. Peck hit a game-high five 3-pointers.

Conner Wiles grabbed a team-high 9 rebounds. Senior point guard Brady Weber had a team-high 5 assists and hit all four free throws.

West Liberty senior Ryker Dengler scored a game-high 25 points on 8-of-17 shooting, hit a game-high 6 free throws and had a team-high 9 rebounds.

GAME STATS

MID-PRAIRIE 61, SOLON 57

Solon             17    17   11   12  -- 57

Mid-Prairie   19     8    16   18  -- 61

Solon scoring: Caleb Bock 16, Isaiah Zoske 12, Nolan Seagren 7, Maddox Kelley 6, Grant Gordon 4, Kaden Hoeper 4, Simon Einwalter 4, Tanner Helms 2, Jackson Link 2.

Mid-Prairie scoring: Bryce Henry 39, Brady Weber 10, Ace Peck 4, Brooks Weber 4, Kaden Kos 2, Conner Wiles 2.

Solon leading rebounders: Bock 5, Gordon 5.

Mid-Prairie leading rebounders: Kos 7, Ehrenfelt  5.

MID-PRAIRIE 63, WEST LIBERTY 61

Mid-Prairie    10   15   21   17  -- 63

West Liberty   8    16   21   16  -- 61

Mid-Prairie scoring: Bryce Henry 20, Ace Peck 17, Kaden Kos 9, Brooks Weber 6, Brady Weber 4, Hudson Ehrenfelt 4, Conner Wiles 3.

West Liberty scoring: Ryker Dengler 25, Seth Axsom 12, Cameron Iske 9, Caden Laughlin 6, Cole Daufeldt 4, Joseph Delgado 3, Cael Daufeldt 2.

Mid-Prairie leading rebounders: Wiles 9, Henry 6, Peck 5.

West Liberty leading rebounder: Dengler 9.