Indianola Basketball Sweeps DCG
The Indianola basketball teams swept their first conference doubleheader in 2020, taking care of the Dallas Center-Grimes squads on the road with the girls winning 47-41 and the boys 65-53. The Indians boys were facing an undefeated Mustangs squad that sat atop the Little Hawkeye Conference, and fell behind in the first half by several possessions multiple times, but went on a run before halftime to take a 30-29 lead. The second half was all Indians however, as they held the Mustangs to just 24 points, most of which came late in the 4th quarter when the game was already out of hand. The Indians built a lead as high as 20 points with stifling defense, and head coach Brett Watson tells KNIA Sports making a run to end the first half was a key to the big win.
“I read this from a football book, but it’s called the eight minutes, the last four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half, obviously it’s a bit different for high school boys basketball, but if you can win those you have a pretty good ball club and I think we did that tonight. That’s what really big for this club, if we can finish the half with a nice little run and push that lead to start the next one, we were thankful we were able to do that.”
Tyce Johnson and AJ Toigo each had 19 points to lead the Indians. The Indians girls also had a great defensive effort in their win, holding 20 points a game scorer Jordan Cunningham for the Fillies to just three points, all of which came on free throws late in the contest. With offense hard to come by, the Indians held a one point advantage before a barrage of three-pointers in the 4th quarter helped build a 10 point lead, and the Indians held on for the victory. Lauren Blake scored 13 to lead the Indians, while Emma Kluver hit four shots from beyond the arc to score 12 off the bench. The Indians boys are now on a six-game winning streak and sit at 6-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play in a tie for first, while the girls are now 5-3 overall and 3-1 in conference play. Both squads will have a tough matchup against Grinnell at home on Friday.
Boys Swimming Dominates Southeast Polk in Home Pool
The Indianola boys swimming team took down Southeast Polk in their home pool Tuesday evening 125-44, continuing their hot streak to start the season. Winners for the Indians included Collin Guerts in the 100 and 200 Freestyle, Brennen Severidt in the 200 Individual Medley, Brad LaGrange in the 50 Freestyle, Nathan Pollard in the 100 and 200 Butterfly, Matt Coffelt in the 500 Freestyle and 100 Backstroke, and the 200 Medley Relay, 200 Freestyle Relay, and 400 Freestyle Relay. The Indians will have another chance in the pool Saturday in a tournament at Des Moines East.