It was a season of highs and lows for the PCM Boys Basketball team. The Mustangs started the season 4-3 heading into Christmas Break, with solid victories over the likes of Knoxville and Greene County. They also experienced tough losses to teams such as Pella Christian and Nevada.

After the break, PCM responded in a big way. The Mustangs won seven out of a stretch of eight games, with the only loss coming to 3A tournament qualifier Pella. Looking to bounce back from the earlier loss to Nevada, PCM fell to the Cubs by 19 points, starting a five-game losing streak heading into the playoffs.

The postseason started in Story City with a win over East Marshall, a game where neither team could find their stride offensively. The season came to a close at Des Moines Christian the following round, and Head Coach Fred Lorensen says it was a high-quality team that knocked them out.

“Des Moines Christian, they’ve got a really nice team. They were really hard for us to guard, they’ve got size, they’ve got quickness, they could shoot the ball well. The biggest thing in that game is we turned the ball over way too many times, they bothered us defensively and we just didn’t handle it well. I think we had 24 turnovers in the game, and you’re not going to beat anybody turning the ball over 24 times. It was a disappointing ending, but our goal in tournaments is always to play until someone better than you beats you. Some years you feel like you lose to teams that maybe you shouldn’t have. But they had a nice team, and you certainly can’t feel too bad losing to them.”

The Mustangs finished the season 12-11 overall and 7-7 in the Heart of Iowa Conference. They will graduate five seniors.