High School Basketball

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team hosted Danville in a non-conference bout last night and despite outscoring the Bears 23 to 10 in the second half the Panthers fell short of the comeback, losing 35-31. Alexa Fuller led the charge in the second half for the Panthers, collecting 11 points for the night, while Alaina Gourley put up 12 points for the Bears.

Mt. Pleasant head coach Curt Watson believes his team has nothing to hang their heads about,

“I thought in the second half we played really, really well. We came out and we just kind of told them that the first half was done and over with and we just had to take one possession at a time to get back in the game and the girls took that to heart. And they went out and played a lot better defense. We got better looks in the second half. Just overall I’m proud of the way the girls came out in the second half.”

Danville has now won three consecutive games decided by two possessions or less, an aspect of the game head coach Matt Morris is hoping to build upon,

“That’s huge down the stretch. You know, overall, we’ve still got a very young varsity experience team. Yeah, you want to definitely win those games. You’ll take the blowout wins if you can get them of course. But yeah, when you look at the overall situation, yeah, anytime we can get in that scoring clock situation, the game is close. You know, whether it’s a quarter or a half, it’s a great opportunity for our kids to learn and grow. And, you know, we, I think, you know that hopefully we learned a couple of things about ourselves in, in the scoring clock situation. When the last couple of minutes and hopefully you know we get that situation again come district time that you know we execute.”

Danville will travel to West Burlington tonight at 6 pm.

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will celebrate their senior night on Friday, January 24th, against Fort Madison with game time at 6 pm.

Columbus split their matchup against Van Buren County last night with the girls’ team winning a low scoring affair, 43-35, and the boys’ team falling 72-60. 

Holy Trinity Catholic will compete against Van Buren County tonight on the road with game one at 6 pm. 

Columbus will take on Winfield-Mt. Union on Friday with the doubleheader starting at 6 pm. 

Burlington Notre Dame swept Wapello last night with the girls’ team handling the Arrows 48-35 and the boys’ team crushing Wapello 78-43.

Mediapolis will travel to Burlington Notre Dame tonight with tip-off at 6 pm. 

Wapello will square off against Hillcrest Academy tonight in a road matchup with game one at 6 pm.

The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team will face off against Oskaloosa tonight at 7:30 pm. 

The Fairfield boys’ team will take on Pella Christian tonight with game time at 7:30 pm on the road.  

Winfield-Mt. Union will play Highland tonight with the boys’ team following the girls game at 7:30 pm. 

Central Lee will square off against New London at home tonight with game one at 6 pm. 

WACO will hit the road to compete against Lone Tree tonight at 6 pm for the girls game. 

High School Wrestling

Mt. Pleasant will host Fairfield on Thursday, January 23rd.

The Mediapolis boys’ team will host New London and Highland for a triangular on Thursday. 

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team will travel to Pekin on Thursday for a triangular. 

The Van Buren County boys’ team will participate in the Louisa-Muscatine Invite on Saturday, January 25th.

The Burlington Notre Dame boys’ team will host Wapello on Thursday to celebrate their Senior Night. 

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ team will travel to Louisa-Muscatine on Saturday for an Invite.  

The WACO boys’ team will travel to Highland for a double dual on January 30th.

High School Bowling

Fairfield will compete in a triangular in Keokuk tonight.

Mt. Pleasant will take on Fairfield on Thursday, January 23rd, at home. 

High School Soccer Rule Changes

The Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) and the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) released a joint set of rule changes for the upcoming 2025 soccer season.

There will be no overtime permitted for any regular season match at any level with tied regular season matches resulting in a draw. The one exception will be given to regular season tournaments.

Continuous clock will be used for the first half if a team is ahead by 10 goals.

No weather delay for a postseason match will exceed three hours past the original start time.

Lastly, the NFHS rule surrounding players getting yellow cards will now be applied instead of the Iowa adaptation.

NFHS RULE 12-8 PENALTY: A cautioned player shall leave the field and may be replaced. Should a team with a cautioned player elect to play shorthanded, the cautioned player may not re-enter nor be replaced until the next substitution opportunity.

Southeastern Community College

The men’s basketball team will be back at home tomorrow, January 22nd, to face off against Marshalltown Community College at 7 pm.

College Basketball

The #3 Iowa State men’s team will host UCF tonight at 7 pm.

The Iowa men’s team will face off against Minnesota tonight at 8 pm. 

The Iowa women’s team will take on Washington on the road tomorrow, January 22nd, at 8 pm. 

The Iowa State women’s team will compete tomorrow against BYU at home with tip-off at 6:30 pm.

This Day in Sports History

1954 – First time in NBA All-Star history, an overtime period is needed to decide a winner; Boston Celtics’ guard Bob Cousy’s 10-point overtime scoring burst gives the East a 98-93 win; Cousy wins All-Star MVP honors.

1990 – John McEnroe becomes the first player ever to be expelled from the Australian Open.

1994 – The Dallas Mavericks suffer their 19th straight loss at Reunion Arena, 91-87 to the Seattle SuperSonics, extending an unwanted NBA record for the most consecutive home defeats.

Prep Soccer- The Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) and Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) boards had a joint meeting, and the result is some new changes to take effect in the upcoming 2025 regular season and playoffs.

There was a total of four joint approvals that will affect the upcoming play.

1. Overtimes and Draws

There will be no overtime permitted for any regular season match at any level. Tied regular season matches will result in a draw. An exception will be given to regular season tournaments that need a winner to advance; however, the teams will immediately proceed to penalty kicks.

Postseason matches will keep their overtime policy of two sudden victory overtime periods and penalty kicks to determine a winner.

2. Continuous Clock

If a team is ahead by 10 goals in the first half of a match, then there will be a continuous clock until the lead falls under 10 goals or halftime arrives.

If the lead is 10 at halftime, then the game will conclude. If a 10-goal lead is reached at any point in the second half, then the game will conclude at that point.

3. Weather Delay Guidance

No weather delay for a postseason match will exceed three hours past the original start time.

An example would be if a match started at 7 pm, then the teams may not start or restart the game after 10 pm. Teams may mutually agree to end the match if there is a team leading in the second half.

4. Five-Minute Sit Out for a Yellow Card

The NFHS rule surrounding players getting yellow cards will now be applied instead of the Iowa adaptation.

NFHS RULE 12-8 PENALTY: A cautioned player shall leave the field and may be replaced. Should a team with a cautioned player elect to play shorthanded, the cautioned player may not re-enter nor be replaced until the next substitution opportunity.

The IHSAA soccer advisory committee also agreed to permit 17 matches per level for schools and the maximum amount of halves a player or team can play in one day is four.

High School Basketball

The Danville boys’ team secured a one-sided non-conference victory over BGM last weekend 57-43. Jaden Bauer tallied a double-double with 13 points and 18 rebounds. The Bears will travel to West Burlington tomorrow, January 21st, at 7:30 pm.

The #6 West Burlington boys’ team almost overcame a 24 to 8 deficit to start the game, but the Falcons have now dropped back-to-back games after losing 70-67 to Keokuk over the weekend. The girls’ team did not fare much better in a 70-19 beatdown at the hands of the Chiefs. 

Holy Trinity Catholic split their weekend matchup against Fort Madison with the girls’ team losing 49-29 and the boys’ team beating the Bloodhounds 68-59. Elizabeth Griffin netted eight points in the loss, while Layne Rung collected 24 points for the boys’ team. The Crusaders will compete against Van Buren County tomorrow on the road with game one at 6 pm. 

The Van Buren County girls’ team went to overtime against Davis County over the weekend and exited with the victory, 51-46. Sophia Jirak and Marlee Mertens each finished the game with 12 points. The boys’ team suffered a tough loss to the Mustangs 68-67. 

Columbus will tangle with Van Buren County tonight with the girls leading the night off at 6 pm. 

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will attempt to get a win tonight at home against Danville with the game starting at 6 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 5:45 pm. 

Burlington Notre Dame will compete against Wapello tonight with game time at 6 pm. 

The Fairfield girls’ team will venture to Grinnell tonight with tip-off at 7:30 pm, while the boys’ team will take on Pella Christian tomorrow with game time at 7:30 pm on the road.  

The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team will face off against Oskaloosa tomorrow at 7:30 pm. 

Winfield-Mt. Union will play Highland tomorrow with the boys’ team following the girls game at 7:30 pm. 

Central Lee will square off against New London at home tomorrow with game one at 6 pm. 

WACO will hit the road to compete against Lone Tree tomorrow at 6 pm for the girls game. 

New London will attempt to upset Central Lee on the road tomorrow with game one starting at 6 pm. 

Mediapolis will travel to Burlington Notre Dame tomorrow with tip-off at 6 pm. 

High School Wrestling

The WACO boys’ team hosted their Invite over the weekend with Mt. Pleasant, New London, Mediapolis, and Wapello all participating. The big three for the Warriors continued dominating with Ian Maize defeating Levi Evans of Mt. Pleasant by a 9-3 decision for the gold in the 106-pound weight class, Gage Samo took first place in the 120-pound weight class by technical fall, and Louden Huisenga won by technical fall over Mt. Pleasant’s Payton Walker for the gold in the 190-pound weight class.

The Panthers were paced by Jackson Newman as he pinned Killian Kelly of New London for the gold in the 157-pound weight class. Ramzy Davis, Keegan Birdsell, and Lane Beckler all clinched second place in their respective weight classes.

New London was headlined by Kane Forseen’s 8-7 decision win over Beckler for first place in the 126-pound weight class. Corbin Jacobs-Jewell earned third place by fall in the 144-pound weight class. 

In the 138-pound weight class, Cohen Wolford of Wapello defeated New London’s Gage Burden in the first-place match by fall. Carter Ball took second place in the 165-pound weight class.

Lastly, Kyler Crow of Mediapolis claimed the gold in the 175-pound weight class, pinning two of his opponents to stay undefeated for the season. 

The WACO boys’ team will travel to Highland for a double dual on January 30th.

Mt. Pleasant will host Fairfield on Thursday, January 23rd.

The Mediapolis boys’ team will host New London and Highland for a triangular on Thursday. 

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union, Fairfield, and Van Buren County boys’ teams traveled to Centerville over the weekend for the Big Red Invite and each team had at least one wrestler finish in the top four.

The Wildcats had Jacob Nelson and Riley Kaalberg claim second place in their respective weight classes. The team had a trio of wrestlers take third place in Dakota Aney, Kason Dopler, and Trevor Phillips.

Fairfield was headlined by Dain Burkhart’s win by fall in the 175-pound weight class to finish the day undefeated and with the gold. Dre Smithburg took third place in the 215-pound weight class. 

Leo Jirak of Van Buren County was the lone Warrior to finish in the top four as he fell in the third-place match by technical fall in the 106-pound weight class. 

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team will travel to Pekin on Thursday for a triangular. 

The Van Buren County boys’ team will participate in the Louisa-Muscatine Invite on Saturday, January 25th.

The Burlington Notre Dame boys’ team will host Wapello on Thursday to celebrate their Senior Night. 

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ team will travel to Louisa-Muscatine on Saturday for an Invite.  

High School Bowling

Fairfield traveled to Ottumwa to compete in an invitational over the weekend and both teams finished in 10th place with the girls’ team collecting 1,636 total pins and the boys’ team taking 2,561 pins. The Trojans will compete in a triangular in Keokuk tomorrow, January 21st. 

Mt. Pleasant will take on Fairfield on Thursday, January 23rd, at home. 

Southeastern Community College

The men’s basketball team could not contain Indian Hills Community College over the weekend in a 81-57 loss. Shemar Avanoe led the squad with 20 points. The Blackhawks are back at home on Wednesday, January 22nd, to face off against Marshalltown Community College at 7 pm.

College Basketball

The #2 Iowa State men’s team left Morgantown shocked after their 64-57 upset loss to West Virginia last weekend. Curtis Jones led the scoring for the Cyclones with 18 points. Iowa State will host UCF tomorrow, January 21st, at 7 pm.

The Iowa men’s team will face off against Minnesota tomorrow at 8 pm. 

The Iowa women’s team dropped a heartbreaker to Oregon last night 50-49, marking their fifth consecutive loss. Sydney Affolter collected a double-double with 10 points and a career high 15 rebounds. The Hawkeyes will take on Washington on the road on Wednesday, January 22nd, at 8 pm. 

The Iowa State women’s team fell to #20 West Virginia yesterday 82-68. Addy Brown cashed in for 19 points in the losing effort. The Cyclones will compete on Wednesday against BYU at home with tip-off at 6:30 pm.

This Day in Sports History

1968 – The Houston Cougars defeat the UCLA Bruins 71-69 to win basketball’s Game of the Century and end UCLA’s 47-game winning streak. 

1989 – Pittsburgh center Mario Lemieux becomes just the 2nd player in NHL history to score 50 goals in less than 50 games; #50 in the 44th game as the Penguins lose 7-3 to the Jets in Winnipeg. 

2007 – Utah coach Jerry Sloan passes Larry Brown for 4th on the NBA’s all-time win list (1,010) after the Jazz beat the Chicago Bulls 95-85 at the United Center.