Sports, December 13th

High School Basketball

Mt. Pleasant celebrated senior night, but only one team got to celebrate as the girls fell 51-34 to Benton to start the night. The Panthers quickly found themselves down 19-1 after the first quarter as the Bobcats had the hot hand from beyond the arc and were playing stellar defensively. Andrea Lopreato was two rebounds shy of a double-double as she led the Panthers with 17 points. They move to 2-5 on the season.

The boys team looked like they were heading for the same fate as the Bobcats had the lead exiting the first quarter 11-8. Then Payton Hagans took over the game and led the effort as the Panthers outscored the Bobcats 57-24 over the next three quarters for a 65-35 victory. For Coach Rawson it was only a matter of time before Hagans’s  29 point performance. Both teams will face off against Washington on Friday, December 16th, with a chance at first place in the conference as the girls will be on the road and the boys will be at home with both games scheduled to start at 7:30 pm.

WACO will travel to play Highland tonight, December 13th, with the girls starting at 6 pm.

Danville will look to get back on track tonight at home against Van Buren County with the first game scheduled for 6 pm.

The New London Tigers will play Mediapolis tonight with the girls scheduled to start at 6 pm. Holy Trinity Catholic will face off against Burlington Notre Dame at home with the girls going at 6 pm.

The Central Lee boys basketball team will tip-off against West Burlington tonight at home at 7:30 pm, while the girls team will have to wait until Friday, December 16th, to host Danville at 6 pm.

Winfield-Mt. Union will have to wait until Friday, December 16th, when they host Columbus with the girls game starting at 6 pm.

High School Wrestling

The Mt. Pleasant boys wrestling team will be back in action at home against Fort Madison and Mid-Prairie on Thursday, December 15th.

The girls team will wrestle December 17th at the Wilton Tournament.

High School Bowling

The Mt. Pleasant Panthers girls and boys teams competed against Fairfield yesterday with the boys team falling by 360 pins and the girls team coming out on top by 132 pins. The boys team was led by Alec Payne who knocked down 343 total pins as Jonathan Fortin had the best game total with a 190. The girls team was led by Addison McGehearty and Bethany Drury as they both totaled 299 total pins. Kylie Alldrege was right behind them with 297 total pins. Their next competition will be January 5th against Washington at the Iris Bowling Center.

Iowa Wesleyan Athletics

The men’s basketball team will be back in action tonight on the road against Saint Ambrose University at 7:30 pm.

The women’s basketball team’s next game is tonight as they travel to play Grace College at 2 pm.

The women’s wrestling team is in action December 16th at the Eagle Duals at Avila University, while the men’s team will have to wait until next year to wrestle at Central Methodist University on January 10th.

The Tiger’s next indoor meet will be the Dutch Athletics Classic on January 14th.

This Day in Sports History

1983 – 9,655 fans see the highest-scoring NBA game: Detroit 186, Denver 184 (3 OT).

1997 – 63rd Heisman Trophy Award: Charles Woodson, Michigan (CB). First mainly defensive player to win the award.

2018 – German basketball forward Dirk Nowitzki takes the court for his record 21st NBA season with the Dallas Mavericks, surpassing Kobe Bryant’s 20 seasons with the LA Lakers.