High School Basketball
Mt. Pleasant’s return home did not go as planned as Benton swept the night with the girls’ team losing 48-27 and the boys’ team falling 65-29. The Panthers were led by Addison Clark’s eight points in the girls’ game, while Ryan Helling also cashed in for eight points in the boys’ game. However, it was Grayson Walker that provided a spark for the Panthers in the boys’ game, scoring all six of the team’s points in the third quarter; a welcome sight for head coach Eric Rawson on a night where not much went right,
“Well, you know, he comes in with great energy and a great attitude and that was something that we needed to see. You know, somebody that was putting the effort in and that was great. It’s hats off to him. It’s what we wanted from him and that’s what we knew we’d get. And you know, Ryan Helling, you know, too, I think played well for us, but we had to make a line change and Grayson Walker did a very nice job.”
The Panthers will host Washington on Friday, December 20th, in a doubleheader with the girls’ tipping-off the night at 6 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 5:45 pm.
The Van Buren County boys’ team fell to West Liberty last night 60-43. The Warriors will travel to Holy Trinity Catholic tonight with the girls playing first at 6 pm.
Columbus will face off against Winfield-Mt. Union tonight with the girls’ getting the night going at 6.
New London will square off against Central Lee tonight with the girls starting off the night at 6 pm.
WACO will face off against Hillcrest Academy tonight with game one at 6 pm.
West Burlington will travel to Danville tonight with the girls playing first at 6 pm.
Wapello will compete against Highland tonight in a road matchup with the first game at 6 pm.
Mediapolis will face off against Burlington Notre Dame tonight with the boys following the girls’ game at 7:30 pm.
Fairfield will travel to Keokuk on Friday with the girls’ tipping-off the night at 6 pm.
High School Wrestling
Mt. Pleasant will dual on Thursday, December 19th, against Fort Madison at home.
Fairfield will take on Burlington on the road on Thursday.
The New London boys’ team will face off against Pekin on Thursday on the road.
WACO will compete in a double dual on Thursday against Mediapolis and Burlington Notre Dame at home.
The Wapello boys’ team will celebrate their senior night on Thursday in a triangular against Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union and Van Buren County.
The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ team will compete in the John Randles Invite at Prairie on Saturday, December 21st.
The Wapello girls’ team will travel to Chariton for an invitational on Saturday.
High School Bowling
Fairfield hosted Mt. Pleasant yesterday and split the night with the Panther girls’ team winning 2,209-1,862, while the Trojan boys’ team exited with the victory 2,738-2,302. The Panthers were led by Shyann Smith with 327 pins and Henry Pforts with 346 pins.
Mt. Pleasant will travel to Burlington on Friday, December 20th, for a triangular.
Southeastern Community College
The #20 men’s basketball team will take on Western Iowa Tech at home on January 8th with tip-off scheduled for 7 pm.
College Football
#18 Iowa State will face off against #16 Miami in the Pop Tarts Bowl on December 28th at 2:30 pm in Orlando.
Iowa will take on #19 Missouri for the Music City Bowl on December 30th in Nashville at 1:30 pm.
College Basketball
The #3 Iowa State men’s team will host Morgan State on Sunday, December 22nd, with game time scheduled for noon. The Cyclones had junior Joshua Jefferson nab Big 12 Newcomer of the Week for the second consecutive week as he averaged 16 points, nine rebounds, and six assists in their wins last week.
The Iowa men’s team will meet Utah on Saturday, December 21st, at 5 pm in a road matchup.
The #22 Iowa women’s team will face off against Northern Iowa on Friday, December 20th, at 6:30 pm at home.
The Iowa State women’s team will be tested against #4 UConn at 7:30 pm tonight on the road. The Cyclones will be led by Big 12 Player of the Week in Audi Crooks as the sophomore is averaging 21.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.
This Day in Sports History
1933 – The National Football League Championship – First title game, Wrigley Field, Chicago: the Chicago Bears beat the New York Giants, 23-21; “Bronko Nagurski Rule” – a forward pass is legal anywhere behind the line of scrimmage.
1944 – The National Football League Championship, Polo Grounds, NYC: The Green Bay Packers beat the New York Giants 14-7 for the 6th and final league title under long-time coach Curly Lambeau.
2022 – The Minnesota Vikings recover from a 33-0 deficit at halftime to beat the Indianapolis Colts 39-36 in overtime at US Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN; the largest comeback in NFL history.