High School Basketball
Mt. Pleasant started their arduous road trip last night with a matchup against Mid-Prairie; unfortunately, the Panthers were swept by the Golden Hawks, 66-30 in the girls game and 68-54 in the boys contest. Abi Shelangowski and Abby Carthey each netted nine points for the Panthers. Despite dropping 10 three-pointers, the boys’ team was outscored 41 to 22 in the second and third quarters; Ryan Helling finished the night with 18 points. The Panthers boys’ team will face off against Wilton tonight on the road at 7:30 pm.
Mt. Pleasant will continue their road trip on Friday, January 31st, against Washington with game one at 6 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 5:45 pm.
Fairfield struggled at home against Williamsburg last night, suffering a pair of losses with the girls getting clobbered 61-18 and the boys falling 56-47. The Trojans will host Keokuk on Thursday, January 30th, with the night starting at 6 pm.
Burlington Notre Dame will take on Danville tonight at home with tip-off at 6 pm.
Mediapolis will compete against Central Lee tonight with game time at 6 pm on the road.
WACO will stay at home to play Highland tonight with game one at 6 pm.
The West Burlington boys’ team will tangle with Winfield-Mt. Union tonight with tip-off at 7:30 pm.
Holy Trinity Catholic will compete against New London tonight at home for senior night with the girls playing at 6 pm.
Columbus will travel to Wapello tonight with the doubleheader starting at 6 pm.
Van Buren County will face off against Central Lee on Friday with the night starting at 6 pm.
High School Boys’ Basketball Rankings
In the fourth edition of the Iowa High School Athletic Association’s (IHSAA) basketball rankings, two local teams found themselves in the top 10 a week after being left out of the rankings.
In Class 2A, West Burlington worked their way back into the top 10 at the #10 slot. Since dropping two consecutive games, the Falcons have restarted their reign of terror by putting up 95 and 78 points, respectively, in their last two wins. Mason Watkins has been a scoring machine, averaging 30.4 points per game, which ranks second in the state.
In Class 1A, #9 Burlington Notre Dame has made their first appearance in the top 10 as the Nikes tout a 13-2 record. Notre Dame is in the midst of a seven game win streak that included a 64-53 win over Holy Trinity Catholic. The Nikes are winning games by an average of nearly 23 points per contest as Shay Stephens is putting up 21.6 points and the 5th most assists per game in the state at 6.9.
High School Wrestling
The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team will face off against Burlington at home on Thursday, January 30th.
The Mediapolis boys’ team will host a quad on Thursday with Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union making the trip.
The New London and Van Buren County boys’ teams will participate in a quad at Burlington Notre Dame on Thursday.
The WACO and Wapello boys’ teams will travel to Highland for a double dual on Thursday.
The girls’ regional tournament will commence on Friday, January 31st, at Williamsburg with Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union, Fairfield, Mediapolis, WACO, Wapello, Van Buren County, and Mt. Pleasant all making the trip.
The Fairfield boys’ team will host their invite on Saturday, February 1st.
Dan Gable Ms. and Mr. Wrestler of the Year
IAwrestle and Iowa Corn in coordination with the Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association (IWCOA) has released the top 15 wrestlers for the Dan Gable Ms. and Mr. Wrestler of the Year Awards and southeast Iowa has three competitors in the running.
In Class 1A, WACO’s Louden Huisenga is a strong contender for the award at the 190-pound weight class. He has compiled a 25-0 record against fellow 190-pound contenders.
Over in Class 2A, Kaiden Dietzenbach of Burlington Notre Dame is back in the top 15 after being placed on the list last year. The Nike is continuing his reign of terror on the area in the 138-pound weight class with a perfect 27-0 record, so far through his senior campaign.
Fairfield’s Cael McCabe is also up for the award in Class 2A as the junior boasts a 22-2 record in the 113-pound weight class. McCabe has won the Bob Murphy and Bill Van Horn Invitationals this season.
Fans can vote once per list at Facebook.com/IAwrestle for their favorite wrestler in each category until February 9th, when the list will be narrowed down to the top 7. The next round of voting, from February 10th to February 23rd, will determine the top 3 finalists, with the winner announced at the banquet on February 27th at the Fareway Conference Center in Boone, Iowa, on February 27th at 11:30AM.
High School Bowling
Mt. Pleasant will host Burlington on Thursday, January 30th.
Fairfield will celebrate their senior night on Thursday against Keokuk.
Southeastern Community College
The men’s basketball team will look to finish the month over 0.500 in a road matchup against Kankakee Community College tonight at 7:30 pm.
College Basketball
The #3 Iowa State men’s team ran out of steam in an overtime loss to Arizona last night 86-75. Tamin Lipsey led the scoring with 18 points. The Cyclones will face off against Kansas State on Saturday, February 1st, at 1 pm at home.
The Iowa men’s team suffered a one-sided loss to Ohio State last night 82-65. Drew Thelwell collected 20 points in the losing effort. The Hawkeyes will compete against Purdue on February 4th at home at 6 pm.
The Iowa women’s team will venture back home to face off against Northwestern tonight at 7 pm.
The Iowa State women’s team will travel to #11 Kansas State on Thursday, January 30th, at 7:30 pm.
This Day in Sports History
1940 – Chicago’s Les Cunningham scores five points in one period to tie an NHL record that stands until 1978; records 2 goals & 3 assists in a 10:04 span during the 3d period of an 8-1 win over Montreal.
1984 – Edmonton center Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record point scoring streak ends at 51 games when the Oilers are beaten 4-2 by the LA Kings; Gretzky totals 61-92-153 during the period.
1992 – St. Louis right winger Brett Hull becomes the 2nd player (after Wayne Gretzky) in NHL history to record back-to-back seasons of 50 goals in 50 games; #50 comes in a 3-3 Blues’ tie in Los Angeles.