By Bob Bakken
MaxPreps.com
The latest Iowa high school boys basketball rankings have a tie for the top spot in Class 4-A, between Central Iowa Metropolitan League front-runner Ames and Marion Linn-Mar from the Mississippi Valley Conference.
The Ames Little Cyclones are 6-0 for the season and recently defeated Waukee 49-32 on Dec. 12. Waukee was a state tournament entrant last season, but Ames had a 12-0 lead four minutes into the contest. James Kohler led the way with ten points and six rebounds.
Junior Harrison Barnes has been the star of the Little Cyclones this season, however. He’s already received scholarship offers from several Division I schools, including Iowa State, North Carolina, Duke, Kansas and Kentucky.
Last year as a sophomore, Barnes averaged over 17 points a game for Ames. In a recent game against Fort Dodge, Harrison threw down four dunks and scored 23 points on the Little Cyclones’ way to a 73-36 victory.
Barnes currently is among the state 4-A leaders in rebounding, averaging over nine boards a game.
On the eastern side of the state, unbeaten Linn-Mar is led by two players on the way to Division I college programs. Six-foot-seven wing Nate Hutcheson has committed to Western Michigan, while 6-6 forward Zach Bohannon is going to the Air Force Academy.
Bohannon is currently among the top 10 scoring leaders in 4-A, averaging 18.7 points per game. In a recent game, he scored 22 points and Hutcheson added 19 as Linn-Mar defeated Cedar Rapids Prairie, 90-67.
In Class 3-A, Sioux City Heelan is on top of the list with a 4-0 record. Senior Brendan Cougill is pacing the Crusaders, scoring over 24 points and grabbing 16 rebounds a game. He’s already accepted a scholarship offer from Iowa to play next season for the Hawkeyes.
Heelan stopped a top-ranked team from Minnesota, St. Paul Johnson, on Heelan’s home court 68-56 Dec. 19. Cougill scored 23 points for the Crusaders, moving to sixth on Sioux City’s all-time scoring list at 1,208 for his career.
Iowa’s top 2-A school now is northwestern power Hull-Western Christian, last year’s state champion. Western Christian is 4-0 and just a point ahead of central Iowa’s Pella Christian in the Associated Press rankings.
While no one on the H-WC roster is listed among the state’s scoring and rebounding leaders, Shawn Keizer is fourth in assists at 6.2 per game.
Another northwest Iowa power leads Class 1-A, where Rock Valley has the top spot and a 5-0 record. Again, no one’s listed among the leaders in the major statistical categories, but Rock Valley has been getting it done. Some recent games have been postponed due to severe winter weather that has struck several parts of the Midwest, including the Hawkeye State.
Girls Basketball: Des Moines North Streak Ends
People associated with the Des Moines North girls basketball program are happy a streak has ended. It’s a streak that’s gone on for four seasons, as the Polar Bears’ 88-game losing streak ended in North’s 52-36 victory over Ottumwa on Dec. 12. Dara Smith scored 23 points for the Polar Bears in the victory.
Also of Note...
Katie Eiben scored 23 points for Springville to set the school career scoring mark last week. Eiben reached 1,220 points for her career, as the defending state champions topped Alburnett 52-31.
Ballard of Huxley stopped 3-A powerhouse Waverly-Shell Rock 39-28 to win the Cedar Rapids Prairie Holiday Wrestling Classic. Ballard was 4-0 in the dual meet tournament, averaging 10 wins per dual meet victory. The Bombers are the defending state Class 2-A champion and are No. 1 in the latest rankings.
Ames leads the Iowa Swim Coaches Association’s rankings for boys’ teams, outdistancing second-place Cedar Falls, 1480-1260. Ben Utesch of Ames has the top Iowa time in the 100-yard backstroke at 53.07 seconds. Utesch also has the best Iowa time this season in the 100-yard butterfly at 52.58 seconds. Ames also leads the state in two relays, the 200-medley relay and the 200-freestyle relay.
