SULLY — In the season-opener, Keota’s Eagles squeezed past the visiting Lynnville-Sully Hawk boys, 54-51. Since then, the Eagles have soared and the Hawks have done alright.
Coming into Friday’s South Iowa Cedar League contest, the Eagles were 11-0 and ranked eighth in Class 1A. Lynnville-Sully’s boys had an 8-3 mark and playing on their home court.
The Hawks clamped down defensively early and never let up. Keota shot a very, frosty 19 percent, 12-of-62, from the field. Lynnville-Sully handed the Eagles their first loss of the season, 45-33.
“The boys played great defense tonight. It was tough to find a rhythm offensively, but the guys took care of the ball and kept working,” said Nick Harthoorn, Hawk head coach. “It was good win for us. Hopefully we can continue to improve each night out.”
Lynnville-Sully’s defense stymied two of the top scorers in Class 1A. Kolton Greiner averages 20 points a game for the Eagles and Luke Lyle averages 21 points. Greiner finished with 13 and Lyle had eight points in Friday’s contest.
The Hawks led 7-3 at the end of the first quarter and 14-9 at the break. They outscored the Eagles 12-9 in the third period and finished with a 19-15 run.
Lynnville-Sully shot 30 percent, 12-of-40, from the field and knocked down 17-of-27 free throw attempts. Keota went 11-of-19 from the free-throw line.
T.J. Cunningham tossed in 14 points followed by Kyle Van Dyke’s 12 and Darin Hofer’s 11 points for the Hawks. Van Dyke corralled nine of the team’s 37 rebounds while Cunningham and Hofer each had seven boards.
Jake Brand and Hofer each dished out three assists. Credited with two steals each were Ben Trettin, Brand and Hofer.
Keota (11-1, 10-1) got 12 points from Nate Owen.
Lynnville-Sully improved to 9-3 overall and 8-3 in league play. It travels to English Valleys Tuesday.
Lynnville-Sully 7-7-12-19—45
Keota 3-6-9-15—33
Lynnville-Sully — Cunningham 2/1-7-5-14, Trettin 0-1-2-1, Brand 0-4-0-4, Zegers 0-1-0-1, Ehresman 0-0-2-0, Van Dyke 5-2-3-12, Hofer 2/1-2-4-11. TOTALS; 10/2-17-16-45.
Keota — Mousel 0-0-1-0, Hultman 0-0-1-0, Berg 0-1-4-1, Greiner 1/2-5-2-13, Lyle 2/1-1-3-8, Owen 3/1-3-3-12, Hahan 0-0-1-0, Sieren 2-1-4-5. TOTALS: 8/4-11-19-39.