Big second half propels Baxter boys past Collins-Maxwell

BAXTER — It took a little bit for Baxter’s boys basketball team to get things going against Collins-Maxwell on Thursday night.

But when the Bolts did figure things out, they got ahead and stayed ahead during a 67-47 home win over the Spartans.

Baxter trailed the Iowa Star Conference South Division game by one after one quarter but went in front by five at the break and outscored the Spartans 35-20 in the second half.

“We gave up too many layups early. When it’s up and down and they turn it over, it’s fine but not when they are answering us on shots we shouldn’t give up,” Baxter boys basketball coach Zach Hasselbrink said. “They got layups and that was frustrating. We made more shots than we are used to making, but we also gave up too many easy ones early.”

The victory keeps the Bolts unbeaten in conference play. And in the driver’s seat to claim their first-ever Iowa Star Conference South Division title.

“This game was especially big because it’s Collins-Maxwell, but winning the conference title has always been a goal of ours,” Cody Damman said. “Even back in middle school. We want to take the conference title and then take the next step after that.”

Damman was a big part of the Bolts’ success when he was on the floor. He picked up two fouls in the first quarter and it hurt the Bolts’ flow offensively when he went to the bench.

But, an eventual balanced attack was too much for the Spartans to hold down.

Carson Scroggins led all scorers with 22 points and he grabbed eight rebounds.

Damman, whose role has changed to more of a facilitator this season, added 14 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and two steals. Treyton Travis registered 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.

“We don’t have to rely on one or two guys when our offense goes like that,” Hasselbrink said. “Carson got 20, but we also had guys with 15, 14 and 9. We spread it out and it’s great to see that so we make teams choose who they want to stop. We believe we have six or seven dudes who can do those things offensively.”

The Bolts (11-3 overall, 8-0 in conference play) trailed 10-4 early. A three-point play and putback by Damman cut the lead to three two separate times, but he picked up his second foul with 2:41 to play in the frame.

Travis made it 14-13 Spartans after the first eight minutes. Baxter went in front for good after Scroggins hit a 3-pointer to make it 20-18 in the second.

Travis buried a 3 to put his team up 23-19, another trey by Scroggins pushed the margin to 26-24 and the Bolts led 32-27 at halftime.

“We just wanted to make sure we space ourselves to get where we need to get to,” Hasselbrink said. “It just took some time to figure out what we wanted to exploit.”

Baxter outscored Collins-Maxwell 17-8 in the third, using a 13-0 run to go up 45-29 with 3:14 left in the period.

The spurt included another trey by Travis, five straight points from Nate McMinamen and a bucket and free throw from Damman.

A dunk by Scroggins later made it 47-31 and it was 49-35 after three.

“Hass pumped us up at halftime,” Scroggins said. “We needed to pick up our intensity defensively. We were allowing too many open 3s.”

Baxter’s offense continued to shine in the fourth. Scroggins hit two more triples and an 8-0 run pushed the margin to 65-43. The Bolts went on to win by 20.

The Bolts are 8-0 in league play and every other team in the Iowa Star Conference South Division has at least two league losses.

“We’ve been close to winning it before. And this is something we think this team can and probably should do at this point,” Hasselbrink said. “But we are taking it one game at a time. And each game is important. We just have to be consistent every single night and play our game.”

The Bolts shot 43.6 percent from the floor, buried 6-of-18 from long range and made 13-of-21 from the free-throw line.

McMinamen finished with nine points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals. He was 5-of-6 from the line.

Rory Heer chipped in five points and two steals and Trice Clapper added five points and three boards off the bench.

Collins-Maxwell (4-6, 3-5) was led by Dane Beattie and Jace Huntrods, who both scored 15 points in the loss. Austin Kepple and Luke Huntrods each grabbed eight rebounds. The Spartans were 3-of-29 from 3-point range.

Notes: The game was slated for Friday night but moved up to avoid the incoming snowstorm. … It was the Bolts’ third straight win. … Baxter swept the season series against the Spartans, also winning 50-28 back on Dec. 3. … The Bolts’ average margin of victory in conference play is more than 29 points.