Hustle plays power L-S boys past Iowa Valley

MARENGO — On a night when points were hard to come by, the Lynnville-Sully boys basketball team made the hustle plays necessary to defeat Iowa Valley on Tuesday.

The Hawks used a fast start to grab an advantage and then controlled the second half during a 47-32 road win over the Tigers in South Iowa Cedar League action.

“Our guys did a great job executing the defensive game plan,” Lynnville-Sully head boys basketball coach Nick Harthoorn said. “Our defense gave us an opportunity to win on a night when scoring was difficult. We were able to convert 17 points off turnovers and had 11 second-chance points. Those hustle plays were crucial for us.”

The Hawks improved to 27-0 against Iowa Valley since 2006. Lynnville-Sully out-rebounded the Tigers 36-26 and had a 17-5 advantage in points off turnovers and an 11-2 surplus in second-chance points.

Will Van Vark led the Hawks (7-3, 5-3 in the conference) with 10 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Sawyer Veldhuizen had a game-high 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting from 3-point range. He also added two rebounds and three assists.

Carson Maston tallied nine points, eight boards, two assists and five steals, Dawson James collected six points and 12 rebounds and Connor Deal chipped in four points, two rebounds and four steals. Hendrick Lowry grabbed three boards.

Lynnville-Sully shot 35.3 percent from the floor, made 7-of-27 from 3 and connected on 4-of-8 from the free-throw line. The Hawks turned the ball over 15 times.

Caleb Haack led Iowa Valley with six points, 14 rebounds and five blocks. The Tigers (6-4, 4-3) shot 28 percent from the floor, made 3-of-20 from 3 and hit 5-of-7 from the foul line. They committed 18 turnovers.

Lynnville-Sully led 11-4 after one and outscored Iowa Valley 24-16 in the second half.