Baxter boys get redemption on rival Collins-Maxwell

BAXTER — Eli Dee dropped 36 points, Perrin Sulzle had a monster double-double and the Baxter boys basketball team scored a season split against Collins-Maxwell on Tuesday.

The Bolts made more than half of their shots from the floor, turned the ball over only six times and out-rebounded the Spartans by 10 during a 73-45 home win in Iowa Star Conference South Division action.

Dee scored 36 points and grabbed two rebounds. He was 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.

Sulzle finished with 18 points, 17 rebounds, two steals and two blocks. He was 4-of-5 from the foul line.

Cainan Travis totaled 12 points, six rebounds and three steals, Stadan Vansice chipped in three points, three rebounds and seven assists and Maddux Tuhn grabbed three boards and dished out three assists.

The Bolts (12-8, 10-2 in the conference) shot 51 percent from the floor, made 4-of-11 from 3-point range and connected on 13-of-17 from the free-throw line.

They out-rebounded the Spartans 32-22. Collins-Maxwell shot 38 percent from the floor and made 6-of-12 from 3. The Spartans turned the ball over 12 times.

Baxter led 21-13 after one and outscored its visitors 20-7 in the second. Collins-Maxwell won the second half 32-25.

The Bolts split the season series with the Spartans and have won nine of the past 10 in the series. Collins-Maxwell won the conference title following a win over Meskwaki Settlement School on Friday.

Cooper Wierson led Collins-Maxwell (16-3, 11-1) with 15 points and five rebounds and Josef Dvorak added 12 points and five rebounds.

Paden Myers came into the game averaging 16 points per game but was held to five in the loss. Ian Beattie also scored 7.7 points under his scoring average.

Baxter 64, Colo-NESCO 52

COLO — The Bolts made more than half of their shots from the floor, turned the ball over only eight times and used a fast start to down Colo-NESCO on Friday.

Baxter led by 15 at halftime and held off a second-half charge from the Royals during a 64-52 road win in Iowa Star Conference South Division play.

It was the Bolts’ eighth straight win over Colo-NESCO and they improved to 15-5 in the series since 2009.

Dee dropped 30 points and grabbed three rebounds. No other Bolt reached double digits, but Sulzle had nine points and seven rebounds, Travis posted eight points, eight boards and two steals and Tuhn tallied eight points and two assists.

Vansice chipped in five points, six assists and two steals, Dakota Parker scored three points and Colten Damman delivered two assists.

The Bolts shot 51 percent from the floor, made 7-of-15 from 3 and connected on 11-of-14 from the foul line.

The Royals (15-6, 7-5) got 13 points and seven boards from Mark Bower. The hosts shot 36.7 percent from the floor, made 4-of-17 from 3 and buried 12-of-16 from the foul line. Colo-NESCO turned the ball over 14 times.

Dunkerton 76, Baxter 73

BAXTER — The Bolts couldn’t quite dig themselves out of an early hole against Dunkerton on Saturday.

Baxter trailed by 13 after one and never got fully back on track during a 76-73 loss to the visiting Raiders during the Iowa Star Challenge.

The Bolts lost the game despite shooting 58 percent from the floor and making 10 shots from long range. They also made 7-of-10 from the foul line and committed only nine turnovers.

Dee led four players in double digits with 21 points and he had six assists. Sulzle collected 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists, Travis chipped in 17 points, five boards and five assists and Tuhn totaled 11 points, five boards and three assists. Vansice registered eight points, three rebounds and five assists.

The Bolts produced 24 assists on their 28 field goals and were 10-of-20 from 3.

Dunkerton (16-4) led 19-6 after one. Baxter won the second 22-15 and closed the gap even more after a 22-17 advantage in the fourth.

Dylan Marquart led the Raiders with 32 points and four rebounds and Noah Fueling posted 21 points and four boards.

The Raiders shot 52 percent from the floor, made 9-of-18 from 3 and turned the ball over only four times.

Dunkerton is 4-0 against the Bolts since 2022. The Raiders have won 10 of their past 11 games overall.