Photos Courtesy of MP Sports Social Media (Nicole MIller) and Eric Henry

It was a packed house Friday night at Tim Grady Gymnasium in Wellman as the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawks entertained the Iowa City Regina Regals for a Senior Night doubleheader. The Golden Hawk boys were a 60-53 winner over the No. 10 in 2A Regals. Mid-Prairie led 15-14 after one and used an 8-0 second period run, and a combined six first half threes between Ace Peck and Bryce Henry to open a 37-27 lead at half. The advantage would stretch to 15 midway through the third and stand at 48-38 going to the fourth. The Regals pushed back late, using a 10-2 run to trim the lead to one at 51-50. The Golden Hawks closed the game on their own 10-2 run, including a key three from Dylan Henry, basket for Brock Harland and free throws for Brady Weber. Golden Hawk seniors Beau Flynn, Kurt Schneider, Carson Pence, Dylan Henry and Brock Harland joined the KCII Postgame show to talk about the win. The seniors said, “The crowd came out, the students, they were great all week. That was huge. With this being Senior Night, we knew we had to come out quick. We’re getting off to good starts and from there we have to play smart. Play good defense to keep our lead. We’re hitting the shots that we need to especially in the clutch. We’re definitely playing confident down the stretch which is huge. We also have confidence in our teammates which is important. This is what we practice for all year. For moments like these! We’re beating the teams that we really don’t like so that’s always great. Wins like these always mean a little bit more!”

The Golden Hawks won the turnover battle 10-6 and won the glass by nine. Bryce Henry led the way with 20 points, Ace Peck had a dozen and Dylan Henry 11. This is the second straight night the Hawks have beaten the No. 10 team in the state, outlasting No. 10 in 3A Williamsburg in overtime on Thursday, and it closes out a 4-0 week that also included road wins at Washington and Tipton. The Golden Hawks are now 10-7 on the season 6-4 in the RVC.

The Golden Hawk girls dropped their contest with No. 7 Regina 57-39. Things were tight through a half, with Mid-Prairie on top 13-11 after one and down 21-20 at the break. The third quarter proved to be the difference as the Regals raced out of the locker room on a 19-1 run to take control. Mid-Prairie won the glass by five, but Regina won the turnover battle 27-17. Morgan Miller led the Regals with 21 points. Morgyn Bender led Mid-Prairie with 10. The loss drops the Hawks to 9-10 on the year, 5-5 in the RVC while the Regals lock up the outright South Division Championship with the win, improving to 10-0 in conference and 15-4 on the year.

Golden Hawk Seniors Nora Pennington, Brock Harland, Dylan Henry, Carson Pence, Kurt Schneider, Landon Sullivan and Beau Flynn were all honored with a ceremony between varsity games.