A pair of KCII area teams took part in a set of preseason tune-up scrimmages Monday at the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk boys basketball jamboree at Tim Grady Gymnasium in Wellman. All contests were one half in length, played under normal rules and did not count on any team’s overall record.
The Sigourney Savages were on the wrong end of a 28-14 score in their contest with Central Lee. The Hawks started the game on a 6-0 run and Sigourney answered to tie the game early. The Hawks held a 14-8 lead after the first period and outscored Sigourney 14-6 to finish the win. Central Lee outrebounded the Savages 24-19. Each team committed eight turnovers. The Savages got four points each from Ike Molyneux, Isaac Bruns and Brayden Wood. Bruns and John Berg each had six rebounds. After the contest, Bruns and head coach Mitch Eslick spoke with KCII Sports about their takeaways. Bruns said, “Tonight we didn’t make a lot of shots but we got the looks we wanted. It comes down to execution. We’ll get there. We’ll sharpen up. Get shots made and that will lead to success. The effort was there.”
Eslick added, “Ike Molyneux for a freshman his first time out played really well. I thought Brayden Wood did a good job in his first varsity minutes. We’re going to depend on Isaac (Bruns) and Solon (Yates) a lot. Cain Weber came in and gave us some good minutes off the bench. Getting out here and being able to compete was the biggest thing.”
Sigourney opens their season Tuesday when they take on Keota in a game that can be heard live on the KCII3 stream available exclusively at KCIIradio.com.
In the nightcap, the home Golden Hawks outlasted Eddyville-Blakesburg 41-37. The Rockets took off at the start, opening the game on an 8-0 run, only to see the Hawks answer with 13 straight out of a timeout. Mid-Prairie wouldn’t give up that lead the rest of the night, on top 21-17 after one period and holding serve with a 20 point output in the second quarter. Each team grabbed 14 rebounds and committed seven turnovers. The Golden Hawks hit eight threes in the half. Brady Weber put up 11 points, Brock Harland had 10, Bryce Henry finished with eight and a team best six rebounds. Mid-Prairie head coach Daren Lambert spoke with KCII sports after the scrimmage to break down what he saw. Lambert said, “In the early timeout we talked about how we have to be more physical. We played timid Friday in our first scrimmage and then that kind of showed up again tonight. Offensively, we weren’t aggressive early, and then you could see the switch flip. Guys started playing confident. Playing great defense, the the offense follows. Guys see shots fall and it starts flowing from there. I’m pleased with how they responded. It was a team effort to get that lead and maintain it. There was a lot more energy tonight. Brock Harland hit a couple of threes, Bryce Henry hit a couple of shots. Ace (Peck), Brady (Weber), Landon (Sullivan), Conner (Wiles), Kurt (Schneider), Dylan (Henry), Landon (Kos) and Beau (Flynn). Pleased with everyone’s effort and they all took a step forward tonight.”
Mid-Prairie starts the new year Tuesday when they host the Benton Bobcats in a game that can be heard live on KCII.