The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk boys and girls basketball teams closed out the home portion of the regular season Tuesday with a pair of wins over the Tipton Tigers for Senior Night.

The Golden Hawk girls opened the twin-bill with a 48-37 win. The game was even at 11 after one and Tipton led 20-17 at half. Mid-Prairie used a 7-0 run in the third quarter to take 33-30 lead to the fourth, where they closed 15-7 to secure the win. Following the game, Golden Hawk Seniors Callie Huber and Brylee Gearhart joined the KCII Postgame Show to talk about the Senior Night experience and keys to their win.

Huber said, “(Rebounding) was very important. If you let a team have offensive rebounds and second chances they’re going to score. Turnovers are also very important, especially in close games like tonight. We focused more on moving the ball to get high percentage shots, instead of taking the first shot we got. (Playing with Gearhart), it’s amazing! She’s my best friend! It’s sometimes like we have telekinesis, we’re connected, we know where each other is going to be.”

Gearhart continued, “(Senior Night) is special. They’re honoring you and you’ve been here for four years, unreal to think about it! Tonight was tough and physical. It was really a test of keeping your head, keeping your composure. I love our team atmosphere!”

The duo combined for 20 points and 17 rebounds. The Golden Hawks won the boards 39-33 and dished out 12 assists as a team. Tipton won turnovers 14-12. Averie Bolger led Tipton with 12 points. The Hawks are now 15-4 on the year and 9-2 in the RVC as Tipton drops to 12-6 and 7-4 respectively.

The nightcap saw the Golden Hawks build a lead, then have to finish strong late in a 71-63 victory. The advantage belonged to the Tigers early 22-19 after one. The Hawks used a 9-0 and 7-0 first half run to take a 35-29 lead to intermission. Mid-Prairie came out of half firing, dropping three straight threes, two from Bryce Henry and one from Ace Peck, to help drive the lead to 17 at 52-35. The Tigers answered with 15 straight, and would tie the game twice in the fourth quarter at 61 and 63, before Mid-Prairie scored the final eight to secure the win. Following the contest, Golden Hawk seniors Traevin Gugel, Keegan Bouwens, Conner Wiles, Ace Peck, Brady Weber and Landon Kos joined the KCII postgame show to talk about the win, and the Senior Night Ceremony.

Wiles said, “Tonight was fun, we knew coming in (Tipton) was going to be aggressive and they’re a scrappy team. We knew we had to be more physical than them. It felt good to get the win.”

Kos continued, “It was a pretty physical game. They didn’t call a lot of stuff, so we had to play through all of that. (On his three point play) I just had good position, the ball bounced right to me, the kid slapped me on my arm and I got the and one.”

Weber added, “We just had to play keep up. We hadn’t had a great shooting night in a while, so tonight felt good to have everyone shooting the ball well. We had a lot of guys hit clutch threes. We weren’t losing tonight. We’re tired of losing. We know we’re a better team than losing straight, so we just had a great mindset.”

Peck said, “We came out of half ready to go. We knocked down three big threes. Coach Lambert talked about having to win the first two minutes of the third, and that’s what we did. Defense is the most important thing, and we did a good job with that tonight.”

Bauwens said, “Every time I touch it, I shoot it. The Senior Night experience was pretty cool.”

Gugel finished with, “I go in there and try to make things happen. Keep scoring add to the lead a little bit more. Every point matters. Our practices are intense because we’re trying to get better everyday. Playing with this group of Seniors is an experience and it’s a super good environment to be around!”

Weber and Bryce Henry combined on 40 points, including six threes. The Golden Hawks outrebounded the Tigers 26-21, and each team had 16 turnovers. Zach Butler led Tipton with 28 points. The Golden Hawk boys climb to 15-4 on the year and 9-2 in the RVC as Tipton drops to 9-8 overall and 6-5. Mid-Prairie held a ceremony between games to honor seniors Callie Huber, Brylee Gearhart, Ace Peck, Brady Weber, Keegan Bauwens, Travin Gugel, Landon Kos and Conner Wiles. The Hawks will next be in action Friday when they travel to Iowa City Regina to finish the conference season.