Panthers top Lenox in Pride Scrimmage

LENOX — Both teams got what they wanted out of Monday’s Pride Challenge scrimmage here.

Plenty of close-game experiences played out down the stretch for each team in front of a crowd and with officials as the Creston boys defeated host Lenox, 65-59.

Four Panthers scored in double figures, led by senior guard Cooper McDermott with 21 points. Junior Cody Crawford made a team-high four 3-pointers in scoring 16 points, which was matched by freshman starter Kylan Smallwood. Point guard Evan Jacobson finished with 12 points, including 6-of-6 at the free throw line, along with five rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Tucker Flynn, 6-8, 320-pound sophomore center, drew much of the defensive duty against talented Lenox 6-8, 240-pound senior Spencer Brown. After managing eight first-half points, Brown finished with a game-high 24 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Tigers.

Junior shooting guard Kaleb Anderson was hot early for Lenox, making four 3-pointers in the first half, and finished with 15 points, all from behind the arc. Carson Cline provided seven points and four rebounds.

Creston first-year coach Taylor Phipps was pleased with his team’s first performance in a game situation.

“I think we did a lot of good things,” Phipps said. “We were not able to get maybe as many guys in as I wanted to, but as the game kept going and it was a close game, we decided to play it out like we would a close game. Especially with this group not having a ton of experience, these live game scrimmages are really valuable.”

“I thought we came out with a lot of energy and effort, which is a huge thing we’ve been preaching in practice,” Phipps said.

Phipps said McDermott’s leadership was a factor.

“He kind of stepped up his game,” Phipps said. “I think kids kind of look to him a little bit. He was confident and playing hard, and the other guys kind of followed suit.”

Likewise, Lenox coach Jesse Cox said it was a “win-win” for the basketball program and a good cause. Total proceeds from sponsorships and a free-will admission generated a total of $1,900.

Of that, $250 goes to the Iowa Hall of Pride, which administers the Pride Scrimmage program. The remainder goes to a selected community service project, and in this case it’s the Honor Fight Network, which transports veterans to Washington, D.C. to visit war memorials.

In addition, military veterans in attendance were recognized prior to the game and the singing of the national anthem.

“Karl Peterson teaches history here and likes to honor the veterans, and we thought this was a great way to do that,” Cox said. “We could honor them and get some valuable game atmosphere experience. I thought we did some good things. I think you saw that Spencer is pretty darn good. We shot pretty good in the first half. You can learn from making mistakes in this before you play a game.”

Creston plays a two-quarter scrimmage at 5:30 p.m. Friday in the Southwestern Jamboree against Knoxville before opening the season Dec. 1 at Mount Ayr.

LENOX (59) — Spencer Brown 11 2-5 25, Kaleb Anderson 5 0-0 15, Carson Cline 2 1-2 7, Dawson Tullberg 2 1-2 5, Sam Donaldson 2 0-0 4, Colton Hogan 1 0-0 2, Leevi Marshall 1 0-0 2. Totals — 24 4-9 59. 3-point goals — 7 (Anderson 5, Cline 2). Rebounds — Brown 14, Cline 4. Assists — Tullberg 2, Brown 2. Steals — Tullberg 4, Brown 2. Blocked shots — Brown 2. Turnovers — 17. Team fouls — 16. Fouled out — Donaldson.

CRESTON (65) — Cooper McDermott 7 5-8 21, Cody Crawford 6 0-0 16, Kylan Smallwood 6 2-6 16, Evan Jacobson 3 6-6 12. Totals — 22 13-20 65. 3-point goals — 8 (Crawford 4, McDermott 2, Smallwood 2). Rebounds — Jacobson 5, Tucker Flynn 4, Crawford 4, McDermott 4, Nick Walsh 3, Smallwood 2. Assists — Jacobson 3, Crawford 2. Steals — Jacobson 2. Blocked shots — Smallwood 1. Turnovers — 14. Team fouls — 12. Fouled out — None.

Lenox — 19 30 39 59

Creston — 17 34 40 59