Weekend split for Panther boys

A solid winning effort was followed by Atlantic’s all-time best individual performance in weekend action for the Creston boys basketball team.

Freshman Kylan Smallwood scored 25 points, Cody Crawford chipped in 22 and Cooper McDermott finished with 19 points as Creston avenged an earlier defeat by beating Red Oak Friday, 77-68.

Atlantic visited the Creston gym for a 5 p.m. varsity tipoff Saturday and it was obvious from the start that Ryan Hawkins came ready to play. The 6-7 senior ended with an Atlantic individual game all-time best 45 points along with 17 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks in the Trojans’ 78-60 victory.

Neither game counted in the Hawkeye 10 standings as Creston goes into tonight’s game at Glenwood at 4-13 overall and 2-6 in league play. Atlantic improved to 14-4 overall and stands fourth in the conference at 7-3. Red Oak, right behind Creston at 2-8 in the league, slipped to 5-13 overall.

Friday’s game was an encouraging step forward for this young Panther team, which fell 49-38 in an uninspired performance at Red Oak on Jan. 9. Smallwood was 7-of-9 at the free throw line in scoring 25 points and Crawford was 7-7 at the line along with making three 3-pointers in his 22-point night.

“We had more intensity than when we went over there,” said McDermott, who followed up Friday’s 19-point effort with 20 points in the loss to Atlantic. “This time we worked as a team a heck of a lot better. We were really getting out and running tonight. It keeps us flowing and in the game when we’re scoring in transition. Kylan is a heck of an athlete. It’s going to be fun to watch him grow over the years.”

The Panther defense was able to withstand 12 3-pointers by the Tigers. Center Tucker Flynn had 10 rebounds.

“Tucker was huge for us tonight on the boards. He was a big part of the defensive effort,” Creston coach Taylor Phipps said. “We went on a little bit of a run there in the second half and made our free throws down the stretch. It was definitely a concerted effort to make sure that we had a lot of energy and we were focused. It started on the defensive end.”

Rough stretch

Saturday’s game also started well for the Panthers, hanging with the 14-4 Trojans at 29-26 early in the second quarter. Evan Jacobson’s two free throws kept it close at 37-35 with 1:22 left in the first half.

Then the Panthers suffered two turnovers before the buzzer as the Trojans closed on a 7-0 run for a 44-35 halftime lead. Hawkins already had 24 points at the break.

“That last stretch of the second quarter was a tough way to end the half after playing so well,” Phipps said. “We battled them and they are a great team. Some foul trouble hurt us in staying in our rhythm. We had a real hard time keeping them off the boards.”

Atlantic coach Alan Jenkins, whose team fell to Harlan and a 41-point performance by Cyclone guard Caleb Rasmussen on Thursday, said Creston’s perimeter shooting was hurting his team in the first half.

“You gotta give Creston a lot of credit, they’ve really improved,” Jenkins said. “Their guards do a good job. They kept us off balance in the first half. We changed things up defensively, especially on the dribble handoffs. I thought our 1-3-1 kind of changed the game.”

The margin reached 30 points (75-45) with 4:51 left shortly before reserves finished the game for both squads.

Hawkins shot 14-of-21 from the field and 17-20 at the line for his record Atlantic performance, topping the previous record of 43 shared by Jerry Quick and Jerome Hoegh. It was a timely performance, as 6-7 junior Garrett Franken was slowed by an ankle injury in scoring three points.

“Ryan is starting to play at such a high level,” Jenkins said. “He had 33 the other night at Harlan.”

Tonight, the Panthers meet a 13-4 Glenwood team that is ranked seventh and a likely first-round district opponent on Feb. 22. The Rams share first place in the conference with Carroll Kuemper Catholic and Harlan.

“They don’t have near the size of Atlantic,” Phipps said, “but they’re a solid team that does a good job with their defensive pressure on you. They’re a solid team.”

Friday’s games

RED OAK (68) — Conner Jansky 4 9-12 18, Ryan Lundgren 6 1-1 18, Weston Rolenc 5 2-2 15, Jess Taylor 3 0-0 9, Oscar Vega 2 0-2 4, Branden Flathers 2 0-0 4. Totals — 22 12-17 68. 3-point goals — 12 (Lundgren 5, Taylor 3, Rolenc 3, Jansky 1). Team fouls — 22. Fouled out — None.

CRESTON (77) — Kylan Smallwood 9 7-9 25, Cody Crawford 6 7-7 22, Cooper McDermott 8 2-2 19, Evan Jacobson 3 2-2 9, Kyle Somers 1 0-0 2. Totals — 27 18-22 77. 3-point goals — 5 (Crawford 3, Jacobson 1, McDermott 1). Rebounds — Tucker Flynn 10, McDermott 7, Smallwood 5, Crawford 4. Assists — Jacobson 5, Flynn 2, McDermott 2, Smallwood 2. Steals — Smallwood 3, Crawford 2. Blocked shots — McDermott 1. Team fouls — 17. Fouled out — None.

Red Oak — 12 42 51 68

Creston — 20 39 55 77

JUNIOR VARSITY

The Creston JV opened up an early 18-8 lead on the way to posting a 20-point victory over Red Oak Friday, 58-38.

Curtis Palmer scored 12 points to lead four players in double figures for the Panthers. Cole Higgins and Brenden McDowell each tallied 11 points and Joe Eblen finished with 10.

“We played well and got everybody in,” said Creston coach Todd Jacobson. “It’s good to see the progress these guys have made, after losing by seven over there.”

Creston (58) — Curtis Palmer 12, Brenden McDowell 11, Cole Higgins 11, Joe Eblen 10, Dustin Merritt 8, Ian Burns 2, Patrick Normandeau 2, Michael Sherer 2. 3-point goals — McDowell 3, Higgins 2. Free throws — 3-5. Halftime score — Creston 34, Red Oak 23.

Red Oak (38) — Isaac Birt 17, Carlos Guerra 5, David Vega 5, Garrett Rolenc 4, Carlos Zamarron 3, Carter Bruce 2, Cole Carlson 2. 3-point goals — Birt 2, Vega 1, Zamarron 1. Free throws — 10-14.

Saturday’s games

ATLANTIC (78) — Ryan Hawkins 14 17-20 45, Scott Leonard 4 4-6 12, Kyle Nelson 3 1-2 8, Chase Mullinex 1 2-4 4, Grant Podhajsky 1 1-2 4, Garrett Franken 1 0-0 3, Austin Alexander 1 0-0 2. Totals — 25 25-36 78. 3-point goals — 3-13 (Nelson 1, Franken 1, Podhajsky 1). FG shooting — 25-54 (46.3 percent). Rebounds — 38 (Hawkins 17, Leonard 7). Assists — 16 (Franken 6, Hawkins 4, Brendan Holmes 3). Steals — 11 (Hawkins 3, Holmes 2, Nelson 2, Franken 2, Leonard 2). Blocks — 3 (Hawkins 2, Mullenix 1). Team fouls — 19. Fouled out — None.

CRESTON (60) — Cooper McDermott 7 1-6 20, Kylan Smallwood 5 6-8 16, Evan Jacobson 2 8-8 12, Cody Crawford 1 0-2 3, Kyle Somers 1 0-0 3, Nick Walsh 1 0-0 2, Tucker Flynn 1 0-2 2, Curtis Palmer 1 0-0 2. Totals — 19 15-26 60. 3-point goals — 7-16 (McDermott 5, Crawford 1, Somers 1). Rebounds — Flynn 5, Jacobson3, Smallwood 2, Walsh 2, Crawford 2. Assists — Jacobson 4, Crawford 2. Steals — McDermott 3. Team fouls — 21. Fouled out — Flynn.

Atlantic — 21 44 62 78

Creston — 13 35 45 60

JUNIOR VARSITY

Atlantic used a second-half run to edge in front of the Creston JV Saturday, 51-46.

Cole Higgins led a balanced lineup with nine points for Creston (3-14).

Creston (46) — Cole Higgins 9, Dustin Merritt 8, Brenden McDowell 8, Curtis Palmer 8, Deaven Reese 5, Ian Burns 4, Seth Thompson 4. 3-point goals — Higgins 2, McDowell 2, Thompson 1 Free throws — 15-23. Halftime score — Creston 28, Atlantic 25.

Atlantic (51) — Jaxson Eden 12, Chase Mullenix 11, Dillon Sonntag 8, Jake Olsen 8, Caleb Williams 5, Grant Podhajsky 4, Ben Renaud 3. 3-point goals — Sonntag 2, Olsen 1. Free throws — 16-23.

FRESHMEN

The Creston freshmen made a big turnaround in defeating Atlantic here Saturday, 46-42, as Bryce Fitzgerald led the Panthers with 25 points. Jeff Dillenburg added 12 points on four 3-pointers as the Panthers improved to 2-6.

“I was very happy with this game. We lost by 27 points the first time we played them,” said Creston coach Anthony Donahoo. “We did a great job in our zone of being aggressive and forcing tough shots. On offense we were patient and found high percentage shots.”

Creston (46) — Bryce Fitzgerald 25, Jeff Dillenburg 12, Kendall Crawford 4, Michael Sherer 3, Payton Pryor 2. 3-point goals — Dillenburg 4, Crawford 1. Free throws — 11-15. Halftime score — Atlantic 17, Creston 14.

Atlantic (42) — Matt Gearhart 14, Zade Niklasen 8, Logan Reilly 7, Jalen Petersen 7, Nathan Behrends 6. Free throws — 9-19.