June 23, 2025
Local NewsState & National

Diagonal’s hot shooting night defeats Lenox

Maroons shoot season high 59% from the field in win

By JARED LARSON

Diagonal's Skyler Stamps drives past Lenox Tiger Keaton England (0). Stamps finished with 13 points in the win. ( Colleen Larimer)

LENOX – Diagonal junior guard Caleb Hubbard buried the 23 points in the Maroons’ 75-64 victory over Lenox Monday night.

Diagonal (4-4, 2-3 Bluegrass) used an 11-4 run in the final 3:40 of the first quarter which put the Maroons up 22-17. Maroon Ben Werneck had 12 points after the first quarter and Samson Adams as well as Carter Reed led Lenox (2-3, 1-2 Pride of Iowa) with six points each.

Adams scored 15 of his team-high 23 points in the first half.

“Samson Adams played well,” Lenox head coach Curtis Fisher said. “He’s been our leader in the early going on both ends of the floor. He wants to win badly and we know if we get the ball in his hands good things are going to happen.”

Diagonal led 43-32 at halftime.

“That was a great team win,” first year Diagonal coach Jason Stamps said. “There was times there where we turned the ball over where I got really nervous but all the players fought hard.”

Ben Werneck of Diagonal shoots a close range basket against Lenox. Werneck finished with 18 points in the victory. ( Colleen Larimer)

Diagonal is a basketball community and they filled a good portion of the visitor bleachers in Lenox.

“Community support is second to none for Diagonal,” Stamps said. “Probably over half the community was here, which probably doesn’t seem like much for a town of 300, but it’s great for us I love it.”

Hubbard and Werneck stood out on the stat sheet, but coach Stamps stresses this was a team win.

“All of them, honestly,” Stamps said. “Caleb Hubbard had a heck of a game, he was driving the ball really well. Werneck he was getting some rebounds for us and hit some key free throws there at the end. Skyler hit some 3-point baskets in the first half that kept us going.”

Tiger Gabe Funk (5) reattaches part of the netting after it came undone Monday night. Funk finished with 13 points in Monday's loss to Diagonal. ( Colleen Larimer)

Lenox narrowed the Diagonal lead to as little as five points, 43-38, with six minutes remaining in the third quarter but Diagonal pulled away on a 15-9 run to end the quarter. Diagonal and Lenox tied in points scored in the final two quarters with 15 and 17 points respectively.

“Give credit to Diagonal they came in and shot the ball really well,” Fisher said. “We had to make some adjustments on the fly, if you give up 43 points in a half you’re doing something wrong defensively.”

Lenox traveled to Central Decatur on Tuesday and fell 75-60.

Lenox opens 2022 at Griswold on Jan. 3 with tip scheduled at 7:30 p.m.

Diagonal starts 2022 vs. Ankeny Christian on Jan. 7 with tip also scheduled at 7:30 p.m.

Diagonal 75, Lenox 64

DIAGONAL (FG FT PTS) — Totals — 26 17-25 75. Caleb Hubbard 8 7-9 23, Ben Werneck 6 5-6 18, Skyler Stamps 5 1-2 13, Scotty Bohn 3 2-4 10, Will Strange 2 2-4 6, Garrett Stephens 2 0-0 5. 3-point goals (6) — Stamps 2, Bohn 2, Stephens 1, Werneck 1.

LENOX (FG FT PTS) — Totals — 24 10-13 64. Samson Adams 11 1-2 23, Gabe Funk 5 2-4 13, Issac Grundman 2 4-6 10, Carter Reed 3 0-0 8, Walon Cook 2 2-4 7, Keaton England 1 1-2 3. 3-point goals (6) — Reed 2, Grundman 2, Funk 1, Cook 1.