Bender echoes through Iowa Valley

KALONA - Trailing by a point with 1 minute, 27 seconds remaining in a Class 1A playoff game and a sophomore goes to the foul line to shoot two free throws.

That was Hillcrest Academy's situation Monday for Grant Bender.

'I'm just thinking one thing. Money,” Bender said. 'I was just feeling confident.”

Bender not only made both free throws but hit a runner in the lane seconds later for a lead of three and Eli Ours' free throw with 13 seconds left provided the final margin of 41-37 over the Iowa Valley boys basketball team.

'We turned up the intensity, got a couple fast breaks and made free throws there at the end,” Bender said.

The come-from-behind moxie was a result of the Ravens bond.

'We've grown close to the seniors and we just knew we could not let them down, not in their final game on their home court,” Bender said.

In preparing for the game, Hillcrest head basketball coach Dwight Gingerich was at a loss for some vital statistics despite the amount of information available in the 21st century.

'Just from watching film, we had no idea of their length and we couldn't find heights listed anywhere,” Gingerich said. 'That zone was tough and we had trouble seeing people through their length.”

The Tigers were long enough to lead after each of the first three quarters and a 7-0 run put Iowa Valley up 35-28 midway through the fourth quarter.

John Hughes netted a field goal with 4:35 left, then converted a pair of free throws before Aidan Krabill scored to cap a 6-0 run.

Brody Ward's field goal with a little over 3 minutes remaining gave the Tigers a 37-34 lead, but they never scored again.

Iowa Valley (12-8), of the South Iowa Cedar League, ends its first winning season in 'about 15 years,” said head coach Randy Carney. 'We turned a corner, but we haven't been in these situations.”

Particularly down the stretch, Warriors' decisions were 'not the best and in a tight, tough game, against a good team on their floor, we have to be stronger in a lot of ways than we were.”

The Warriors did not handle the ball well, with 20 turnovers to the Ravens' 13. Ravens senior Eli Ours was able to steal the ball twice in the final minute.

'Eli showed leadership down the stretch with the way he played,” Gingerich said. 'His offense wasn't there so he stepped up his defense.”

Ours, who had 10 points, is fourth on the career scoring list but didn't take a shot until midway through the second period.

'That was not by design,” Gingerich said. 'That's never a design. They were really leaning on him.”

That opened up other things inside as Aaron Hershberger scored twice and John Hughes once before Bender nailed a triple for a 9-2 lead that was an 11-9 deficit by the end of the quarter.

Ours did hit two treys after the Warriors scored the first eight points of the second half and took a 25-16 lead, the largest in the game. The triples were part of a 10-3 run to end the third quarter down 28-26. The Ravens closed the game on a 7-0 run.

'In the last quarter, I think we missed a half-dozen shots within three feet of the basket and one was an air ball,” Carney said. 'I think it was a matter of the throat constricting.” Five Tigers totaled 17 points as Ward poured in 20.

Three Ravens hit double figures with Bender at 11 points and John Hughes 10.

'We kept our cool and kept our heads when things could've gotten away from us,” Gingerich said. 'It took us a while to get things figured out, but we did it.”

The Ravens have a lot of figuring to do before the next opponent: No. 1 and unbeaten North Linn hosts the Ravens Thursday.

'It's just a matter of intensity, focus and execution and that's it,” Bender said. 'That's what we need and I'm looking forward to it.”

'These seniors are a pretty close group,” Gingerich said. 'I think this game was a good example that we all needed each other.”