Class 1A, 2A boys? pairings released

With the postseason bearing down quickly upon the winter sports season, the Class 1A and 2A boys? basketball teams in the area learned where they will play their first games of the playoffs.

For a couple of teams, it will feature a rematch of this season, and should bring an exciting conclusion to the year.

Starting in Class 1A, the WACO boys will open up the postseason with a first-round game against Holy Trinity on Feb. 15.

WACO (2-17) will play on the road in the contest, against a Holy Trinity team that beat them by one point earlier this season.

In that contest, no Warriors reached double-digit scoring, as Holy Trinity outscored WACO 14-7 to claim the 37-36 victory on Jan. 9.

Duncan Pickard led the team in scoring and rebounds, picking up nine points and 11 boards in the game.

The winner of the contest will go on to face the Class 1A, District 8 No. 1 seed, Danville.

In the same district, Highland and Iowa Mennonite picked up first-round byes, and will play on Feb. 18.

IMS (11-8) will travel to take on Lone Tree (15-3), and it figures to be a tough match-up for both teams.

Iowa Mennonite dropped a four-point game to Lone Tree, 53-49, earlier this season, and will take on the Lions again on Friday night as they look to see how they match up on the road.

In the Jan. 5 loss to Lone Tree, Eli Gingerich had 26 points and five rebounds, both team highs, while Nick Yutzy notched seven assists to help IMS, but it wasn?t enough, as Lone Tree outscored them by five in the final quarter.

The winner of that contest will go on to face the winner of New London and Highland.

The Huskies (14-5) will play the game at Lone Tree, right before IMS and Lone Tree take the court, and will be facing a familiar opponent in the Tigers.

Highland and New London (10-8) met on Jan. 16, with the Huskies earning a 66-49 road victory.

In that game, Highland senior Tucker Hall notched five 3-pointers to lead the team with 15 points and five assists, while senior Nick Sandburg had 14 points, five rebounds and three assists.

The district semifinal will be at Lone Tree on Feb. 23, while the district final will be hosted at West Burlington on Feb. 25.

In Class 1A, District 11, Keota (14-5) earned a first-round bye, and will play the winner of North Mahaska (7-11) and Moulton-Udell (0-16), with the game being hosted at Montezuma.

Keota has yet to face Moulton-Udell this season, but against North Mahaska, the Eagles boast a 65-53 road victory from early January.

In that win over North Mahaska, four Eagles scored in double figures, led by Avery Conrad?s double-double, with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

The Eagles are on a four-game winning streak as they look to close the season strong.

If Keota is able to advance out of their first game, they will face the winner of Seymour and Sigourney on Feb. 23, with the potential district final being held at Mid-Prairie on Feb. 25.

In Class 2A, area teams earned a pair of first-round games on Feb. 18, with Mid-Prairie (1-17) taking on conference foe Wilton.

The Hawks have played Wilton twice this season, suffering a 15-point loss on the road, while falling by three at home in the most recent contest.

In other Class 2A action, winless Columbus will take on Wapello in first-round action, and will look to avenge a pair of losses to the Indians so far this season.

Wapello defeated Columbus by 26 points in their initial contest back in December, but in the most recent contest on Jan. 26, the Wildcats held it to a 14-point defeat.

The boys? postseason officially begins on Feb. 15.