Golden Hawks wipe out West Burlington

MT. PLEASANT — The Mid-Prairie boys basketball team came rolling through Mt. Pleasant Community High School on Tuesday night, and after a little first-half resistance from West Burlington, it barreled right on to the Class 2A Substate 6 championship.

The top-seeded Golden Hawks blistered West Burlington 69-40, their second blowout win of the postseason.

West Burlington came into the game off a quarterfinal upset of Cardinal, and the Falcons threatened the Golden Hawks early. West Burlington held a 9-6 lead in the first quarter before the Golden Hawks pulled ahead 13-11 after the first horn.

“We're a pretty defensive minded team, and they hit some tough shots early,” said senior guard Jackson Pennington. “We just had to lock down defensively and weather their little run.”

Pennington brought the offense early for Mid-Prairie. He poured in 15 points in the first half to carry the Golden Hawk offense to a 30-22 lead at the break.

When Mid-Prairie came out of the locker rooms, the Golden Hawks looked like a team on a mission to put the game away.

“The third quarter has kind of been ours all year,” Pennington said. “After that first half, we started to work that ball inside out, and it was just amazing from there.”

The Golden Hawks rolled in the third quarter, outscoring West Burlington 23-10 in the third.

“We've seen that a couple of times throughout the season,” said Mid-Prairie head coach Daren Lambert. “Teams can hang around for a half, but we just stay the course with our pressure, play great defense and make teams consistently work hard for a basket.”

Carter Harmsen was dominant in the second half, putting up 13 points, almost exclusively in the paint. He and the Golden Hawks cruised through the fourth and inched ever so much closer to the promise land of Wells Fargo Arena.

“We know we're a great team,” Harmsen said. “We know what we're capable of.”

Pennington finished the night with 20 points and eight assists to lead Mid-Prairie. Harmsen scored 19 points. Will Cavanaugh, Alex Bean and Ethan Kos all had eight points. Shawn Dodds scored four, and Collin Miller chipped in one.

Mid-Prairie (23-0) will play Saturday against Northeast (16-8), a school it beat by five points in overtime earlier this season. The winner of that game, played at Muscatine High School, will earn a ticket to the Class 2A state tournament.

“We love being undefeated, having that target on our back,” Pennington said. “That's all the more motivation for us to go out and get those wins.”