Mid-Prairie is Wells Fargo bound

MUSCATINE — For this year’s Mid-Prairie boys basketball team, a trip to the state tournament has always been a dream.

That dream became a reality Saturday night in Muscatine High School as the Golden Hawks thrashed the Northeast Rebels 74-43, ending a 12-year state tournament appearance drought.

Senior Jackson Pennington said he remembers being at the state tournament 12 years prior and he kept that memory with him all this time.

“I was at the game,” Pennington said. “I had my yellow rally towel, waving it in the crowd. I kept that as a memory for a lot of years.”

As the senior Golden Hawks were taken out late in the contest, it brought back those early dreams.

“We wanted to bring them all off together and have that moment,” Mid-Prairie head coach Daren Lambert said with tears in his eyes. “They talked about that when they were 12 and when they were 14, 15, 16. They said it was gonna happen, and to see it happen is truly special.”

The two teams played in a barn-burner early in the season, which saw a Mid-Prairie five point victory in overtime.

With a packed house, and waves of black and gold on one side and sky blue on the other the anticipation was through the roof and spectators were expecting a repeat of first meeting.

Mid-Prairie had other plans.

“We had a great week of practice,” Lambert said. “We were extremely focused the last couple days. I had a great feeling we were going to win tonight and it was just by how much.”

Mid-Prairie would never trail in the matchup, dominating in every facet of the game from start to finish.

The Golden Hawks asserted supremacy early, scoring the first seven points of the game, and never looked back. The Rebels were held scoreless until the 4:42 mark in the first.

Five of Mid-Prairie’s seven came from Will Cavanagh, who was just beginning a stellar night from beyond the arc. The senior guard connected on six from deep in the contest.

“I was a little nervous coming in,” Cavanagh said. “I can’t lie. It was tough to relax, but we got all these great fans out here and support. Carter (Harmsen) and Ethan (Kos) have been great all year, they suck the defense in and that gives me open looks. I gotta give the credit to everyone else, because they set me up.”

Northeast scored six straight to make it a two point game, 9-7, but that’s as close as it would be.

With a Carter Harmsen and Cavanagh 10-5 run, the Golden Hawks quickly built a 19-12 lead by the end of the first.

“I try to be physical,” Harmsen said. “Tonight, with me being physical got Will Cavanagh a lot of open looks.”

To begin the second quarter, Cavanagh struck once again with his third three of the evening. For the ensuing seven minutes of the second it was utter dominance by Mid-Prairie.

With 13 ticks on the clock, Mid-Prairie held a 35-19 advantage. The Rebels had a chance to take some momentum into the half, but Harmsen wouldn’t let it happen

Following a Golden Hawks turnover, the Rebels got a one on one fast break against Harmsen. As the ball headed toward the basket on a layup attempt, Harmsen lept and pinned the ball against the backboard. By the halftime whistle, Mid-Prairie held a commanding 38-19 lead.

Northeast was outscored 19-7 in the second quarter.

In the second half the Golden Hawks got even hotter, particularly in the third quarter.

Northeast showed signs of momentum late in the third with a six point spurt, cutting the deficit to 15, 47-32. Cavanagh quickly silenced the Rebels dropping in three straight from deep and increasing the Golden Hawks edge to 56-32.

The Rebels hit two additional free throws, before Mid-Prairie answered with a corner three at the buzzer to make it a 59-34 ballgame, all but stealing the win.

Mid-Prairie’s worst scoring quarter of the night was in the fourth. Harmsen started the period with a two handed flush, marking the start of a 15-9 finish.

Cavanagh finished with a game-high 23 points for Mid-Prairie. Harmsen tallied 17. Ethan Kos ended with 10. Jackson Pennington had nine. Camron Pickard and Alex Bean each finished with five. Justice Jones and Beau Flynn scored two each. Dylan Henry scored one.

“It means a lot to make it this far and keep going,” Harmsen said. “This isn’t the end goal. We plan on winning a few more games and coming home with a state title, but this feels great.”