Mt. Pleasant boys wrangle Regina

IOWA CITY — No. 9 (3A) Mt. Pleasant went up to Iowa City on Tuesday and came back down Highway 218 with its 10th-straight victory.

The Panthers took down Iowa City Regina 69-58 in non-conference play. It was Mt. Pleasant’s fourth-straight victory since the season series picked back up in 2020.

Regina led 14-11 after one quarter, but Mt. Pleasant put up 21 in the second to rush past the Regals 32-24 before halftime.

The second half was once again Payton Hagans time, as the Panthers’ junior standout poured in 20 points in the final two quarters to help Mt. Pleasant hold off the home team. Regina had cut the lead to 44-37 after three quarters, but Mt. Pleasant scored 25 points in the fourth quarter.

Mt. Pleasant needed just four scorers on the night. Hagans led the way with 29 points.

Aaiden Ashton scored 23 on the day. He had 13 points at halftime, including three made 3-pointers. Nate Stroud scored 12 points, and Owen Vansickel had five.

Mt. Pleasant is now 15-3 on the year. The Panthers will host Burlington on Thursday night. The Panthers will put their 7-1 SEC record on the line against a Grayhound team that comes in 13-4 overall and 6-2 in conference play. A win would clinch the SEC title outright for the Panthers.