• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Ankeny Fanatic

Your Ankeny Sports Resource

  • Home
  • About
    • Support Us
  • News
    • Podcast
  • Hawks
    • Boys’ Soccer
      • Roster
      • Schedule
    • Girls’ Soccer
      • Roster
      • Schedule
    • Girls’ Tennis
      • Roster
      • Schedule
    • Baseball
      • Roster
      • Schedule
    • Softball
      • Roster
      • Schedule
  • Jaguars
    • Boys’ Soccer
      • Roster
      • Schedule
    • Girls’ Soccer
      • Roster
      • Schedule
    • Girls’ Tennis
      • Roster
      • Schedule
    • Baseball
      • Roster
      • Schedule
    • Softball
      • Roster
      • Schedule
You are here: Home / Hawks / Winter / Boys' Basketball / Ankeny teams enter Friday’s rematch at Centennial with plenty of confidence

Ankeny teams enter Friday’s rematch at Centennial with plenty of confidence

January 25, 2018 by Dan Holm

Ankeny’s Ben Lyon tries to block a shot by Ankeny Centennial’s Zach Kluver during a game on Dec. 21 at Ankeny. Kluver scored 20 points to lead the Jaguars to a 55-52 victory. The two teams will meet again on Friday at Centennial. (Photo by Dan Holm)

If Friday’s basketball doubleheader at Ankeny Centennial is as entertaining as last month’s rivalry games at Ankeny, then fans of the Hawks and Jaguars will be in for a treat.

Both the girls’ and boys’ games came down to the last possession on Dec. 21, when Centennial posted a pair of narrow wins. The Jaguars escaped with a 43-41 victory in the opener as Sydney Wycoff made a layup at the buzzer, then Hunter Strait scored the last four points of the game to give the Centennial boys’ squad a 55-52 triumph in the nightcap.

Friday’s contests are important for all four teams for a variety of reasons.

“There’s no doubt (we have the confidence to play with them),” said Ankeny boys’ coach Brandt Carlson. “We won there last year, which was a great feeling. It’s a fun rivalry game that we just really enjoy playing, but we respect those guys a ton. We know we’re going to have to play great to win, but our guys are just looking forward to it.”

The Centennial boys’ team (5-2, 10-4) needs a victory to keep pace with Waukee atop the CIML Central Conference standings. The Warriors host Southeast Polk, a team they already defeated by 31 points, on Friday.

The Jaguars rallied from an early 17-10 deficit to win the first meeting at Ankeny. Zach Kluver scored a career-high 20 points to lead the way, while Strait finished with 13.

Jaxon Smith had 13 points for the Hawks, who can tie the all-time series with Centennial at 5-5 with a win.

“They’re a team that can beat anybody on their schedule,” Centennial coach Bob Fontana said of the Hawks. “They’ve got some good young players and a couple of senior leaders. We know they’re going to give us their best shot, so we need to make sure that we’re on top of our game.”

Ankeny (1-6, 4-10) is currently on a three-game winning streak. The Hawks rolled to a 67-51 victory at Des Moines East on Tuesday.

“Our guys have always had a good attitude,” Carlson said. “But I think they see more confidence in their teammates now.”

Fontana said Ankeny’s record is deceiving. The Hawks have lost six games by five points or less, three of them in overtime.

The Ankeny players are hoping to avenge one of those losses on Friday.

“We’re looking for a little payback,” said senior forward Ben Lyon. “I’ll just leave it at that.”

Ankeny Centennial’s Sydney Wycoff is mobbed by her teammates after making a layup at the buzzer to give the Jaguars a 43-41 victory at Ankeny on Dec. 21. The two teams will meet again on Friday at Centennial. (Photo by Dan Holm)

The Ankeny girls’ team, meanwhile, will be seeking its first win ever against Centennial. The seventh-ranked Jaguars have won all nine meetings in the series, seven of them by double digits.

Centennial (6-1, 13-3) is tied with No. 8 Waukee for the Central Conference lead. No. 5 Southeast Polk (5-2) is a game out of first place and will visit Waukee on Friday, looking to avenge an earlier one-point loss.

“Obviously, it’s a big game for both of us…a big conference game, a big game for seeding purposes (in regional play) and a big rivalry game,” said Centennial girls’ coach Scott DeJong. “We have a lot of respect for them. Ankeny has had a great season, they’re vastly improved, and they have a girl (in Sara McCullough) who is a Division I player going to UNI, so they have a lot to build around.”

No. 15 Ankeny (2-5, 8-8) is coming off a 67-58 victory at Des Moines East that snapped a two-game losing skid.

“We have 100 percent confidence that we can beat them,” said Ankeny guard Kayla Pitz. “We were so close the last time, so we know we can do it. It was right there.”

McCullough scored 14 points in the first game against Centennial. She made a 3-point goal with about 7 seconds left to tie the score at 41, but Wycoff then took the ensuing inbounds pass, drove the length of the court and sliced between two Ankeny defenders for the game-winning basket as time expired.

Wycoff, who finished with 12 points, has taken over a leadership role for the Jaguars along with senior forward Chloe Olson. Olson has racked up 61 points and 46 rebounds during the team’s current four-game winning streak.

Centennial has also been strengthened by the recent return of injured players Keanna Williams, Rachel Schon and Alexandria Keahna-Harris. Schon and Williams did not play in the first game against the Hawkettes.

“They’re a little more healthy now so their personnel has changed a bit, but coach DeJong and his program speaks for itself,” Ankeny coach Dru McAnelly said of the Jaguars. “They’re a phenomenal team. We’ll have our work cut out for us, but I believe mentally we believe we can play with them. That’s been half the battle since the split (into two high schools).”

Tip-off for the girls’ game is at 6:15 p.m., with the boys’ game to follow.

Filed Under: Boys' Basketball, Girls' Basketball, Hawks, Jaguars Tagged With: Alexandria Keahna-Harris, Ben Lyon, Bob Fontana, Brandt Carlson, Chloe Olson, Dru McAnelly, Featured, Hunter Strait, Jaxon Smith, Kayla Pitz, Rachel Schon, Sara McCullough, Scott DeJong, Sydney Wycoff, Zach Kluver

Primary Sidebar

Support Ankeny Fanatic

Recent Posts

  • ‘We’re incredibly proud of her’: Peterson earns 8th-place finish at state tourney
  • Jaguars toss back-to-back no-hitters in doubleheader sweep over Lincoln girls
  • Hawks use pair of 5-run innings to sweep doubleheader against Bondurant-Farrar
  • ONE OF A KIND: Smith becomes city of Ankeny’s first-ever state tennis champion
  • ‘We just can’t take anything for granted’: Jaguars rout Roosevelt, advance to state

Find Us on Facebook

Ankeny Fanatic

Archives

  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017

Categories

  • Hawks
    • Fall
      • Boys’ Cross Country
      • Boys’ Golf
      • Football
      • Girls’ Cross Country
      • Girls’ Swimming
      • Volleyball
    • Spring
      • Boys’ Soccer
      • Boys’ Tennis
      • Boys’ Track
      • Girls’ Golf
      • Girls’ Soccer
      • Girls’ Tennis
      • Girls’ Track
    • Summer
      • Baseball
      • Softball
        • Roster
    • Winter
      • Boys’ Basketball
      • Boys’ Bowling
      • Boys’ Swimming
      • Girls’ Basketball
      • Girls’ Bowling
      • Boys’ Wrestling
  • Jaguars
    • Fall
      • Boys’ Cross Country
      • Boys’ Golf
      • Football
      • Girls’ Cross Country
      • Girls’ Swimming
      • Volleyball
    • Spring
      • Boys’ Soccer
      • Boys’ Tennis
      • Boys’ Track
      • Girls’ Golf
      • Girls’ Soccer
      • Girls’ Tennis
      • Girls’ Track
    • Summer
      • Baseball
      • Softball
    • Winter
      • Boys’ Basketball
      • Girls’ Basketball
      • Wrestling
  • Top Sports Stories
    • Football
    • Volleyball
  • Baseball
  • Softball

© 2025 Ankeny Fanatic. All rights reserved.