There was no letdown for the Ankeny boys’ basketball team following an emotional victory on Monday.
The Hawks had five players in double figures and defeated visiting Des Moines Lincoln, 79-56, in a non-conference game on Tuesday. They improved to 4-1 on the season with their fourth straight win, while the Railsplitters dropped to 2-3.
“I was proud of our guys. It was another nice effort,” said Ankeny coach Brandt Carlson, whose team had posted a 72-60 victory at Indianola 24 hours earlier. “Monday and Tuesday games back-to-back are never easy.”
The Railsplitters jumped out to an early 6-0 lead, but Ankeny battled back to forge a 13-13 tie by the end of the first quarter. The Hawks then outscored Lincoln in the second period, 25-9, to build a 38-22 advantage.
“I thought we really found our groove late in the first quarter and early in the second quarter,” Carlson said. “The guys really battled defensively and kind of held them in check the second half.”
Alex Aguirre and JJ Kohl each scored 14 points to lead Ankeny’s balanced attack. Aguirre went 5-for-5 from the field, 2-for-2 from 3-point range and 2-for-2 at the free-throw line.
Ryan Crandall had 13 points, seven rebounds, four steals and a block. Braden Simonsen contributed 12 points and six boards, Carson Johnson chipped in 11 points, and Karson Wehde added eight.
Lio Aguirre dished out four assists for the Hawks, who shot 54.9 percent from the field (28-of-51) and 95.0 percent from the charity stripe (19-of-20).
Trovary Cavil led Lincoln with 14 points and four assists. Victor Hatungimana made 4-of-7 3-pointers and added 12 points for the Railsplitters, who went 10-of-22 from behind the arc (45.5 percent).
“It was a nice home win for us against a really tough Lincoln squad,” Carlson said. “They hit some 3s, but I thought we really controlled their best player (Cavil). We just had really good production from a lot of players, and it was nice to see everyone get into the game.”
Ankeny will host a CIML Iowa Conference game against ninth-ranked Waukee Northwest (4-1) on Friday.
“We just want to keep building for Friday and try to finish the first part of the season out tough,” Carlson said.
