This time, the Ankeny boys’ basketball team didn’t let a second-half lead slip away against Waukee Northwest.
The eighth-ranked Hawks stayed alive in the race for the CIML Iowa Conference title with a 74-63 victory at No. 3 Northwest on Friday. The win was Ankeny’s eighth in a row and avenged an earlier 57-50 loss to the Wolves.
“It was a great team win,” said Ankeny guard Carson Johnson, who led the Hawks with 20 points. “We knew we could do it. We felt like we could have beaten them the last time. It feels so much better getting this one at their place.”
On Dec. 17, Ankeny held a 37-33 lead over Northwest going into the fourth quarter. But the Hawks were then outscored, 24-13, in the final period.
Ankeny coach Brandt Carlson took the blame for that loss.
“When I looked at the clock (tonight) with 5 minutes 30 seconds left, I said, ‘I’m not doing that again,'” Carlson said of his team’s aggressive approach in the first meeting. “So we’re just going to pull (the ball) out and see how they come at us. We just really took care of the ball and took care of me, too, and I appreciate that very much.”
Ankeny built a 50-33 lead after three quarters on Friday, but the Wolves closed the gap to 52-43 after Pryce Sandfort erupted for 10 points in a span of 2 minutes. That’s when the Hawks elected to start running some time off the clock, forcing Northwest to foul in an effort to get the ball back.
Ankeny responded by making 16-of-23 free throws down the stretch.
“We had some regrets coming into this game,” said Ankeny senior Ryan Crandall. “We wanted it, and I think we’ve got the No. 1 seed now for (our substate), so that’s really nice for us.”
The win allowed the Hawks (12-2 overall) to pull into a second-place tie with Northwest (12-3) in the conference. Both teams are now 6-2 in the league and trail No. 1 Ames, which will bring a 7-0 mark into Monday’s showdown at Ankeny.
“I think that was probably the most poise we’ve played with all year knowing that (Northwest) can come back,” Carlson said. “We just kind of held our ground, and that was really good. We had some guys come together and make some big plays. It was just a great team win and the guys are excited, and that’s neat to see.”
Johnson made back-to-back 3-pointers in the first quarter to give Ankeny a 19-11 lead. He had another 3-pointer in the second quarter, then passed to Alex Aguirre for a trey at the buzzer to put the Hawks ahead, 30-23, at halftime.
“That was a huge basket,” said Johnson, who went 6-for-9 from the field and 4-of-5 from behind the arc. “My teammates just kept getting me the ball, and then I saw a chance to dish it and Alex hit a big shot.”
Johnson converted a 3-point play early in the third quarter, then followed with a 3-pointer just 40 seconds later to give Ankeny a 38-25 advantage. The Wolves could get no closer than nine points the rest of the way.
Crandall had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, helping the Hawks to a 34-25 advantage on the boards. He also contributed four assists, three steals and a block.
Aguirre chipped in 15 points, and JJ Kohl added nine.
“We had confidence we could win,” Carlson said. “We’re a good team, and we keep getting better. We have a lot of confident guys who have played in some big games, and that helped.”
Ankeny overcame a 37-point effort by Sandfort, who went 12-of-22 from the field and also had 10 rebounds. Henry Manning added 11 points, but the rest of the Wolves shot just 29.4 percent (5-of-17).
“Our goal was to hold (Sandfort) under his average (of 28 points), and we didn’t do that,” Carlson said. “But we held everyone else down, and that was the key. He’s just a tremendous player. It’s a long season and I don’t know if he’s ever come out of a game. We were just hoping to get into his legs a little bit, and toward the end he missed a couple (shots), which was great.”
Sandfort also had just two assists while committing four turnovers.
“I was on (Grant) Tigges, and we were just going to help on Sandfort,” Crandall said. “I don’t know how many 3s he had, but I think Karsen (Wehde) and Alex did a really good job on him. He’s a good player, and he’s going to make those shots.”
Now, the Hawks will get ready for another huge challenge on Monday–a matchup against Ames and Iowa State recruit Tamin Lipsey.
“We’ll enjoy this one tonight and then get back to work,” Carlson said.
Ankeny opened the season on Dec. 3 with a 54-44 loss at Ames. The Little Cyclones (12-1 overall) can all but clinch the league title with a victory.
“This does a lot (for our confidence),” Crandall said. “Ames only beat (Northwest) by four points, and I know we’re capable of beating Ames. We’ve just got to execute like we did tonight, and we’ll have a good chance.”
