It took awhile for the Ankeny boys’ basketball team to shake off the rust.
Following a 17-day layoff, the ninth-ranked Hawks struggled in the first half of Friday’s game against visiting Urbandale and trailed at the break, 32-27.
“There’s no question about it that we were a little rusty,” said Ankeny coach Brandt Carlson. “But with young kids like that, it’s going to happen.”
Ankeny then outscored the J-Hawks in the third quarter, 27-13, to take a 54-45 lead. The Hawks went on to post a 70-58 victory.
“Urbandale played well,” Carlson said. “They kind of ran some different zone concepts that we had seen before, so it was a good challenge. But at least offensively, we got some things going in the second half.”
Carson Johnson poured in 31 points to lead Ankeny, his third 30-point game of the season. He made 12-of-19 shots from the field, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range.
Rio Aguirre racked up 17 points, five assists and four steals. Lio Aguirre had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
The Hawks improved to 5-2 in the CIML Conference and 7-2 overall, while Urbandale’s records dropped to 1-7 and 3-7. The win allowed Ankeny to move into a tie for third place with Valley in the conference after the Tigers’ double-overtime loss at Waukee.
“I thought we played ok,” Carlson said. “It was a little interesting game coming out of break, but we just have to enjoy this win tonight and then bounce back (Saturday) and get ready for Bettendorf. It’s going to be a big challenge.”
The Hawks will play Bettendorf on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Alliant Energy Powerhouse in Cedar Rapids. The game is part of the ServPro MVC-CIML Showdown.
Bettendorf (5-4) is coming off a 79-77 overtime loss at Davenport Assumption on Thursday. The Bulldogs are led by 6-foot-7 senior Caden Wilkins, who averages 16.1 points and 5.8 rebounds.
“They’re pretty good,” Carlson said.
