Tuesday’s non-conference game at Dallas Center-Grimes is one that the Ankeny boys’ basketball team might want to forget.
The seventh-ranked Hawks fell behind at halftime, 44-32, and went on to drop an 84-68 decision to the Mustangs. It was the most points allowed by Ankeny this season.
“It was just tough for us to get any momentum going,” said Ankeny coach Brandt Carlson. “Anytime we touched anybody going to the basket, it seemed like we got a foul. It was hard to get out of that. It was a strange night to say the least.”
Ankeny lost despite getting a career-high 21 points from sophomore Rio Aguirre, who went 6-of-13 from the field, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range. He also led the Hawks with four rebounds.
Carson Johnson went 7-of-7 at the free-throw line and finished with 16 points. He also had six assists and two steals.
Lio Aguirre and Luke Anderson each added nine points for the Hawks.
“Our three leading scorers had eight fouls combined in the first half and had to sit a lot,” Carlson said. “We just got behind early and just couldn’t come back, I guess.”
Dallas Center-Grimes raised its record to 7-2 on the season. The Hawks dropped to 8-4.
Ankeny pulled to within eight points in the second half, but could not get any closer.
“It was a frustrating evening, but that’s how basketball goes sometimes,” Carlson said. “They’re a good team, and they’re well-coached. They ran a lot of good sets and shot the ball well.”
Carlson took much of the blame for the loss.
“At the end of the day, I’ve got to do a better job of preparing our guys and help them get through adversity,” he said. “I’m still very proud of the guys, and there’s a lot of basketball left to play. But that’s how life goes sometimes.”
Ankeny will host a CIML Conference game against Southeast Polk (4-8) on Friday. The Hawks won the first meeting at Southeast Polk, 76-59, on Dec. 5.
“Hopefully, we’ll get back in the right frame of mind on Friday,” Carlson said.
