The Ankeny boys’ basketball team pulled away in the fourth quarter to post a 76-61 victory over visiting Southeast Polk on Friday.
The game was tied with less than 3 minutes left in the third period before the seventh-ranked Hawks took control down the stretch. They improved to 6-3 in the CIML Conference and 9-4 overall, while Southeast Polk’s records dropped to 1-9 and 4-9.
“They played well,” Ankeny coach Brandt Carlson said of the Rams. “They made things pretty tough on us, and it was pretty tight through the first three quarters.”
Junior guard Bode Goodman poured in 30 points on 9-of-14 shooting to keep the game close. He also had seven rebounds, two assists and three steals.
Goodman had scored 16 points in a 76-59 loss to Ankeny on Dec. 5.
“We were doing everything we could to slow Goodman down and I think we eventually wore him down, but he scored a ton of baskets and a lot of free throws,” Carlson said. “He kept them in it, and it was a battle.”
“We were finally able to make some plays to stretch it out a little bit, but we were never that comfortable until the end. Our conference is just really solid all the way through and this was another challenge, and we were just fortunate to win,” he added.
Rio Aguirre led Ankeny with 25 points, five assists and three steals, while Cash Schoolen added 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting. It was a career-high for both players.
“Cash had one of the best games of his career,” Carlson said. “It was just neat to see some different guys step up and give us some momentum as we hopefully move forward this season.”
Ankeny’s Carson Johnson, the leading scorer in Class 4A, had 17 points. He had been averaging 24.4 points.
“The attention that Carson is getting is obviously going to continue to increase,” Carlson said. “We need everybody to step up into their roles and give us some consistency down the stretch.”
Lio Aguirre added nine points, nine rebounds and two blocks for the Hawks, who also had senior post player Cade Peterson back in the lineup for the first time in a month. He had suffered an ankle injury during a loss at Ankeny Centennial on Dec. 19.
Ankeny will host a conference game against Dowling Catholic (5-5, 6-6) on Tuesday. The Hawks won the first meeting at Dowling, 79-77, on Dec. 15.
