The Ankeny boys’ basketball team finally got a defensive stop Monday when the Hawks needed it the most.
Norwalk’s Redek Born came up short on a 3-point shot at the buzzer and eighth-ranked Ankeny held on for a 66-64 victory over the visiting Warriors in a non-conference game to close out the regular season.
Born, who finished with 39 points on 11-of-19 shooting, was closely guarded in the final seconds by his good friend, Ankeny point guard Carson Johnson.
“With Redek, you never know. It feels like every shot is going in,” said Johnson, who poured in 30 points himself. “It was a relief to see that one (fall short). It just felt like a good win.”
Born scored Norwalk’s last 13 points as the Warriors tried to overcome a 60-51 deficit in the final 2 minutes. He went 4-of-8 from behind the arc, and his deep 3-pointer with 38 seconds left closed the gap to 62-60.
“I’ve been playing with him for a little while, and that’s my guy,” Johnson said of Born, the son of former Iowa State player Mike Born and the brother of Northern Iowa standout Bowen Born. “I love playing with him. Playing against him is always a fun battle.”
After Johnson made the second of two free throws with 29 seconds left, Born converted two foul shots with 20 seconds to go to pull Norwalk within 63-62.
The Warriors then tried for a steal on Ankeny’s ensuing possession and did not commit a foul until 6.8 seconds remained, when Rio Aguirre made both free throws to give the Hawks a 65-62 advantage.
Born was then fouled by Johnson as he dribbled the ball up the court with 4.4 seconds to go in an effort to prevent a tying 3-pointer. He again made both free throws to cut the deficit to 65-64.
Johnson was fouled with 3 seconds left and again made the second of two free throws to produce the final margin. That set the stage for Born’s desperation heave as time expired.
Ankeny coach Brandt Carlson held his breath as Born took the potential game-winning shot.
“When the guy has 39, it wouldn’t surprise me if the next one went in,” Carlson said. “He’s really, really good. Obviously, that’s why he’s going to UNI.”
It was the fifth straight triumph for the Hawks (15-6), who snapped Norwalk’s four-game winning streak. The Warriors dropped to 15-4 on the season.
“We’re fortunate to come out with the win,” Carlson said. “It’s just nice to finish the regular season on a high note.”
Johnson made 8-of-12 shots from the field, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range. He scored 10 of his 16 second-half points at the line.
“It was a good win. We needed it for sure,” Johnson said. “We have a long break coming up now. But we ended on a good note, and now we’re going into substate where we know we have to (win) every one. But this will give us a lot of confidence.”
Ankeny’s Cade Pederson scored 10 of his career-high 15 points in the first half. He also had seven rebounds and two blocks.
Aguirre added 12 points, four assists and two steals. His brother, Lio, grabbed 10 boards, and Cash Schoolen chipped in four assists before fouling out with 4:49 to go.
The Hawks had just enough offense to offset Born’s spectacular performance.
“It’s just hard to keep it out of his hands,” Carlson said. “There’s quite a number of talented (guards) around, but he’s really unique because he can shoot the 3 but he really wants to drive it. He’s a great player, and it was just a fun night of basketball.
“I wish we could have shot it a little better with some of our guys, but they defended us well. They’re a good team, and they’ll be a tough out in their tournament as well,” he added.
Ankeny’s strong finish to the regular season allowed the Hawks to earn a No. 1 seed in Class 4A Substate 8 from the Iowa High School Athletic Association. Carlson’s team will host fourth-seeded Iowa City Liberty (8-11) or fifth-seeded Waterloo West (5-14) in a substate semifinal on Feb. 23 at 7 p.m.
“Now it’s for real. You don’t have any second chances,” Carlson said. “We’ll take some time off and get our bodies recuperated but at the same time get ready for the postseason run.”
Ankeny could face No. 10 Ankeny Centennial (15-6) in a substate final on Feb. 27 at a neutral site. The two teams have never met in postseason play.
“We’re ready for whoever we play,” Johnson said. “We know we can compete with anybody, and we feel like we have a good shot to go to state. We know Centennial is a good team, and obviously we’ll have to be ready to play. That game is always a high emotion game, but if we play them we’ll just have to come ready like we do for every game.”
