The Ankeny boys’ basketball team closed out the season on Thursday with a 63-51 loss to top-ranked Cedar Rapids Kennedy in the Class 4A semifinals at Wells Fargo Arena.
The loss ended an eight-game winning streak for the Hawks, who finished with an 18-7 record.
“I was really proud of our fight. I thought we won the last three quarters ultimately, but it was just too much…too early,” Ankeny coach Brandt Carlson said of his team’s 27-10 deficit after the first quarter.
Rio Aguirre scored 18 points to lead the Hawks, going 4-of-9 from 3-point range. Lio Aguirre added 11 points and five rebounds.
Ankeny’s Carson Johnson, the leading scorer in Class 4A, was held to nine points on 4-of-13 shooting.
“He’s probably the best player in the state,” Kennedy’s Cyrus Courtney said of Johnson. “We wanted to get the ball out of his hands and make somebody else (score).”
Courtney and Micah Schlaak each had 17 points to lead Kennedy (25-0), which advanced to Friday’s championship game against No. 2 Valley (20-5).
Check back later for much more on the game.
