(Story by Stephen McDaniel)
There’s nothing like opening up the season with a bang, and the Ankeny boys’ basketball team had just that.
Powered by a career-high 30-point outing from junior guard Rio Aguirre, the new-look Hawks went out on the road and nearly knocked off two-time reigning Class 4A state champion Valley, but were outlasted in the home stretch on the way to a 76-65 season-opening loss on Tuesday.
With four out of last year’s five starters graduating, the Hawks knew there were going to be some big lineup changes while trying to build off a state semifinals appearance last season.
“I was very proud of our guys,” said Ankeny coach Brandt Carlson. “That was a tough team to play on the road and really the first time this entire group has played together. Valley is a great opponent and really makes things difficult. We will get stronger as the season continues.”
Aguirre returned as Ankeny’s lone starter from last season with seniors Luke Anderson and Dylan Gloviak being the only others on Ankeny’s roster to see much time on the floor as juniors.
Aguirre was one of Ankeny’s top scorers a year ago after averaging just over 13 points per game, and the Hawks looked for him to take an even bigger leap as a scoring threat to lead the new lineup.
Meanwhile, the Tigers are on the opposite side of the spectrum when it comes to their lineup.
Despite losing reigning Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year Curtis Stinson Jr. after the season, Valley brought back four of its starters from the team that won its second straight Class 4A championship.
Iowa State football commit Zay Robinson was absent from the lineup while recovering from football season, but the Tigers were able to still roll out previous starters in seniors Kiki Deng and Trevin Jirak along with junior Jayden McGregory.
Throw in the rise of sharpshooting sophomore Keane Jorgensen, and the Tigers had a pretty good formula for a double-digit win to start the year on their home court.
But with Aguirre leading the way, the Hawks threatened Valley with a potential road upset during the opener.
Ankeny started out down 10-1, but before the Tigers could fully sprint away, some outside shooting from Aguirre and Anderson helped the Hawks quickly erase the deficit.
A drive on the baseline from Drew Sorensen led the Hawks to go on a 9-0 run to open up the second quarter and take the lead from Valley. Kael Roush followed him by scoring on the baseline.
Sophomore Jasani Campbell then knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner before picking the pocket of Jirak for an easy layup to put Ankeny up 24-22 for its first lead since scoring the first point of the game.
Behind its experienced core, Valley found ways to pull back ahead of the Hawks, whether it was leaning on Jirak, the 6-foot-9-inch forward, down low or the variety of athletic guards. But Ankeny was always able to battle back to keep things close.
At the half, Aguirre tied Jirak as the game’s leading scorer with 12 points before coming out of half and more than doubling his point total in just the third quarter alone. Aguirre exploded for 18 points out of Ankeny’s 22 total points scored in the quarter to hit the 30 point mark. A pair of free throws put the Hawks ahead going into the fourth quarter, 53-52.
“Rio stood out with his scoring and playmaking abilities,” Carlson said. “I thought he was unselfish too, which helped our team stay in a competitive position to win.”
As much as Ankeny leaned on Aguirre in the third quarter, the Hawks got big buckets elsewhere to open the fourth as the lead changed hands six times during the early minutes.
Anderson knocked down a jumper to put them up 55-54, an and-one from Campbell and a corner 3-pointer from Gloviak helped erase a five-point deficit to put them up 61-60, and Campbell converted on two free throw attempts to put them up 63-62.
But as Valley kept finding ways to score, the Hawks struggled to keep pace down the stretch. Campbell made free throws to close it to a three-point gap at 68-65, but the Tigers were able to close out the game on an 8-0 run.
“Late in the game we just had some unfortunate plays which allowed them a big run in the final few minutes,” Carlson said. “But I’m proud of this team and looking forward to the journey ahead.”
Campbell had 12 points and seven rebounds for the Hawks. Anderson added 10 points.
Jirak poured in 22 points to lead four Valley players in double figures. McGregory scored 17, Jorgensen had 16, and Deng chipped in 11.
The Hawks will host crosstown rival Ankeny Centennial (0-1) in another CIML Conference game on Friday.
