(Story by Stephen McDaniel)
While the Ankeny boys’ basketball team struggled to get its shots to consistently fall, an Evan Jacobson-led Waukee squad was able to build up its lead.
Ankeny looked to even its record going into Friday night, but shot just 31.5 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from 3-point range (5-of-30) as the Hawks suffered a 56-42 road loss to a Waukee team that shot 42.5 percent.
“We didn’t shoot well,” said Ankeny coach Brandt Carlson. “That’s a big factor. At the end of the day, in basketball, you need to make some shots. It makes your defense better, it makes your rebounding better, and it puts a little more pressure on your opponent.”
There were shades of the Johnston game from Tuesday for the Hawks, who initially started out with a lead but gave up some runs that led them to play from behind.
Jasani Campbell scored the first bucket of the night and was followed up by Luke Anderson cashing in from beyond the arc and Rio Aguirre slicing through the defense for an early 7-4 Ankeny lead.
However, Carlson’s team didn’t have an answer for Jacobson, a junior forward who managed to outscore the Hawks in the first half all by himself.
Jacobson scored 11 of the Warriors’ 12 points in the first quarter, then proceeded to score seven of their 13 in the second period for 18 first-half points as Waukee held a 25-15 lead at the break.
The Hawks had an 8-0 run to cut the deficit down to 19-15 during the second quarter off a drive by Campbell, a free throw from Drew Sorensen and a 3-pointer from LaMarious Clark, but Waukee answered with a 6-0 run to stretch its lead back out before halftime.
“It doesn’t stop for us,” Carlson said. “We’re going to play against these big giants, we play all these teams again right out of Christmas, so we don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves. We’ve got to keep battling and find a way through it.”
Ankeny’s confidence as a team hasn’t wavered at all through the first four games of the season because it knows once the wrinkles get ironed out, the Hawks could have a chance to be a dangerous team.
Waukee got a brief glimpse of that coming out of half.
Aguirre and fellow junior Kael Roush broke an early scoring drought from both teams by combining for a 10-0 run to tie the game back up.
It started with Aguirre finding Roush for an easy score down low, followed by the duo sinking matching 3-pointers and heading into a Waukee timeout once Aguirre picked up a loose ball and converted at the other end to knot things up at 25-25.
“At times we’re really, really sharp and at times, we’re struggling,” Carlson said. “I think that’s the case with early season stuff. I’m proud of our guys, they don’t ever give up and we’re going to be a scary team by the end of the year. I keep saying it all the time, but I really believe it and I hope they do too.”
That timeout proved to be just enough to cool the Hawks down as Waukee answered right back by going on a 12-2 run to close out the third quarter, giving the Warriors a 37-27 advantage.
Aguirre led Ankeny early on in the fourth before Anderson and Sorensen cut Waukee’s lead down to seven points with about 1 minute 30 seconds left, but Anderson’s free throw to make it a 49-42 game ended up being the Hawks’ final point.
Jacobson closed the game out on the free-throw line to bring his game-high total up to 29 points. He went 9-of-12 from the field and also grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double.
Aguirre led the Hawks with 18 points, six boards, four assists and four steals. Anderson chipped in seven points, and Campbell added six.
The Warriors improved to 2-1 in the CIML Conference and 3-2 overall. Ankeny’s records dropped to 1-3 and 1-3.
The Hawks will travel to Southeast Polk on Tuesday to face the Rams, who are 0-3 in the league and 1-3 overall.
“I really feel good about our team,” Carlson said. “I think our guys will continue to get better, believe, continue to encourage each other and keep doing what we do here at Ankeny.”
