(Story by Gabe Ploeger)
The Ankeny boys’ basketball team had won six of its last eight games heading into Tuesday’s home contest against Dowling Catholic, including an impressive 63-48 victory at Dowling on Jan. 31.
This time, however, the Maroons controlled the game through all four quarters.
Dowling opened the first quarter with a 14-5 run and never looked back. While the Hawks had a few momentum-shifting baskets to keep a bit of hope remaining, the Maroons were relentless both offensively and defensively.
Despite getting some good looks, Ankeny just wasn’t able to get enough shots to fall and dropped a 66-43 decision to the visitors. The Hawks shot just 27.6 percent from the field, including 6-of-27 from 3-point range.
“I think our team just got off to a rough start,” said Ankeny coach Brandt Carlson. “We never really recovered offensively especially, and we couldn’t knock some shots down that we have been making. Defensively, if you’re getting beat and offensively you can’t score, basketball is a pretty cruel game from that perspective.”
As for Dowling, it was 6-foot-9 center Charlie Crane’s night as he dominated in the paint on both ends of the court. Crane ended with a 22-point double-double as he also pulled down 12 rebounds and added a pair of blocks.
Despite the Hawks’ efforts, Crane could not be stopped as he not only controlled the paint but also went 3-of-3 from 3-point range in Dowling’s revenge win.
“We had a rough game last time,” said Crane, whose team outrebounded Ankeny by a 47-24 margin. “We had to step it up, that was our big thing. We had to get our get back, it was big motivation throughout the whole week. We had to get the win.”
While Ankeny just wasn’t able to find a rhythm, both Rio Aguirre and Dylan Gloviak finished with 10 points apiece. Aguirre had a pair of 3-pointers, and Gloviak added one.
Junior Drew Sorensen also brought the energy as he battled in the paint, but in the end it just wasn’t enough. He contributed four rebounds, four assists and a block.
“We just couldn’t put the ball in the hoop,” said Sorensen. “We got all of the looks that we wanted, but it just wasn’t our night.”
Dowling improved to 9-6 in the CIML Conference and 12-6 overall. Ankeny’s records dropped to 6-8 and 10-9.
The Hawks will travel to Urbandale next Tuesday before closing out the regular season on Feb. 20 at fourth-ranked Waukee Northwest.
“These are our last two to really get ready before the postseason, and I feel like if you go lackadaisical in them then we’re not getting our heads right,” Sorensen said. “We’ve got to take advantage of them, for sure.”
