After a nine-day layoff, the Ankeny boys’ basketball team was eager to get back onto the court.
Nobody was more anxious than senior guard Rio Aguirre, who scored 23 points on Friday to lead the host Hawks to a 72-51 victory over eighth-ranked Linn-Mar (Marion) in a non-conference game.
Aguirre surpassed the 1,000-point career mark during the win. He entered the game needing just six points to reach the milestone.
“It feels great,” said Aguirre, who already holds the school’s career assists record. “It’s a huge accomplishment and has been one of my goals since starting high school, so I’m super proud that I could do it. I think it’s a big testament to the work I’ve put in over the years and to the people around me who have all helped me reach that goal.”
Aguirre joined Ankeny’s starting lineup as a sophomore, when he scored 332 points and helped the Hawks to the semifinals of the Class 4A state tournament. He racked up 440 points as a junior, when he earned all-state second-team honors.
Aguirre has now scored 245 points this season while leading his team to a 7-6 record.
“He looks at our board every day and wants to get up there and beat all those guys (who came before him),” said Ankeny coach Brandt Carlson. “I think he’s really proud of that effort, and he did a really good job of acknowledging his teammates too because he can’t do it without them. But he’s performed very well these three years, and he’s been fun to watch.”
Ankeny had not played since dropping a 76-53 decision at No. 4 Waukee on Jan. 20. The Hawks were given more time to regroup after a game against Johnston on Jan. 23 was postponed until Feb. 13 due to bad weather.
“I think it helped us a lot to kind of re-tool some things,” Carlson said. “We made some adjustments, got Sammy (Cowart) back (in the rotation) and we were able to spread the floor a little differently and that was beneficial.”
Ankeny took a 19-15 lead at the end of the first quarter and extended the margin to 37-27 at halftime. The Hawks built a 58-40 advantage after three periods.
Linn-Mar (10-4) had won 10 of its last 11 games. Two of the Lions’ previous losses came to No. 1 Cedar Falls, which also defeated Ankeny last month.
“It was definitely a big win,” Aguirre said. “I think the key was just not being afraid. We didn’t let their record or ranking faze us, and we just played how we know we can play and we knew we could go knock them off. Having a group belief that we can compete with these teams is what was a big factor.”
Aguirre got a lot of support from teammate Jasani Campbell, who tied his career-high with 22 points. Campbell had previously scored 22 points on three different occasions last season.
“Ultimately, Rio and Jasani just had a lot of driving lanes and were able to get to the basket consistently, and we were able to make 3s as well,” Carlson said. “It was just a good overall offensive effort, and the defense and rebounding were good, too. The guys just played really hard, and anytime you do that you have a chance.”
Max Allison and Carson Bright each added six points apiece.
“It was one of those games where the ball went in the basket so that helped a lot,” Carlson said. “The guys were inspired to play and came into the game with a lot of confidence, so it was a lot of fun. It was just another opportunity to get better. Linn-Mar is a great team, but I just think we caught them on the right night.”
Tyler Hilton had 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead Linn-Mar, which shot just 35.4 percent from the field (17-of-48). Karson Rains added 10 points.
Ankeny will travel to Southeast Polk on Monday for a CIML Conference game against the Rams, who are 3-7 in the league and 7-8 overall after being routed by No. 2 Waukee Northwest, 77-44, on Friday. The Hawks will be looking to avenge a 61-46 loss on Dec. 16.
This begins a stretch of eight games over the next 18 days for Ankeny, which will play No. 3 Dowling Catholic twice during that stretch.
“The next three weeks are big,” Carlson said. “We’ve got a lot of games in a short amount of time.”
