Sharing the ball with your teammates usually produces a good outcome.
The second-seeded Ankeny Christian Academy boys’ basketball team placed four players in double figures and rolled past visiting Glidden-Ralston, 83-44, in a Class 1A district quarterfinal on Monday.
“I loved how our team distributed the ball with 19 assists on 30 made field goals,” said ACA coach Jay Nihart, who was honored afterwards for earning his 100th career victory a week ago at Albia. “We were also efficient at the free-throw line, shooting 13-of-17.”
It was the sixth straight win for the Eagles, who raised their record to 19-4. The seventh-seeded Wildcats finished the season at 6-16.
ACA raced out to a 31-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Eagles held a 51-29 advantage at halftime, then extended the margin to 72-37 after three periods.
“Overall, the guys brought the energy that we needed in order to kick off our district road,” Nihart said.
Hudson Davis came off the bench to lead the Eagles with 21 points, more than double his 9.0 average. He went 7-of-9 from the field, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range.
Kade Clarkson went 4-of-8 from behind the arc and finished with 17 points. Jed Rood chipped in 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds, while Isaac Venema added 12 points and six boards.
“It was a good game for us offensively,” Nihart said.
Marcus Pedersen and Andrew Mora each dished out four assists. Tyson Fincham led the defensive effort with four steals.
The Eagles will host third-seeded Southeast Warren (17-6) in a district semifinal on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Warhawks advanced with an 84-51 win over East Union, getting 43 points from senior Lucas Dirkx on 16-of-23 shooting.
It will be a rematch of a game from Feb. 5 at ACA. The Eagles won that contest, 66-59, as Rood led the way with 22 points and eight rebounds.
Top-ranked St. Edmond of Fort Dodge (20-2) will host Earlham (13-10) in the other district semifinal. The Gaels will also host the district final on Feb. 24 at 7 p.m.
