The Ram basketball teams began their rematches with Heart of Iowa teams when they hosted the Saydel Eagles for a Mega Night Jan 12. As they did in their first meetings, the Rams won both games.
The girls claimed their second win over the Eagles, 55-49. It was only the third game the Rams have put up more than 50 points, and the first time since their 52-45 win over Saydel Dec. 5 on the road.
The Rams scored first but the lead changed four times in the first four minutes of the game. The score was tied at 11 with two minutes to play, but Laurin Lyons made a 3-point basket to end the first quarter 14-11. It was Lyons’ second 3-pointer for the quarter.
The Rams led by as many as seven points in the second quarter but the lead was only three points, 26-23, at halftime. Lyons and fellow senior Samantha Hardaway were the only Rams to score in the half, with Lyons at 15 points and Hardaway at 11.
It wasn’t until almost five minutes had been played in the third quarter that another Ram scored. Sophomore Bailey Cunningham made a free throw with 3:16 to play in the quarter, making the score 32-29. Teammates senior Onica Delp and sophomore Izzy Bravard also scored and the quarter ended with the Rams up 36-29.
The Rams built their lead to 10 points with three minutes to play in the game, with scoring by Cunningham, Delp and Lyons. The Rams scored their last six points at the free throw line for the final score, 55-49.
The Rams topped their season average points scored by 18 points. Lyons, whose season average is 11.4 points, led the Rams with 18. Hardaway scored more than twice her average 7.4 points, putting up 16 points. Cunningham has a 5.3 average and scored nine. Delp, Bravard, and sophomore Kassie Lamoureux scored four points each.
For the game the Rams shot at 41 percent from 2-point range and 43 from 3-point range. (Lyons made two long buckets and Hardaway one.) They made 16 of 25 free throws for 64 percent.
The Eagles shot at 30 percent from 2-point range and 37 percent from 3-point range. Their free throw percentage was 77, but they made it to the line only 13 times. The Rams committed 13 turnovers to the Eagles’ 14.
The Ram girls are now 5-8 overall and 2-6 in the conference. The Eagles are 3-8 overall and 1-8 in the conference.
The boys ended a three-game losing streak with their 69-52 victory. The score was closer than Rams’ 67-39 win in December.
The visitors scored first but their 2-0 lead was their only lead of the game. The Rams led by 10 points with about 1:30 to play in the first quarter, and the margin wasn’t smaller than six points the rest of the first half. The score was 19-9 after one quarter and 31-23 at intermission.
The Rams were up by five points, 33-28, when they made 16 unanswered points in the third quarter. The run included 3-point shots by Trey Hinote, Joe Towers and Carter Morton. The quarter ended at 56-32. During the quarter the Rams committed just one turnover.
The Rams committed four turnovers in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter. The Eagles put up six points during that time, but the Rams put up six points, too. Coach Chris Nelson started substituting liberally midway through the quarter. The Eagles cut a 24-point deficit to 17 points, but seniors Kyle Peters and Austin Easterlie, in for only the last few minutes of the game, scored two points each.
Hinote and Wade Adcock scored 15 points each. Adcock left the game midway through the third quarter with an ankle injury.
According to Nelson, he’ll be able to play next week. Towers had 14 points, Morton had 11, and Lance Hughes had eight. Hinote and Morton made three tres each and Hughes and Towers made two each.
Saydel junior Zachary Bobenhouse scored 30 points, including 17 of his team’s 23 first half points He averages 12.3 points.
The Rams made 27 of 60 2-point shots for 45 percent and eight of 23 3-point shots for 35 percent. Hinote and Morton made three long buckets each and Lance Hughes and Towers made one each. The Rams made seven of 11 free throws for 64 percent.
The Eagles made 19 of 50 2-point shots and seven of 23 3-pointers. They made seven of nine free throws.
The win puts the boys at 7-4 overall and 6-2 in the HOIAC. The Eagles are 2-12 overall and 0-8 in the conference.
The games against Saydel were the only games for the Rams this week, but they’ll make up for that next week. The girls and boys travel to Winterset Monday, host Nevada on Tuesday, and then travel to Gilbert Friday. The boys are going to Webster City to finish the week Saturday, Jan 20.
